--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are half ruined by conformity, but we…" description: "\"We are half ruined by conformity, but we should be wholly ruined without it.\" — Charles Dudley Warner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/charles-dudley-warner-8025_conformity_we-are-half-ruined-by-conformity-but-we_560560.jpg" --- # We are half ruined by conformity, but we should be wholly… ![“We are half ruined by conformity, but we should be wholly ruined without it.” quote by Charles Dudley Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/charles-dudley-warner-8025_conformity_we-are-half-ruined-by-conformity-but-we_560560.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/charles-dudley-warner-8025_conformity_we-are-half-ruined-by-conformity-but-we_560560.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/charles-dudley-warner-8025_conformity_we-are-half-ruined-by-conformity-but-we_560560.jpg) > “We are half ruined by conformity, but we should be wholly ruined without it.” [Charles Dudley Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dudley-warner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Conformity can both limit individuality and provide necessary social cohesion; excess of either is harmful. **In simple terms:** Conformity both helps and hinders society. Key Takeaway Balance personal freedom with societal norms. Themes individualism social order balance Mood reflective critical Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - workplace culture - education systems - community traditions - political movements Key Concepts conformity social cohesion personal liberty Questions to Reflect On - How do you maintain authenticity in a conformist environment? - When is conformity beneficial? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on conformity can suppress innovation and diversity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conformity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformity/) [Conformity Wholly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformity-wholly-4648150/) [Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half/) [Half Ruined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half-ruined-4648148/) [Ruined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruined/) [Ruined Conformity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruined-conformity-4648147/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Wholly Ruined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wholly-ruined-4648149/) ## Related quotes > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [Don't ruin the present with the ruined past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-gilchrist/don-t-ruin-the-present-with-the-ruined-past/) [Ellen Gilchrist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-gilchrist/) > [The man of power is ruined by power, the man of money by money, the submissive man by subservience, the pleasure seeker by pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-man-of-power-is-ruined-by-power-the-man-of-money-by-money-the/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [We seem to be young, in a very old Galaxy. We're like kids tiptoeing through a ruined mansion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-baxter/we-seem-to-be-young-in-a-very-old-galaxy-we-re-like-kids-tiptoeing/) [Stephen Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-baxter/) > [Once upon a time, there was a boy and a girl who both loved each other. 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His friendship is capable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dudley-warner/the-wise-man-does-not-permit-himself-to-set-up-even-in-his-own-mind/) [Charles Dudley Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dudley-warner/) > [There are those who say that trees shade the garden too much, and interfere with the growth of the vegetables. There may be something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dudley-warner/there-are-those-who-say-that-trees-shade-the-garden-too-much-and/) [Charles Dudley Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dudley-warner/) > [The onion and its satin wrappings is among the most beautiful of vegetables and is the only one that represents the essence of things.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dudley-warner/the-onion-and-its-satin-wrappings-is-among-the-most-beautiful-of/) [Charles Dudley Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dudley-warner/) > [What small potatoes we all are, compared with what we might be!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dudley-warner/what-small-potatoes-we-all-are-compared-with-what-we-might-be/) [Charles Dudley Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dudley-warner/) > [Nothing is worth reading that does not require an alert mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dudley-warner/nothing-is-worth-reading-that-does-not-require-an-alert-mind/) [Charles Dudley Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dudley-warner/) > [Let us celebrate the soil. 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They are, for the time being, separate, from the world, and have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dudley-warner/happy-is-said-to-be-the-family-which-can-eat-onions-together-they-are/) [Charles Dudley Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dudley-warner/) > [The excellence of a gift lies in its appropriateness rather than in its value](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dudley-warner/the-excellence-of-a-gift-lies-in-its-appropriateness-rather-than-in/) [Charles Dudley Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dudley-warner/) > [The love of dirt is among the earliest of passions, as it is the latest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dudley-warner/the-love-of-dirt-is-among-the-earliest-of-passions-as-it-is-the-latest/) [Charles Dudley Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dudley-warner/) > [I do not know the names of all the weeds and plants, I have to do as Adam did in his garden... name things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dudley-warner/i-do-not-know-the-names-of-all-the-weeds-and-plants-i-have-to-do-as/) [Charles Dudley Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dudley-warner/) [Explore all 85 Charles Dudley Warner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dudley-warner/) ## 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": "We are half ruined by conformity, but we should be wholly ruined without it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Dudley Warner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dudley-warner/we-are-half-ruined-by-conformity-but-we-should-be-wholly-ruined/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conformity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dudley-warner/we-are-half-ruined-by-conformity-but-we-should-be-wholly-ruined/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/charles-dudley-warner-8025_conformity_we-are-half-ruined-by-conformity-but-we_560560.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/charles-dudley-warner-8025_conformity_we-are-half-ruined-by-conformity-but-we_560560.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/charles-dudley-warner-8025_conformity_we-are-half-ruined-by-conformity-but-we_560560.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We are half ruined by conformity, but we should be wholly ruined without it.” — Charles Dudley Warner", "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": "Charles Dudley Warner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dudley-warner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We are half ruined by conformity,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dudley-warner/we-are-half-ruined-by-conformity-but-we-should-be-wholly-ruined/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dudley-warner/we-are-half-ruined-by-conformity-but-we-should-be-wholly-ruined/#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 } } ] } ```