--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is, I conceive, no contradiction in…" description: "\"There is, I conceive, no contradiction in believing that mind is at once the cause of matter and of the development of individualised human minds throu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f5/alfred-russel-wallace-18563_agency_there-is-i-conceive-no-contradiction-in_1597324.jpg" --- # There is, I conceive, no contradiction in believing that… ![“There is, I conceive, no contradiction in believing that mind is at once the cause of matter and of the development of individualised human minds through the agency of matter” quote by Alfred Russel Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f5/alfred-russel-wallace-18563_agency_there-is-i-conceive-no-contradiction-in_1597324.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f5/alfred-russel-wallace-18563_agency_there-is-i-conceive-no-contradiction-in_1597324.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f5/alfred-russel-wallace-18563_agency_there-is-i-conceive-no-contradiction-in_1597324.jpg) > “There is, I conceive, no contradiction in believing that mind is at once the cause of matter and of the development of individualised human minds through the agency of matter” [Alfred Russel Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-russel-wallace/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mind both creates matter and evolves through material processes, linking consciousness with physical reality. **In simple terms:** Mind and matter are interdependent. Key Takeaway Explore how physical conditions shape thought. Themes philosophy science mind-body evolution materialism Mood inquisitive thoughtful Type philosophical scientific When to use this quote - education - research - personal development - technology ethics Key Concepts dualism emergentism causality evolutionary psychology Questions to Reflect On - Can consciousness arise without matter? - What material factors most shape thinking? A Different Perspective Mind may be limited by material constraints, challenging idealist views. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agency/) [Believing Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believing-mind-4760353/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Contradiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradiction/) [Contradiction Believing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradiction-believing-6066561/) [Development](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/development/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Matter Development](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter-development-6066562/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mind Cause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-cause-810063/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [The believing mind is externally impervious to evidence. The most that can be accomplished with it is to induce it to substitute one delusion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/the-believing-mind-is-externally-impervious-to-evidence-the-most-that/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“For man, mind is the cause of bondage and mind is the cause of liberation. Mind absorbed in sense objects is the cause of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-bhaktivedanta-swami-prabhup-da/for-man-mind-is-the-cause-of-bondage-and-mind-is-the-cause-of/) [A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-bhaktivedanta-swami-prabhup-da/) > [Keep you off my mind cause I'm fine without you on my time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/keep-you-off-my-mind-cause-i-m-fine-without-you-on-my-time/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [“It’s a mystery. A man’s at odds to know his mind cause his mind is aught he has to know it with. He can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/it-s-a-mystery-a-man-s-at-odds-to-know-his-mind-cause-his-mind-is-3/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“It’s a mystery. A man’s at odds to know his mind cause his mind is aught he has to know it with. He can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/it-s-a-mystery-a-man-s-at-odds-to-know-his-mind-cause-his-mind-is-2/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [Mind is the cause; everything else is effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/mind-is-the-cause-everything-else-is-effect/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [Narrowness of mind is often the cause of obstinacy; we do not easily believe beyond what we see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/narrowness-of-mind-is-often-the-cause-of-obstinacy-we-do-not-easily/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Mind alone is the cause of the bondage or freedom of the soul. By the attachment of the mind to the world we become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-cole-whittaker/mind-alone-is-the-cause-of-the-bondage-or-freedom-of-the-soul-by-the/) [Terry Cole-Whittaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-cole-whittaker/) > [When you find inner peace, neither the presence nor absence of any person, place or thing, condition, circumstance, or situation can be the Creator…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/when-you-find-inner-peace-neither-the-presence-nor-absence-of-any/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [“Because mind is Cause and the world is Effect, we change the world by changing the thoughts we think about the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/because-mind-is-cause-and-the-world-is-effect-we-change-the-world-by/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [He's got to do better than the shoddy piecing together of flimsy evidence that contradicts the briefings we have received by various agencies, ..…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russ-feingold/he-s-got-to-do-better-than-the-shoddy-piecing-together-of-flimsy/) [Russ Feingold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russ-feingold/) > [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [ We have no clear ideas of the agency of \[demonic\] spirits, nor is it necessary. The Scripture says little to satisfy our curiosity; but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newton/we-have-no-clear-ideas-of-the-agency-of-demonic-spirits-nor-is-it/) [John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newton/) > [Anyone who's read my 'Terror in the Skies' series knows that I have not been writing with an eye toward approval from any government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-jacobsen/anyone-who-s-read-my-terror-in-the-skies-series-knows-that-i-have-not/) [Annie Jacobsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-jacobsen/) > [The work, the work, the work. This is what the business is all about. This is the fun, the glory, the pleasure. It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-dusenberry/the-work-the-work-the-work-this-is-what-the-business-is-all-about/) [Phil Dusenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-dusenberry/) ## More by Alfred Russel Wallace > [Truth is born into this world only with pangs and tribulations, and every fresh truth is received unwillingly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-russel-wallace/truth-is-born-into-this-world-only-with-pangs-and-tribulations-and/) [Alfred Russel Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-russel-wallace/) > [Why do some die and some live? The answer was clearly, that on the whole the best fitted live. From the effects of disease…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-russel-wallace/why-do-some-die-and-some-live-the-answer-was-clearly-that-on-the/) [Alfred Russel Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-russel-wallace/) > [I think I have fairly heard and fairly weighed the evidence on both sides, and I remain an utter disbeliever in almost all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-russel-wallace/i-think-i-have-fairly-heard-and-fairly-weighed-the-evidence-on-both/) [Alfred Russel Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-russel-wallace/) > [To expect the world to receive a new truth, or even an old truth, without challenging it, is to look for one of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-russel-wallace/to-expect-the-world-to-receive-a-new-truth-or-even-an-old-truth/) [Alfred Russel Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-russel-wallace/) > [I spent, as you know, a year and a half in a clergyman's family and heard almost every Tuesday the very best, most earnest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-russel-wallace/i-spent-as-you-know-a-year-and-a-half-in-a-clergyman-s-family-and/) [Alfred Russel Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-russel-wallace/) > [As well might it be said that, because we are ignorant of the laws by which metals are produced and trees developed, we cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-russel-wallace/as-well-might-it-be-said-that-because-we-are-ignorant-of-the-laws-by/) [Alfred Russel Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-russel-wallace/) > [It has been generally the custom of writers on natural history to take the habits and instincts of animals as the fixed point, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-russel-wallace/it-has-been-generally-the-custom-of-writers-on-natural-history-to/) [Alfred Russel Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-russel-wallace/) > [In all works on Natural History, we constantly find details of the marvellous adaptation of animals to their food, their habits, and the localities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-russel-wallace/in-all-works-on-natural-history-we-constantly-find-details-of-the/) [Alfred Russel Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-russel-wallace/) > [To say that mind is a product or function of protoplasm, or of its molecular changes, is to use words to which we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-russel-wallace/to-say-that-mind-is-a-product-or-function-of-protoplasm-or-of-its/) [Alfred Russel Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-russel-wallace/) > [In less than eight years "The Origin of Species" has produced conviction in the minds of a majority of the most eminent living men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-russel-wallace/in-less-than-eight-years-the-origin-of-species-has-produced/) [Alfred Russel Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-russel-wallace/) > [In one of my latest conversations with Darwin he expressed himself very gloomily on the future of humanity, on the ground that in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-russel-wallace/in-one-of-my-latest-conversations-with-darwin-he-expressed-himself/) [Alfred Russel Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-russel-wallace/) > [If this is not done, future ages will certainly look back upon us as a people so immersed in the pursuit of wealth as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-russel-wallace/if-this-is-not-done-future-ages-will-certainly-look-back-upon-us-as-a/) [Alfred Russel Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-russel-wallace/) > [Civilisation has ever accompanied emigration and conquest - the conflict of opinion, of religion, or of race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-russel-wallace/civilisation-has-ever-accompanied-emigration-and-conquest-the/) [Alfred Russel Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-russel-wallace/) > [ “\[I\]t is indisputably the mediocre, if not the low, both as regards morality and intelligence, who succeed in life and multiply the fastest.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-russel-wallace/i-t-is-indisputably-the-mediocre-if-not-the-low-both-as-regards/) [Alfred Russel Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-russel-wallace/) > [But naturalists are now beginning to look beyond this, and to see that there must be some other principle regulating the infinitely varied forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-russel-wallace/but-naturalists-are-now-beginning-to-look-beyond-this-and-to-see-that/) [Alfred Russel Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-russel-wallace/) [Explore all 34 Alfred Russel Wallace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-russel-wallace/) ## More Agency quotes > [The work, the work, the work. This is what the business is all about. This is the fun, the glory, the pleasure. It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-dusenberry/the-work-the-work-the-work-this-is-what-the-business-is-all-about/) [Phil Dusenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-dusenberry/) > [Anyone who's read my 'Terror in the Skies' series knows that I have not been writing with an eye toward approval from any government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-jacobsen/anyone-who-s-read-my-terror-in-the-skies-series-knows-that-i-have-not/) [Annie Jacobsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-jacobsen/) > [ We have no clear ideas of the agency of \[demonic\] spirits, nor is it necessary. The Scripture says little to satisfy our curiosity; but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newton/we-have-no-clear-ideas-of-the-agency-of-demonic-spirits-nor-is-it/) [John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newton/) > [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [In 1949 there was a new thing called Television, to which my agency and advisers opposed as a performance medium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-young/in-1949-there-was-a-new-thing-called-television-to-which-my-agency/) [Loretta Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-young/) > [Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. We have to take risks and it's important that we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/well-look-cia-is-an-agency-that-has-to-collect-intelligence-do/) [Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/) > [I know that God loves us. He allows us to exercise our moral agency even when we misuse it. He permits us to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/i-know-that-god-loves-us-he-allows-us-to-exercise-our-moral-agency/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [I was taking all prints and I brought them to the Magnum meetings, trying the old Josef Koudelka trick: Give them to photographers, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-van-agtmael/i-was-taking-all-prints-and-i-brought-them-to-the-magnum-meetings/) [Peter van Agtmael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-van-agtmael/) > [The WPA was one of the most productive elements of FDR's alphabet soup of agencies because it put people to work building roads, bridges,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/the-wpa-was-one-of-the-most-productive-elements-of-fdr-s-alphabet/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [In most agencies, account executives outnumber the copywriters two to one. If you were a dairy farmer, would you employ twice as many milkers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/in-most-agencies-account-executives-outnumber-the-copywriters-two-to/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [Free agency is a gift of God…The world does not comprehend the significance of that divine gift to the individual. It is as inherent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-o-mckay/free-agency-is-a-gift-of-god-the-world-does-not-comprehend-the/) [David O. McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-o-mckay/) > [You are also asked to take an oath, and that's the oath of service. The oath of service is not to secrecy, but to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/you-are-also-asked-to-take-an-oath-and-that-s-the-oath-of-service-the/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [You cannot have 300-some million Americans - and really, right, the global citizenry be at risk of having their phone conversations intercepted with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-lieu/you-cannot-have-300-some-million-americans-and-really-right-the/) [Ted Lieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-lieu/) > [I do a lot of writing in my capacity as the creative director for a marketing agency. These days, though, I'm trying to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-doescher/i-do-a-lot-of-writing-in-my-capacity-as-the-creative-director-for-a/) [Ian Doescher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-doescher/) > [Unfortunately, corruption is widespread in government agencies and public enterprises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-papandreou/unfortunately-corruption-is-widespread-in-government-agencies-and/) [George Papandreou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-papandreou/) [Browse all 1,225 Agency quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agency/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is, I conceive, no contradiction in believing that mind is at once the cause of matter and of the development of individualised human minds through the agency of matter", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred Russel Wallace" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-russel-wallace/there-is-i-conceive-no-contradiction-in-believing-that-mind-is-at/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Agency" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-russel-wallace/there-is-i-conceive-no-contradiction-in-believing-that-mind-is-at/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f5/alfred-russel-wallace-18563_agency_there-is-i-conceive-no-contradiction-in_1597324.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f5/alfred-russel-wallace-18563_agency_there-is-i-conceive-no-contradiction-in_1597324.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f5/alfred-russel-wallace-18563_agency_there-is-i-conceive-no-contradiction-in_1597324.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is, I conceive, no contradiction in believing that mind is at once the cause of matter and of the…” — Alfred Russel Wallace", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alfred Russel Wallace", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-russel-wallace/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is, I conceive, no contradiction...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-russel-wallace/there-is-i-conceive-no-contradiction-in-believing-that-mind-is-at/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-russel-wallace/there-is-i-conceive-no-contradiction-in-believing-that-mind-is-at/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```