Happiness Quote by David Bohm
““If we think, for example, that thought is coming from me individually, this will affect how thought works. So we have to look at both content and structure. We have the sense that we “know” all sorts of things. But we could say that perhaps it is not “we,” but knowledge itself which knows all sorts of things. The suggestion is that knowledge – which is thought – is moving autonomously: it passes from one person to another. There is a whole pool of knowledge for the whole human race, like different computers that share a pool of knowledge. This pool of thought has been developing for many thousands of years, and it is full of all sorts of content. This knowledge, or thought, knows all of that content, but it doesn’t know what it is doing. This knowledge knows itself wrongly: it knows itself as doing nothing. It therefore says, “I am not responsible for any of these problems. I’m just here for you to use.””
About This Quote
Source Lecture: Unknown source
Thought and knowledge are collective, moving autonomously across individuals, creating a shared pool that operates beyond personal responsibility.
In simple terms: Knowledge is a shared, autonomous pool.
Key Takeaway
Consider the collective nature of thought.
Themes
collective knowledge
responsibility
philosophy
mind
autonomy
Mood
reflective
introspective
Type
philosophical
inspirational
When to use this quote
- education
- research
- teamwork
- public policy
Key Concepts
systems theory
epistemology
Questions to Reflect On
- In what ways do you contribute to the collective knowledge pool?
- How can we balance personal responsibility with shared knowledge?
A Different Perspective
Individual accountability may be overstated.
![“The system [of thought] doesn't stay with the difficult problem that produces unpleasant feelings. It's conditioned somehow to move as fast as it can toward more pleasant feelings, without actually facing the thing that's making the unpleasant feeling.” quote by David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e2a/david-bohm-4805_difficult_the-system-of-thought-doesn-t-stay-with_8291.jpg)
