Existential Quotes

227 quotes by 151 authors

In those days it was possible for a Greek to flee from an over-abundant reality as though it were but the tricky scheming off the… — Friedrich Nietzsche
Once I gave up the hunt for villains, I had little recourse but to take responsibility for my choices.... Needless to say, this is far… — Barbara Brown Taylor
Evil, in this system of ethics, is that which tears apart, shuts out the other person, raises barriers, sets people against each other. — Rollo May
Every war, every revolution, demands the sacrifice of a generation, of a collectivity, by those who undertake it. — Simone de Beauvoir
To grasp life and meaning, we assume constancy where it does not exist. We name experiences, emotions, and subjective states and assume that what is… — James Bugental
Symbols are specific acts or figures, while myths develop and elaborate these symbols into a story which contains characters and several episodes. The myth is… — Rollo May
All that philosophers have handled for millennia has been conceptual mummies; nothing actual has ever escaped from their hands alive. — Friedrich Nietzsche
What makes us most human is not whether we are or are not biologically driven and determined beings; but, rather, how we respond to this… — Stephen A. Diamond
Terrorism and the whole drug scene are vivid examples of the fact that what persons abhor most of all in life is the possibility that… — Rollo May
Like most human behavior, violence has meaning: it only seems 'senseless' or 'meaningless' to the extent we are unable-or unwilling-to decode it. — Stephen A. Diamond
Indeed, there is nothing more arbitrary than intervening as a stranger in a destiny which is not ours... — Simone de Beauvoir
Philosophical systems are wholly true for their founders only. — Friedrich Nietzsche
There are cases where the slave does not know his servitude and where it is necessary to bring the seed of his liberation to him… — Simone de Beauvoir
It is true that we can see the therapist as a technician only if we have first viewed the patient as some sort of machine. — Viktor E. Frankl
These tasks, and therefore the meaning of life, differ from man to man, and from moment to moment. Thus it is impossible to define the… — Viktor E. Frankl
Figure out for yourself what you want to be really good at, know that you'll never really satisfy yourself that you've made it, and accept… — Robert A. Heinlein
The ultimate source of my mental happiness is my peace of mind. Nothing can destroy this except my own anger. — Dalai Lama
Free will without fate is no more conceivable than spirit without matter, good without evil. — Friedrich Nietzsche
For what endless years this life will have to go on! He felt, with a kind of horror, his own strong youth and the bounding… — Edith Wharton
The printed page conveys information and commitment, and requires active involvement. Television conveys emotion and experience, and it's very limited in what it can do… — Bill Moyers

Who Wrote These Existential Quotes

151 authors contributed a total of 227 Existential Quotes, led by these top contributors: