--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The goal changes from the general to the…" description: "\"The goal changes from the general to the individual from need to wish, from ethics to aesthetics.\" — Asger Jorn" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77f/asger-jorn-16504_aesthetics_the-goal-changes-from-the-general-to-the_3221885.png" --- # The goal changes from the general to the individual from… ![“The goal changes from the general to the individual from need to wish, from ethics to aesthetics.” quote by Asger Jorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77f/asger-jorn-16504_aesthetics_the-goal-changes-from-the-general-to-the_3221885.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77f/asger-jorn-16504_aesthetics_the-goal-changes-from-the-general-to-the_3221885.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77f/asger-jorn-16504_aesthetics_the-goal-changes-from-the-general-to-the_3221885.png) > “The goal changes from the general to the individual from need to wish, from ethics to aesthetics.” [Asger Jorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asger-jorn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote describes a shift in focus from universal concepts to personal desires, moving from moral considerations to aesthetic ones. **In simple terms:** Focus moves from universal to personal, moral to aesthetic. Key Takeaway Recognize personal motivations over generic goals. Themes personalization ethics aesthetics individualism philosophy Mood reflective introspective Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - creative projects - personal branding - ethical decision making Key Concepts subjectivity value theory artistic expression Questions to Reflect On - How do personal desires reshape ethical choices? - When is aesthetic priority more important than moral duty? A Different Perspective May overlook collective responsibility in favor of self‑interest. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aesthetics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aesthetics/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) ## Related quotes > [The goal never changes. It's about beating the guy in front of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-alvarez/the-goal-never-changes-it-s-about-beating-the-guy-in-front-of-you/) [Eddie Alvarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-alvarez/) > [The theory of government changes with general progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulysses-s-grant/the-theory-of-government-changes-with-general-progress/) [Ulysses S. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulysses-s-grant/) > [“We are born with the need for a leader, someone to control the conflict between each individual's need. An alpha in the house, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-mcadam/we-are-born-with-the-need-for-a-leader-someone-to-control-the/) Colin McAdam > [Caring can be learned by all human beings, can be worked into the design of every life, meeting an individual need as well as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-catherine-bateson/caring-can-be-learned-by-all-human-beings-can-be-worked-into-the/) [Mary Catherine Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-catherine-bateson/) > [The channels of intuitive knowledge are opened according to the intensity of individual need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-roberts/the-channels-of-intuitive-knowledge-are-opened-according-to-the/) [Jane Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-roberts/) > [This is what aesthetics, development and progress depend upon: that we go out on thin ice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/this-is-what-aesthetics-development-and-progress-depend-upon-that-we/) [Asger Jorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asger-jorn/) > [The great work of art is the complete banality, and the fault with most banalities is that they are not banal enough. Banality here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/the-great-work-of-art-is-the-complete-banality-and-the-fault-with/) [Asger Jorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asger-jorn/) > [ \[Alexei Nemov\] has the best feel for the aesthetics of the sport. He doesn't just do a skill; he makes it look gorgeous. Some… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-vidmar/alexei-nemov-has-the-best-feel-for-the-aesthetics-of-the-sport-he/) [Peter Vidmar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-vidmar/) > [“No man sings as beautifully as when his song is accompanied by a woman’s voice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-payne/no-man-sings-as-beautifully-as-when-his-song-is-accompanied-by-a/) [Roman Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-payne/) > [Road cycling, especially up mountains. It's the heady mixture of endorphins and aesthetics that I love. My wife does it too, and being with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-kemp/road-cycling-especially-up-mountains-it-s-the-heady-mixture-of/) [Gary Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-kemp/) > [ Probably the high-watermark of \[Bob\] Dylan's career came after he plugged in his guitar ("Judas!" one fan shouted during a concert) and exploded American… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/probably-the-high-watermark-of-bob-dylan-s-career-came-after-he/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [Pleasure is by no means an infallible critical guide, but it is the least fallible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/pleasure-is-by-no-means-an-infallible-critical-guide-but-it-is-the/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [As a result of reading science fiction when I was eight, I grew up with an interest in music, architecture, city planning, transportation, politics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/as-a-result-of-reading-science-fiction-when-i-was-eight-i-grew-up/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/) [Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/) > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) ## More by Asger Jorn > [The great work of art is the complete banality, and the fault with most banalities is that they are not banal enough. Banality here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/the-great-work-of-art-is-the-complete-banality-and-the-fault-with/) [Asger Jorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asger-jorn/) > [Being an artist is being an isolated individual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/being-an-artist-is-being-an-isolated-individual/) [Asger Jorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asger-jorn/) > [We are not talking about a new cognition in relation to abstract art, rather a new area of cognition...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/we-are-not-talking-about-a-new-cognition-in-relation-to-abstract-art/) [Asger Jorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asger-jorn/) > [To break and be able to grow together again in a better way: that is the difficult art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/to-break-and-be-able-to-grow-together-again-in-a-better-way-that-is/) [Asger Jorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asger-jorn/) > [If the image was sketched onto the canvas and spontaneously drawn, colour would often be restrained and unfree... The most important and the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/if-the-image-was-sketched-onto-the-canvas-and-spontaneously-drawn/) [Asger Jorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asger-jorn/) > [Everything is in constant flux, from state to state, from good to bad and back again…, only in transmutation, perpetual motion, lies truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/everything-is-in-constant-flux-from-state-to-state-from-good-to-bad/) [Asger Jorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asger-jorn/) > [Beautiful, ugly, impressive, disgusting, meaningless, grim, contradictory etc … It makes no difference, as long as it is life, vigorously pouring forth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/beautiful-ugly-impressive-disgusting-meaningless-grim-contradictory/) [Asger Jorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asger-jorn/) > [To get anywhere, one must choose one's mistakes. I chose experimental acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/to-get-anywhere-one-must-choose-one-s-mistakes-i-chose-experimental/) [Asger Jorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asger-jorn/) > [Anything really new is repulsive, because it is abnormal and unreasonable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/anything-really-new-is-repulsive-because-it-is-abnormal-and/) [Asger Jorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asger-jorn/) > [My work is based on a tradition quite distinct from the Eckersberg tradition, a Nordic line of development that had never been clearly and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/my-work-is-based-on-a-tradition-quite-distinct-from-the-eckersberg/) [Asger Jorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asger-jorn/) > [There can be no question of selecting in any direction, but of penetrating the whole cosmic law of rhythms, forces and material that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/there-can-be-no-question-of-selecting-in-any-direction-but-of/) [Asger Jorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asger-jorn/) > [We are sparks that must glow as brightly as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/we-are-sparks-that-must-glow-as-brightly-as-possible/) [Asger Jorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asger-jorn/) > [The reverse process is extremely important to me - that artistic images can inspire to words and different myths, and that in certain cultures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/the-reverse-process-is-extremely-important-to-me-that-artistic-images/) [Asger Jorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asger-jorn/) > [In the beginning was the image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/in-the-beginning-was-the-image/) [Asger Jorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asger-jorn/) > [A creative train of thought is set off by: the unexpected, the unknown, the accidental, the disorderly, the absurd, the impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/a-creative-train-of-thought-is-set-off-by-the-unexpected-the-unknown/) [Asger Jorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asger-jorn/) [Explore all 39 Asger Jorn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asger-jorn/) ## More Aesthetics quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/) [Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/) > [As a result of reading science fiction when I was eight, I grew up with an interest in music, architecture, city planning, transportation, politics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/as-a-result-of-reading-science-fiction-when-i-was-eight-i-grew-up/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Pleasure is by no means an infallible critical guide, but it is the least fallible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/pleasure-is-by-no-means-an-infallible-critical-guide-but-it-is-the/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [ Probably the high-watermark of \[Bob\] Dylan's career came after he plugged in his guitar ("Judas!" one fan shouted during a concert) and exploded American… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/probably-the-high-watermark-of-bob-dylan-s-career-came-after-he/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [Road cycling, especially up mountains. It's the heady mixture of endorphins and aesthetics that I love. My wife does it too, and being with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-kemp/road-cycling-especially-up-mountains-it-s-the-heady-mixture-of/) [Gary Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-kemp/) > [“No man sings as beautifully as when his song is accompanied by a woman’s voice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-payne/no-man-sings-as-beautifully-as-when-his-song-is-accompanied-by-a/) [Roman Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-payne/) > [ \[Alexei Nemov\] has the best feel for the aesthetics of the sport. He doesn't just do a skill; he makes it look gorgeous. Some… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-vidmar/alexei-nemov-has-the-best-feel-for-the-aesthetics-of-the-sport-he/) [Peter Vidmar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-vidmar/) > [The great work of art is the complete banality, and the fault with most banalities is that they are not banal enough. Banality here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/the-great-work-of-art-is-the-complete-banality-and-the-fault-with/) [Asger Jorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asger-jorn/) > [I find the aesthetics of the 20th century hopelessly barren.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-find-the-aesthetics-of-the-20th-century-hopelessly-barren/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [For it is a mad world and it will get madder if we allow the minorities, be they dwarf or giant, orangutan or dolphin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/for-it-is-a-mad-world-and-it-will-get-madder-if-we-allow-the/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [We’re surrounded by anonymous, poorly made objects. It’s tempting to think it’s because the people who use them don’t care-just like the people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-ive/we-re-surrounded-by-anonymous-poorly-made-objects-it-s-tempting-to/) [Jonathan Ive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-ive/) > [After a certain high level of technical skill is achieved science and art tend to coalesce in aesthetics, plasticity, and form. The greatest scientists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/after-a-certain-high-level-of-technical-skill-is-achieved-science-and/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [There's only so much you can do until you get on set and see the aesthetics of what you're dealing with. Then you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-urban/there-s-only-so-much-you-can-do-until-you-get-on-set-and-see-the/) [Karl Urban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-urban/) > [In our view the Olympic idea involves a strong physical culture supplemented on the one hand by mobility, what is so aptly called 'fair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-de-coubertin/in-our-view-the-olympic-idea-involves-a-strong-physical-culture/) [Pierre de Coubertin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-de-coubertin/) [Browse all 302 Aesthetics quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aesthetics/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The goal changes from the general to the individual from need to wish, from ethics to aesthetics.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Asger Jorn" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/the-goal-changes-from-the-general-to-the-individual-from-need-to-wish/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aesthetics" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/the-goal-changes-from-the-general-to-the-individual-from-need-to-wish/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77f/asger-jorn-16504_aesthetics_the-goal-changes-from-the-general-to-the_3221885.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77f/asger-jorn-16504_aesthetics_the-goal-changes-from-the-general-to-the_3221885.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77f/asger-jorn-16504_aesthetics_the-goal-changes-from-the-general-to-the_3221885.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The goal changes from the general to the individual from need to wish, from ethics to aesthetics.” — Asger Jorn", "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": "Asger Jorn", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asger-jorn/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The goal changes from the general...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/the-goal-changes-from-the-general-to-the-individual-from-need-to-wish/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/the-goal-changes-from-the-general-to-the-individual-from-need-to-wish/#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 } } ] } ```