--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...human progress has depended on…" description: "\"“...human progress has depended on enlarging the circle of compassion.”\" — Carl Safina" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b68/carl-safina-12479_compassion_human-progress-has-depended-on-enlarging_1992029.png" --- # ...human progress has depended on enlarging the circle of… ![“...human progress has depended on enlarging the circle of compassion.” quote by Carl Safina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b68/carl-safina-12479_compassion_human-progress-has-depended-on-enlarging_1992029.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b68/carl-safina-12479_compassion_human-progress-has-depended-on-enlarging_1992029.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b68/carl-safina-12479_compassion_human-progress-has-depended-on-enlarging_1992029.png) > ““...human progress has depended on enlarging the circle of compassion.”” [Carl Safina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-safina/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Expanding empathy to more beings drives societal and ecological advancement. **In simple terms:** Compassion growth fuels progress. Key Takeaway Cultivate broader empathy. Themes environment compassion progress ethics Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - policy making - education - community projects - activism Key Concepts moral philosophy social evolution Questions to Reflect On - Who is excluded from our compassion? - How can we measure expanded empathy? A Different Perspective Compassion alone may not solve systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Circle Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circle-compassion-456111/) [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Enlarging Circle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlarging-circle-3458459/) [Human progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-progress/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) ## Related quotes > [“The circle of indifference has the self at its centre. The circle of compassion has others at the centre. The former leads to apathy;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shubha-vilas/the-circle-of-indifference-has-the-self-at-its-centre-the-circle-of/) [Shubha Vilas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shubha-vilas/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [“Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/until-he-extends-the-circle-of-his-compassion-to-all-living-things/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [If we begin to get in touch with whatever we feel with some kind of kindness, our protective shells will melt, and we'll find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/if-we-begin-to-get-in-touch-with-whatever-we-feel-with-some-kind-of/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [As we learn to have compassion for ourselves, the circle of compassion for others - what and whom we can work with, and how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/as-we-learn-to-have-compassion-for-ourselves-the-circle-of-compassion/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [Until he extends his circle of compassion to include all living things, man will not himself find peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/until-he-extends-his-circle-of-compassion-to-include-all-living/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/our-task-must-be-to-free-ourselves-by-widening-our-circle-of-2/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“No daylight to separate us. Only kinship. Inching ourselves closer to creating a community of kinship such that God might recognize it. Soon we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-boyle/no-daylight-to-separate-us-only-kinship-inching-ourselves-closer-to/) [Gregory Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-boyle/) > [The greatest force of personal liberation is the decision to widen our circle of compassion, moving from focus on self to focus on service.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-greatest-force-of-personal-liberation-is-the-decision-to-widen/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Our task is to widen our circle of compassion to include all living beings and all of nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/our-task-is-to-widen-our-circle-of-compassion-to-include-all-living/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“Our task must be to free ourselves... by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/our-task-must-be-to-free-ourselves-by-widening-our-circle-of/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“We are mortals all, human and nonhuman, bound in one fellowship of love and travail. No one escapes the fate of death. But we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-kowalski/we-are-mortals-all-human-and-nonhuman-bound-in-one-fellowship-of-love/) [Gary Kowalski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-kowalski/) > [Knowledge of Nature is an account at bank, where each dividend is added to the principal and the interest is ever compounded; and hence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grove-karl-gilbert/knowledge-of-nature-is-an-account-at-bank-where-each-dividend-is/) [Grove Karl Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grove-karl-gilbert/) > [War, and the preparation for war, are the two greatest obstacles to human progress, fostering a vicious cycle of arms buildups, violence and poverty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scar-arias/war-and-the-preparation-for-war-are-the-two-greatest-obstacles-to/) [Oscar Arias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scar-arias/) > [It is not the child as a physical but as a psychic being that can provide a strong impetus to the betterment of mankind.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/it-is-not-the-child-as-a-physical-but-as-a-psychic-being-that-can/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) ## More by Carl Safina > [We put the murderer in charge of the crime scene.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-safina/we-put-the-murderer-in-charge-of-the-crime-scene/) [Carl Safina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-safina/) > [Try to cut down drastically on plastic. Recycle. Use less energy and more renewable energy. We can all live better by doing better for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-safina/try-to-cut-down-drastically-on-plastic-recycle-use-less-energy-and/) [Carl Safina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-safina/) > [Why would even I say we can't stop drilling in the Gulf? Because we have no alternatives. Whether or not we drill in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-safina/why-would-even-i-say-we-can-t-stop-drilling-in-the-gulf-because-we/) [Carl Safina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-safina/) > [When I was in high school in the early 1970s, we knew we were running out of oil; we knew that easy sources were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-safina/when-i-was-in-high-school-in-the-early-1970s-we-knew-we-were-running/) [Carl Safina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-safina/) > [“Summer has weeks left, but once the calendar displays the word “September,” you’d think it was Latin for “evacuate.” I pity them for missing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-safina/summer-has-weeks-left-but-once-the-calendar-displays-the-word/) [Carl Safina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-safina/) > [“The world belongs to us, the wise ones, we declare...will we be pirates or captains, slumlords or godparents of time? Will we burn the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-safina/the-world-belongs-to-us-the-wise-ones-we-declare-will-we-be-pirates/) [Carl Safina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-safina/) > [To save the seas, we can eat sustainably and be conscious of the seafood we eat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-safina/to-save-the-seas-we-can-eat-sustainably-and-be-conscious-of-the/) [Carl Safina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-safina/) > [If you ask the fish whether they'd rather have an oil spill or a season of fishing, I wouldn't be surprised if they'd vote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-safina/if-you-ask-the-fish-whether-they-d-rather-have-an-oil-spill-or-a/) [Carl Safina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-safina/) > [“In a universe devoid of life, any life at all would be immensely meaningful. We ARE that meaning. “And what we see, “says the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-safina/in-a-universe-devoid-of-life-any-life-at-all-would-be-immensely/) [Carl Safina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-safina/) > [From the happy-go-lucky days of oil exploration and drilling, when a lot of easy sources were being found and easily managed, we're gotten ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-safina/from-the-happy-go-lucky-days-of-oil-exploration-and-drilling-when-a/) [Carl Safina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-safina/) > [But one doesn't wait for a revolution. One becomes it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-safina/but-one-doesn-t-wait-for-a-revolution-one-becomes-it/) [Carl Safina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-safina/) > [“One can fully own a manufactured thing—a toaster, say, or a pair of shoes. But in what reasonable sense can one fully "own" and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-safina/one-can-fully-own-a-manufactured-thing-a-toaster-say-or-a-pair-of/) [Carl Safina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-safina/) > [“Knowing the songs - and I'm still learning - lets one envision birds you can hear but can't see. And as always, the ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-safina/knowing-the-songs-and-i-m-still-learning-lets-one-envision-birds-you/) [Carl Safina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-safina/) > [“The world is changing because we're changing it. And that makes me understand, at least, what kind of person I'd like to be. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-safina/the-world-is-changing-because-we-re-changing-it-and-that-makes-me/) [Carl Safina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-safina/) > [As a teenage fisherman, I watched and followed terns to find fish. Later, I studied terns for my Ph.D.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-safina/as-a-teenage-fisherman-i-watched-and-followed-terns-to-find-fish/) [Carl Safina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-safina/) [Explore all 54 Carl Safina quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-safina/) ## More Compassion quotes > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“I fight with love and kindness as my weapons and compassion as my defense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/i-fight-with-love-and-kindness-as-my-weapons-and-compassion-as-my/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [I really enjoy making people laugh; I've discovered that's a great technique. That's as powerful as stirring their sorrow, stirring their compassion, because that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/i-really-enjoy-making-people-laugh-i-ve-discovered-that-s-a-great/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [“If you refuse to use physical force, then you will be at the mercy of your oppressor!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/segun-magbagbeola/if-you-refuse-to-use-physical-force-then-you-will-be-at-the-mercy-of/) [Segun Magbagbeola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/segun-magbagbeola/) > [For some reason, we are truly convinced that if we criticize ourselves, the criticism will lead to change. If we are harsh, we believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/for-some-reason-we-are-truly-convinced-that-if-we-criticize-ourselves/) [Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/) > [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [We are puzzled and bewildered whenever we see suffering in this world because we have become accustomed to the mercy and the long-suffering of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/we-are-puzzled-and-bewildered-whenever-we-see-suffering-in-this-world/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [“Helpers in every corner, helpers in every hood. That's how we'll make the move, to reform from rude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/helpers-in-every-corner-helpers-in-every-hood-that-s-how-we-ll-make/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [May the gods have mercy on whoever pisses them off, because Zarek and Jericho will have none for them. (Madoc) You’d better be glad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/may-the-gods-have-mercy-on-whoever-pisses-them-off-because-zarek-and/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [When you need empathy, you cannot give empathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/when-you-need-empathy-you-cannot-give-empathy/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [But victimhood was seductive, a release from responsibility and caring. Fear would be transmuted into weary resignation; failure would no longer generate guilt but,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/but-victimhood-was-seductive-a-release-from-responsibility-and-caring/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [“la ilaha ilallah muhammadun rasulullah, alaihi salatullah wa alihi wal ahibba "shine your mercy like the sun, and be gracious as the earth let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-al-habib/la-ilaha-ilallah-muhammadun-rasulullah-alaihi-salatullah-wa-alihi-wal/) [Talib al Habib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-al-habib/) > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) [Browse all 9,892 Compassion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...human progress has depended on enlarging the circle of compassion.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carl Safina" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-safina/human-progress-has-depended-on-enlarging-the-circle-of-compassion/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Compassion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-safina/human-progress-has-depended-on-enlarging-the-circle-of-compassion/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b68/carl-safina-12479_compassion_human-progress-has-depended-on-enlarging_1992029.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b68/carl-safina-12479_compassion_human-progress-has-depended-on-enlarging_1992029.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b68/carl-safina-12479_compassion_human-progress-has-depended-on-enlarging_1992029.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...human progress has depended on enlarging the circle of compassion.” — Carl Safina", "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 Safina", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-safina/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“...human progress has depended on enlarging...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-safina/human-progress-has-depended-on-enlarging-the-circle-of-compassion/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-safina/human-progress-has-depended-on-enlarging-the-circle-of-compassion/#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 } } ] } ```