--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The decisive question for man is: Is he…" description: "\"The decisive question for man is: Is he related to something infinite or not? That is the telling question of his life.\" — Carl Jung" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c90/carl-jung-274_infinite_the-decisive-question-for-man-is-is-he-r_2425905.jpg" --- # The decisive question for man is: Is he related to… ![“The decisive question for man is: Is he related to something infinite or not? That is the telling question of his life.” quote by Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c90/carl-jung-274_infinite_the-decisive-question-for-man-is-is-he-r_2425905.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c90/carl-jung-274_infinite_the-decisive-question-for-man-is-is-he-r_2425905.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c90/carl-jung-274_infinite_the-decisive-question-for-man-is-is-he-r_2425905.jpg) > “The decisive question for man is: Is he related to something infinite or not? That is the telling question of his life.” [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human purpose hinges on feeling connected to something beyond the finite, shaping life's meaning. **In simple terms:** Life’s meaning comes from linking to the infinite. Key Takeaway Seek connections beyond material existence. Themes philosophy spirituality existentialism meaning Mood thoughtful contemplative Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - religious contemplation - artistic creation - philosophical inquiry - personal growth Key Concepts transcendence self‑realization purpose human nature Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel a sense of something larger than yourself? - How does this belief influence your daily choices? A Different Perspective Not everyone embraces the concept of the infinite. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Decisive Question](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decisive-question-1644169/) [Infinite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infinite/) [Infinite Telling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infinite-telling-1644170/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Memories dreams reflections](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories-dreams-reflections/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Question Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question-life/) [Question Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question-man-383630/) [Related](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/related/) [Related Infinite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/related-infinite-1393657/) [Truth Seeking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-seeking/) ## Related quotes > [The decisive question for man is: Is he related to something infinite or not? That is the telling question of his life. Only if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-decisive-question-for-man-is-is-he-related-to-something-infinite-2/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The decisive question for man is: Is he related to something infinite or not? That is the telling question of his life. Only if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-decisive-question-for-man-is-is-he-related-to-something-infinite-5/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [“The decisive question for man is: Is he related to something infinite or not? That is the telling question of his life. Only if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajiv-parti/the-decisive-question-for-man-is-is-he-related-to-something-infinite/) [Rajiv Parti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajiv-parti/) > [The seat of faith, however, is not consciousness but spontaneous religious experience, which brings the individual's faith into immediate relation with God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-seat-of-faith-however-is-not-consciousness-but-spontaneous/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The bigger the crowd, the more negligible the individual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-bigger-the-crowd-the-more-negligible-the-individual/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [I had always been impressed by the fact that there are surprisingly many individuals who never use their minds if they can avoid it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/i-had-always-been-impressed-by-the-fact-that-there-are-surprisingly/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/even-a-happy-life-cannot-be-without-a-measure-of-darkness/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The unconscious is not just evil by nature, it is also the source of the highest good: not only dark but also light, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-unconscious-is-not-just-evil-by-nature-it-is-also-the-source-of/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Naturally, every age thinks that all ages before it were prejudiced, and today we think this more than ever and are just as wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/naturally-every-age-thinks-that-all-ages-before-it-were-prejudiced/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Observance of customs and laws can very easily be a cloak for a lie so subtle that our fellow human beings are unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/observance-of-customs-and-laws-can-very-easily-be-a-cloak-for-a-lie/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Every father is given the opportunity to corrupt his daughter's nature, and the educator, husband, or psychiatrist then has to face the music. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/every-father-is-given-the-opportunity-to-corrupt-his-daughter-s/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [I am astonished, disappointed, pleased with myself. I am distressed, depressed, rapturous. I am all these things at once and cannot add up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/i-am-astonished-disappointed-pleased-with-myself-i-am-distressed/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [All ages before ours believed in gods in some form or other. Only an unparalleled impoverishment in symbolism could enable us to rediscover the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/all-ages-before-ours-believed-in-gods-in-some-form-or-other-only-an/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [It is the individual's task to differentiate himself from all the others and stand on his own feet. All collective identities . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/it-is-the-individual-s-task-to-differentiate-himself-from-all-the/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [It is sad but unfortunately true that man learns nothing from history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/it-is-sad-but-unfortunately-true-that-man-learns-nothing-from-history/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) ## More by Carl Jung > [No man can change himself into anything from sheer reason; he can only change into what he potentially is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/no-man-can-change-himself-into-anything-from-sheer-reason-he-can-only/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Whenever we touch nature we get clean. People who have got dirty through too much civilization take a walk in the woods, or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/whenever-we-touch-nature-we-get-clean-people-who-have-got-dirty/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [ The self is defined psychologically as the psychic totality of the individual. Anything that a \[person\] postulates as being a greater totality than \[oneself\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-self-is-defined-psychologically-as-the-psychic-totality-of-the/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Metaphysical assertions, however, are statements of the psyche, and are therefore psychological. Whenever the Westerner hears the word “psychological,” it always sounds to him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/metaphysical-assertions-however-are-statements-of-the-psyche-and-are/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [To be normal is the ultimate aim of the unsuccessful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/to-be-normal-is-the-ultimate-aim-of-the-unsuccessful/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Like the sea itself, the unconscious yields an endless and self-replenishing abundance of creatures, a wealth beyond our fathoming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/like-the-sea-itself-the-unconscious-yields-an-endless-and-self/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Astrology is knocking at the gates of our universities: A Tübingen professor has switched over to astrology and a course on astrology was given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/astrology-is-knocking-at-the-gates-of-our-universities-a-t-bingen/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Synchronicity reveals the meaningful connections between the subjective and objective world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/synchronicity-reveals-the-meaningful-connections-between-the/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Instinct is like Nature herself - prodigiously conservative, and yet transcending her own historical conditions in her acts of creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/instinct-is-like-nature-herself-prodigiously-conservative-and-yet/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Paul hardly ever allows the real Jesus of Nazareth to get a word in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/paul-hardly-ever-allows-the-real-jesus-of-nazareth-to-get-a-word-in/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [“He would have lived countless times over the life of the individual, of the family, tribe and people, and he would possess the living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/he-would-have-lived-countless-times-over-the-life-of-the-individual/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [People learn from who we are, rather than what we say, and to believe otherwise is a disease of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/people-learn-from-who-we-are-rather-than-what-we-say-and-to-believe/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Neurosis is an inner cleavage-the state of being at war with oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/neurosis-is-an-inner-cleavage-the-state-of-being-at-war-with-oneself/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [It is sad but unfortunately true that man learns nothing from history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/it-is-sad-but-unfortunately-true-that-man-learns-nothing-from-history/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Life is a luminous pause between two mysteries that are yet one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/life-is-a-luminous-pause-between-two-mysteries-that-are-yet-one/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Explore all 775 Carl Jung quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) ## More Infinite quotes > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [Man has an almost infinite capacity for taking things and people for granted and thereby missing out on the pleasure of being grateful that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/man-has-an-almost-infinite-capacity-for-taking-things-and-people-for/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [If I have a system it is limited to a recognition of what Kierkegaard called 'the infinite qualitative distinction' between time and eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-barth/if-i-have-a-system-it-is-limited-to-a-recognition-of-what-kierkegaard/) [Karl Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-barth/) > [It has no future but itself Its infinite contain Its pastenlightened to perceive New periods of pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-has-no-future-but-itself-its-infinite-contain-its-pastenlightened/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Doctrine tied itself into infinite knots over the realities of sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/doctrine-tied-itself-into-infinite-knots-over-the-realities-of-sex/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [A lost love. Deny it who will, ridicule it, treat it as mere imagination and sentiment, the thing is and will be; and women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/a-lost-love-deny-it-who-will-ridicule-it-treat-it-as-mere-imagination/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [“The God I know is the source of reality, rather than morality; the source of 'what is' rather than the source of 'what ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-j-palmer/the-god-i-know-is-the-source-of-reality-rather-than-morality-the/) [Parker J. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-j-palmer/) > [The human body has been designed to resist an infinite number of changes and attacks brought about by its environment. The secret of good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-johnson/the-human-body-has-been-designed-to-resist-an-infinite-number-of/) [Harry Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-johnson/) > [Marvellous mercies and infinite love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/algernon-charles-swinburne/marvellous-mercies-and-infinite-love/) [Algernon Charles Swinburne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/algernon-charles-swinburne/) > [God is a reality of spirit He cannot be conceived as an object, not even as the very highest object. God is not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-berdyaev/god-is-a-reality-of-spirit-he-cannot-be-conceived-as-an-object-not/) [Nikolai Berdyaev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-berdyaev/) > [If nothing that can be seen can either be God or represent Him to us as He is, then to find God we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-nothing-that-can-be-seen-can-either-be-god-or-represent-him-to-us/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [I've been working with a holistic specialist, trying to bring my body into balance, and part of making that happen is putting my mom's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corbin-bernsen/i-ve-been-working-with-a-holistic-specialist-trying-to-bring-my-body/) [Corbin Bernsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corbin-bernsen/) > [“the infinite Manhattan night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cohn/the-infinite-manhattan-night/) [Rachel Cohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cohn/) [Browse all 3,421 Infinite quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infinite/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The decisive question for man is: Is he related to something infinite or not? That is the telling question of his life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carl Jung" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-decisive-question-for-man-is-is-he-related-to-something-infinite-3/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Infinite" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-decisive-question-for-man-is-is-he-related-to-something-infinite-3/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c90/carl-jung-274_infinite_the-decisive-question-for-man-is-is-he-r_2425905.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c90/carl-jung-274_infinite_the-decisive-question-for-man-is-is-he-r_2425905.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c90/carl-jung-274_infinite_the-decisive-question-for-man-is-is-he-r_2425905.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The decisive question for man is: Is he related to something infinite or not? That is the telling question…” — Carl Jung", "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": "Carl Jung", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The decisive question for man is:...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-decisive-question-for-man-is-is-he-related-to-something-infinite-3/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-decisive-question-for-man-is-is-he-related-to-something-infinite-3/#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 } } ] } ```