--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It seems to me self-evident that it is…" description: "\"It seems to me self-evident that it is worthwhile to understand the best thoughts of the past, to appropriate them, to criticize them.\" — Allen W. Wood" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d8/allen-w-wood-2748_appropriate_it-seems-to-me-self-evident-that-it-is-w_1878750.jpg" --- # It seems to me self-evident that it is worthwhile to… ![“It seems to me self-evident that it is worthwhile to understand the best thoughts of the past, to appropriate them, to criticize them.” quote by Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d8/allen-w-wood-2748_appropriate_it-seems-to-me-self-evident-that-it-is-w_1878750.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d8/allen-w-wood-2748_appropriate_it-seems-to-me-self-evident-that-it-is-w_1878750.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d8/allen-w-wood-2748_appropriate_it-seems-to-me-self-evident-that-it-is-w_1878750.jpg) > “It seems to me self-evident that it is worthwhile to understand the best thoughts of the past, to appropriate them, to criticize them.” [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding past great ideas, adapting and critiquing them, enriches current thought. **In simple terms:** Learn from and improve old ideas. Key Takeaway Study, adapt, and critique historical thoughts. Themes learning critique history Mood reflective inquisitive Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - academic research - personal growth - policy development - creative writing Key Concepts philosophy of religion intellectual tradition Questions to Reflect On - Which past ideas could you reinterpret today? - How do you balance respect and criticism? A Different Perspective Blindly adopting past ideas can stifle innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Appropriate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appropriate/) [Best Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-thoughts-1391967/) [Criticize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticize/) [Evident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evident/) [Evident Worthwhile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evident-worthwhile-2639152/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self Evident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-evident-358729/) [Thoughts Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts-past-251586/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Worthwhile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worthwhile/) [Worthwhile Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worthwhile-understand-2639153/) ## Related quotes > [ It is self-evident that any and all paths must be open to a researcher during the actual course of his \[or her\] investigations. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-weierstrass/it-is-self-evident-that-any-and-all-paths-must-be-open-to-a/) [Karl Weierstrass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-weierstrass/) > [one of the tests of a theory is that, once grasped, it appears self-evident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/one-of-the-tests-of-a-theory-is-that-once-grasped-it-appears-self/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [I set out on this ground, which I suppose to be self evident, "that the earth belongs in usufruct to the living": that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-set-out-on-this-ground-which-i-suppose-to-be-self-evident-that-the/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [We have the self-evident right to regulate our trade according to our own will and our own interest . . . . This right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/we-have-the-self-evident-right-to-regulate-our-trade-according-to-our/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [Our founders did not write that We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all US Persons are created equal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/our-founders-did-not-write-that-we-hold-these-truths-to-be-self/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Every truth passes through 3 stages before it is recognized 1)ridicule 2) opposition 3) accepted as self-evident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/every-truth-passes-through-3-stages-before-it-is-recognized-1/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“What is moral is self-evident.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-theodor-vischer/what-is-moral-is-self-evident/) [Friedrich Theodor Vischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-theodor-vischer/) > [Thomas Jefferson spoke of certain truths as self-evident. He did not say that these truths were self-explanatory or that they were self-operating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-martin-klotsche/thomas-jefferson-spoke-of-certain-truths-as-self-evident-he-did-not/) [J. Martin Klotsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-martin-klotsche/) > [Two and two only supreme and luminously self-evident beings, myself and my Creator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-henry-newman/two-and-two-only-supreme-and-luminously-self-evident-beings-myself/) [John Henry Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-henry-newman/) > [An intelligent being, is the active principle of all things. One must have renounced all common sense to doubt it, and it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/an-intelligent-being-is-the-active-principle-of-all-things-one-must/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [I'd like to think that most of what I do is self-evident if you're listening to it or seeing it. But I don't mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-brion/i-d-like-to-think-that-most-of-what-i-do-is-self-evident-if-you-re/) [Jon Brion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-brion/) > [Travel challenges truths that we were raised thinking were self-evident and God-given. Leaving home, we learn other people find different truths to be self-evident.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-steves/travel-challenges-truths-that-we-were-raised-thinking-were-self/) [Rick Steves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-steves/) > [When we were the political slaves of King George, and wanted to be free, we called the maxim that "all men are created equal"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/when-we-were-the-political-slaves-of-king-george-and-wanted-to-be/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Everything is self-evident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/everything-is-self-evident/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [If the truth were self-evident, eloquence would be unnecessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/if-the-truth-were-self-evident-eloquence-would-be-unnecessary/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) ## More by Allen W. Wood > [For the utilitarian, there is a fact of the matter about the good (the general happiness, or whatever conception of the good the utilitarian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/for-the-utilitarian-there-is-a-fact-of-the-matter-about-the-good-the/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [No theory about our bodies as mere objects of observation and calculation (as distinct from partners in communicative interaction, assumed to be free) can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/no-theory-about-our-bodies-as-mere-objects-of-observation-and/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [Kantian ethical theory distinguishes three levels: First, that of a fundamental principle (the categorical imperative, formulated in three main ways in Kant's Groundwork); second,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/kantian-ethical-theory-distinguishes-three-levels-first-that-of-a/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [Some empirical feelings, such as sympathy, are indispensable parts of certain moral virtues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/some-empirical-feelings-such-as-sympathy-are-indispensable-parts-of/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [We commit not only theoretical error but also moral wrong in objectifying ourselves or other rational beings, ignoring their capacities for free action and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/we-commit-not-only-theoretical-error-but-also-moral-wrong-in/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [Kant certainly was sympathetic with the metaphysical tradition of rational theology that he criticized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/kant-certainly-was-sympathetic-with-the-metaphysical-tradition-of/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [That Hegel's theory is derivative from Fichte's does not prevent it from being strikingly original and of independent value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/that-hegel-s-theory-is-derivative-from-fichte-s-does-not-prevent-it/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [It is sad to witness the persistence in our society of the racism and xenophobia that seems to be a permanent part of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/it-is-sad-to-witness-the-persistence-in-our-society-of-the-racism-and/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [It is rational to choose the right means to your ends to develop very elegant abstract formal theories of rational choice, and then turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/it-is-rational-to-choose-the-right-means-to-your-ends-to-develop-very/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [We can never prove that we are free or integrate our freedom in any way into our objective conception of the causal order of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/we-can-never-prove-that-we-are-free-or-integrate-our-freedom-in-any/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [Kant regards the universalizability test for maxims as focused on a very special sort of situation: one where the agent is tempted to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/kant-regards-the-universalizability-test-for-maxims-as-focused-on-a/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [My own view is that Kant's conception of the duality of the good (morality and happiness, the good of our person and the good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/my-own-view-is-that-kant-s-conception-of-the-duality-of-the-good/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [It is actually a nice question how far Descartes himself endorses the monological and metaphysically dualistic theory of mind associated with his name and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/it-is-actually-a-nice-question-how-far-descartes-himself-endorses-the/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [In fact people do not know enough about themselves and what is good for them to form a sufficiently definite conception of the general…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/in-fact-people-do-not-know-enough-about-themselves-and-what-is-good/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [Empiricist philosophy always tends to be anti-philosophy (and is often proud of it).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/empiricist-philosophy-always-tends-to-be-anti-philosophy-and-is-often/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) [Explore all 151 Allen W. Wood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) ## More Appropriate quotes > [“Appropriate is overrated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-w-kohlhagen/appropriate-is-overrated/) [Steven W. Kohlhagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-w-kohlhagen/) > [I was for many years myself a journalist and it is not appropriate to say a programme should not be broadcast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-monckton/i-was-for-many-years-myself-a-journalist-and-it-is-not-appropriate-to/) [Christopher Monckton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-monckton/) > [I don't think 'This Means War' is an appropriate picture to do in 3-D.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mcg/i-don-t-think-this-means-war-is-an-appropriate-picture-to-do-in-3-d/) [McG](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mcg/) > [There is no single best kind of death. A good death is one that is "appropriate" for that person. It is a death in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-s-shneidman/there-is-no-single-best-kind-of-death-a-good-death-is-one-that-is/) [Edwin S. Shneidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-s-shneidman/) > [Persons who have cleansed themselves of any transgression and who have shown their ability to deal with homosexual inclinations and put them in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallin-h-oaks/persons-who-have-cleansed-themselves-of-any-transgression-and-who/) [Dallin H. Oaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallin-h-oaks/) > [ \[T\]he appropriate form of address between man and man ought to be, not monsieur, sir, but fellow sufferer, compagnon de miseres. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/t-he-appropriate-form-of-address-between-man-and-man-ought-to-be-not/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [I would not, under any circumstances, try to impose my personal faith and belief on the rest of the country. I don't think that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edwards/i-would-not-under-any-circumstances-try-to-impose-my-personal-faith/) [John Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edwards/) > [I have no policy, for or against: only a personal style. Which is to say, I use them when I think it's appropriate to;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/i-have-no-policy-for-or-against-only-a-personal-style-which-is-to-say/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [While the intelligence profession oftentimes demands secrecy, it is critically important that there be a full and open discourse on intelligence matters with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-brennan/while-the-intelligence-profession-oftentimes-demands-secrecy-it-is/) [John O. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-brennan/) > [Computer Science is a science of abstraction -creating the right model for a problem and devising the appropriate mechanizable techniques to solve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-aho/computer-science-is-a-science-of-abstraction-creating-the-right-model/) [Alfred Aho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-aho/) > [For Father's Day, my kids always give me a bottle of cologne called English Leather. It's appropriate! To them I always smell like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-orben/for-father-s-day-my-kids-always-give-me-a-bottle-of-cologne-called/) [Robert Orben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-orben/) > [As Mayor, I will fully support my Arts Commission and its professional selection committees so that they can commission a full range of public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-newsom/as-mayor-i-will-fully-support-my-arts-commission-and-its-professional/) [Gavin Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-newsom/) > [I'm very sensitive in real life. I cannot not cry if someone around me is crying. I will start to cry if someone is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-chastain/i-m-very-sensitive-in-real-life-i-cannot-not-cry-if-someone-around-me/) [Jessica Chastain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-chastain/) > [Hate demands existence, and he who hates has to show his hate in appropriate actions and behaviors; in a sense, he has to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/hate-demands-existence-and-he-who-hates-has-to-show-his-hate-in/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [A reader does not suddenly comprehend what is being read or studied, in a snap, miraculously. Comprehension needs to be worked forged, by those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/a-reader-does-not-suddenly-comprehend-what-is-being-read-or-studied/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) [Browse all 1,130 Appropriate quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appropriate/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It seems to me self-evident that it is worthwhile to understand the best thoughts of the past, to appropriate them, to criticize them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Allen W. 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