---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Great thoughts are against all doctrines…"
description: "\"Great thoughts are against all doctrines of conformity\" — Austin Osman Spare"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdf/austin-osman-spare-13247_conformity_great-thoughts-are-against-all-doctrines_2044811.jpg"
---

#  Great thoughts are against all doctrines of conformity

![“Great thoughts are against all doctrines of conformity” quote by Austin Osman Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdf/austin-osman-spare-13247_conformity_great-thoughts-are-against-all-doctrines_2044811.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdf/austin-osman-spare-13247_conformity_great-thoughts-are-against-all-doctrines_2044811.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdf/austin-osman-spare-13247_conformity_great-thoughts-are-against-all-doctrines_2044811.jpg)

> “Great thoughts are against all doctrines of conformity”

[Austin Osman Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-osman-spare/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Original ideas often oppose mainstream beliefs, challenging conformity.

**In simple terms:** Great thoughts clash with prevailing norms.

Key Takeaway

Question and expand beyond accepted ideas.

Themes

creativity nonconformity philosophy intellectual freedom

Mood

provocative inspirational

Type

philosophical motivational

When to use this quote

- artistic creation
- academic debate
- personal decision‑making
- social activism

Key Concepts

existentialism critical thinking

Questions to Reflect On

- What doctrines limit your thinking?
- How can you support unconventional ideas?

A Different Perspective

Radical ideas can be dismissed or marginalized by society.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Conformity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformity/) [Doctrine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctrine/) [Doctrines Conformity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctrines-conformity-3824109/) [Great Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-thoughts/) [Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts/) [Thoughts Doctrines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts-doctrines-3824110/)

## Related quotes

> [Great thoughts always come from the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/great-thoughts-always-come-from-the-heart/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“If a man has a capacity for great thoughts, he is likely to overtake them before he is decrepit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/if-a-man-has-a-capacity-for-great-thoughts-he-is-likely-to-overtake/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [The ground of all great thoughts is sadness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-james-bailey/the-ground-of-all-great-thoughts-is-sadness/)

[Philip James Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-james-bailey/)

> [Religions have always stressed that compassion is not only central to religious life, it is the key to enlightenment and it the true test…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/religions-have-always-stressed-that-compassion-is-not-only-central-to/)

[Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/)

> [All great deeds and all great thoughts have a ridiculous beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/all-great-deeds-and-all-great-thoughts-have-a-ridiculous-beginning/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [The roads to the stars are open only to those who grasp the great thoughts!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/the-roads-to-the-stars-are-open-only-to-those-who-grasp-the-great/)

[Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [Great thoughts of your sin alone will drive you to despair; but great thoughts of Christ will pilot you into the haven of peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/great-thoughts-of-your-sin-alone-will-drive-you-to-despair-but-great/)

[Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/)

> [Forms of energy from nature gave my father trouble. He refused to believe he was going to die. He had these weird delusions. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/forms-of-energy-from-nature-gave-my-father-trouble-he-refused-to/)

[Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/)

> [The Dalai Lama once said that 'If science proves some belief of Buddhism wrong, then Buddhism will have to change!' This is a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/the-dalai-lama-once-said-that-if-science-proves-some-belief-of/)

[Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/all-truly-great-thoughts-are-conceived-while-walking/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [I paint ideas, not things. My intention is less to paint works that are pleasing to the eye than to suggest great thoughts which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-frederic-watts/i-paint-ideas-not-things-my-intention-is-less-to-paint-works-that-are/)

[George Frederic Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-frederic-watts/)

> [Great thoughts speak only to the thoughtful mind, but great actions speak to all mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/great-thoughts-speak-only-to-the-thoughtful-mind-but-great-actions/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Great thoughts go best with common duties. Whatever therefore may be your office regard it as a fragment in an immeasurable ministry of love.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooke-foss-westcott/great-thoughts-go-best-with-common-duties-whatever-therefore-may-be-2/)

[Brooke Foss Westcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooke-foss-westcott/)

> [Our great thoughts, our great affections, the truths of our life, never leave us. Surely they can not separate from our consciousness, shall follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/our-great-thoughts-our-great-affections-the-truths-of-our-life-never/)

[William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/)

> [“Great thoughts go best with common duties. Whatever therefore may be you office regard it as a fragment in an immeasurable ministry of love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooke-foss-westcott/great-thoughts-go-best-with-common-duties-whatever-therefore-may-be/)

[Brooke Foss Westcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooke-foss-westcott/)

## More by Austin Osman Spare

> [And remember, you shall suffer all things and again suffer: until you have sufficient sufferance to accept all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare/and-remember-you-shall-suffer-all-things-and-again-suffer-until-you/)

[Austin Osman Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-osman-spare/)

> [“Quietism, Buddhism, and other religions, everything which denies the flesh—is the great inferiority to God in ourselves, an escapism seeking sanctuary through fear of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare/quietism-buddhism-and-other-religions-everything-which-denies-the/)

[Austin Osman Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-osman-spare/)

> [The more Chaotic I am, the more complete I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare/the-more-chaotic-i-am-the-more-complete-i-am/)

[Austin Osman Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-osman-spare/)

> [For I am I: ergo, the truth of myself; my own sphinx, conflict, chaos, vortex—asymmetric to all rhythms, oblique to all paths. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare/for-i-am-i-ergo-the-truth-of-myself-my-own-sphinx-conflict-chaos/)

[Austin Osman Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-osman-spare/)

> [“Belief is ever its own tempter to believe differently. You cannot believe freedom into existence, but can you free yourself from belief ? You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare/belief-is-ever-its-own-tempter-to-believe-differently-you-cannot/)

[Austin Osman Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-osman-spare/)

> [Embrace reality by imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare/embrace-reality-by-imagination/)

[Austin Osman Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-osman-spare/)

> [“Sigils are made by combining the letters of the alphabet after a process of simplification. For example, the word ‘Woman’ in Sigil form is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare/sigils-are-made-by-combining-the-letters-of-the-alphabet-after-a/)

[Austin Osman Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-osman-spare/)

> [“Sigils are the art of believing; my invention for making belief unconscious66 and therefore true belief. A wish to believe something is of necessity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare/sigils-are-the-art-of-believing-my-invention-for-making-belief/)

[Austin Osman Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-osman-spare/)

> [“The intrinsic non-existence at the heart of entity is what Spare designated the Kiã, and he strove to convey his vision in a theory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare/the-intrinsic-non-existence-at-the-heart-of-entity-is-what-spare/)

[Austin Osman Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-osman-spare/)

> [“In what way can it act as master? Through scores of incarnations, the ‘self ’ we end up with is derived from the attributes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare/in-what-way-can-it-act-as-master-through-scores-of-incarnations-the/)

[Austin Osman Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-osman-spare/)

> [“Oh, you men of small pleasure and enterprise, oblivious to your purpose, fault-finding, avaricious and sinful, who cannot live without women and cannot enjoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare/oh-you-men-of-small-pleasure-and-enterprise-oblivious-to-your-purpose/)

[Austin Osman Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-osman-spare/)

> [“Oh God, thou art the stagnant environment’.12 All is quackery: these religions, whose very existence depends on their failure, are full of misery and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare/oh-god-thou-art-the-stagnant-environment-12-all-is-quackery-these/)

[Austin Osman Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-osman-spare/)

> [“The desire to be ‘great’can only become unconscious at a time of vacuity67 and by giving it (Sigil) form. If you become conscious of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare/the-desire-to-be-great-can-only-become-unconscious-at-a-time-of/)

[Austin Osman Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-osman-spare/)

> [“Know all ritual, ceremony, and conditions to be arbitrary (you have yourself to please): in the end, they are just a hindrance and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare/know-all-ritual-ceremony-and-conditions-to-be-arbitrary-you-have/)

[Austin Osman Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-osman-spare/)

> [“The one law of Art is its own spontaneity, its pleasure and freedom. How mystic, pure and simple is its wish; it has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare/the-one-law-of-art-is-its-own-spontaneity-its-pleasure-and-freedom/)

[Austin Osman Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-osman-spare/)

[Explore all 51 Austin Osman Spare quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-osman-spare/)

## More Conformity quotes

> [“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not/)

[Alexander Supertramp Chris McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/)

> [“All to often, on the long road up, young leaders become servants of what is rather than shapers of what might be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/all-to-often-on-the-long-road-up-young-leaders-become-servants-of/)

[John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/)

> [The Chains of conformity click in tiresomely monotonous unison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-sweet/the-chains-of-conformity-click-in-tiresomely-monotonous-unison/)

[Leonard Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-sweet/)

> [No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-shepherd-and-one-herd-everybody-wants-the-same-everybody-is-the/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [A self is a frightening thing to waste, it's the lens through which one's whole life is viewed, and few people are willing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/a-self-is-a-frightening-thing-to-waste-it-s-the-lens-through-which/)

[Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/)

> [Ideation is not a synonym for innovation, conformity is not its simple antonym, and innovation is not the automatic consequence of "creative thinking.".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/ideation-is-not-a-synonym-for-innovation-conformity-is-not-its-simple/)

[Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/)

> [“I lead with the knowingness that my reality conforms to my wishes and desires instantly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-s-baker/i-lead-with-the-knowingness-that-my-reality-conforms-to-my-wishes-and/)

[Robin S. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-s-baker/)

> [Alas, everything that men say to one another is alike; the ideas they exchange are almost always the same, in their conversation. But inside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-de-musset/alas-everything-that-men-say-to-one-another-is-alike-the-ideas-they/)

[Alfred de Musset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-musset/)

> [The search for truth is a cooperative, unending endeavor. We can, and should, engage in it to the extent we can and encourage others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-search-for-truth-is-a-cooperative-unending-endeavor-we-can-and/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [Seeds have the power to preserve species, to enhance cultural as well as genetic diversity, to counter economic monopoly and to check the advance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/seeds-have-the-power-to-preserve-species-to-enhance-cultural-as-well/)

[Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/)

> [“Brontë was attempting to depict a character that adheres to the unchanging principles of her faith though she refused conformity to the particular practices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-swallow-prior/bront-was-attempting-to-depict-a-character-that-adheres-to-the/)

[Karen Swallow Prior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-swallow-prior/)

> [Officers conditioned to conformity in peacetime cannot be expected to behave boldly and flexibly in combat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-yingling/officers-conditioned-to-conformity-in-peacetime-cannot-be-expected-to/)

[Paul Yingling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-yingling/)

> [The more civilized a nation, the more conformed its population, until that civilization's last age arrives, when multiplicity wages war with conformity. The former…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/the-more-civilized-a-nation-the-more-conformed-its-population-until/)

[Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/)

> [Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/society-everywhere-is-in-conspiracy-against-the-manhood-of-every-one/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [Deaths, births, and marriages, considering how much they are separately dependent on the freedom of the human will, should seem to be subject to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/deaths-births-and-marriages-considering-how-much-they-are-separately/)

[Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/)

[Browse all 937 Conformity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformity/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Great thoughts are against all doctrines of conformity",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Austin Osman Spare"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare/great-thoughts-are-against-all-doctrines-of-conformity/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Conformity"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare/great-thoughts-are-against-all-doctrines-of-conformity/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdf/austin-osman-spare-13247_conformity_great-thoughts-are-against-all-doctrines_2044811.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdf/austin-osman-spare-13247_conformity_great-thoughts-are-against-all-doctrines_2044811.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdf/austin-osman-spare-13247_conformity_great-thoughts-are-against-all-doctrines_2044811.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Great thoughts are against all doctrines of conformity” — Austin Osman Spare",
                "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": "Austin Osman Spare",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-osman-spare/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Great thoughts are against all doctrines...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare/great-thoughts-are-against-all-doctrines-of-conformity/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare/great-thoughts-are-against-all-doctrines-of-conformity/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
