--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An abiding and central concern of…" description: "\"An abiding and central concern of philosophy and religion alike is the fear that the world is alien to human beings, that nature is, in Hegel's words, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62a/david-e-cooper-13916_abiding_an-abiding-and-central-concern-of-philos_1286074.jpg" --- # An abiding and central concern of philosophy and religion… ![“An abiding and central concern of philosophy and religion alike is the fear that the world is alien to human beings, that nature is, in Hegel's words, 'out and out other' to 'spirit'. It's easy enough to see how 'constructivist' or 'humanist' conceptions are efforts to dispel this fear.” quote by David E. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62a/david-e-cooper-13916_abiding_an-abiding-and-central-concern-of-philos_1286074.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62a/david-e-cooper-13916_abiding_an-abiding-and-central-concern-of-philos_1286074.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62a/david-e-cooper-13916_abiding_an-abiding-and-central-concern-of-philos_1286074.jpg) > “An abiding and central concern of philosophy and religion alike is the fear that the world is alien to human beings, that nature is, in Hegel's words, 'out and out other' to 'spirit'. It's easy enough to see how 'constructivist' or 'humanist' conceptions are efforts to dispel this fear.” [David E. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-cooper/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Philosophy and religion share a fear that the world is alien to humanity; constructivist and humanist ideas try to overcome this alienation. **In simple terms:** Both fields worry the world feels foreign; ideas aim to bridge the gap. Key Takeaway Explore perspectives that humanize the world. Themes philosophy religion alienation humanism constructivism Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type academic analytical When to use this quote - academic seminars - interfaith dialogues - personal reflection Key Concepts ontology existentialism epistemology Questions to Reflect On - What makes the world feel alien? - How can humanist ideas reduce that feeling? A Different Perspective Alienation may persist despite intellectual attempts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abiding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abiding/) [Aliens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aliens/) [Conception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conception/) [Concern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concern/) [Constructivist Humanist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constructivist-humanist-4173220/) [Easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easy/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hegel/) [Hegel Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hegel-words-3568845/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humanist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanist/) [Humanist Conceptions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanist-conceptions-4173219/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Nature Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-hegel-4173218/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Philosophy and religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-and-religion/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“The fascist appeal to ‘human nature’ is to our passions, to our collectivist mystical needs, to ‘man the unknown’. Adopting Hegel’s words just quoted,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-r-popper/the-fascist-appeal-to-human-nature-is-to-our-passions-to-our/) [Karl R. Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-r-popper/) > [The constancies and equivalences adumbrated work havoc with such settled topical blocks as myth and philosophy, natural reason and revelation, philosophy and religion, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-voegelin/the-constancies-and-equivalences-adumbrated-work-havoc-with-such/) [Eric Voegelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-voegelin/) > [The Bible is not my book and Christianity is not my religion. I could never give assent to the long complicated statements of Christian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/the-bible-is-not-my-book-and-christianity-is-not-my-religion-i-could/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Believe those who seek the truth, doubt those who find it; doubt all, but do not doubt yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/believe-those-who-seek-the-truth-doubt-those-who-find-it-doubt-all/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [Man would indeeded be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/man-would-indeeded-be-in-a-poor-way-if-he-had-to-be-restrained-by/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“To explore and affiliate with life is a deep and complicated process in mental development. To an extent still undervalued in philosophy and religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-o-wilson/to-explore-and-affiliate-with-life-is-a-deep-and-complicated-process/) [Edward O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-o-wilson/) > [“Let us settle ourselves, and work and wedge our feet downward through the mud and slush of opinion, and prejudice, and tradition, and delusion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/let-us-settle-ourselves-and-work-and-wedge-our-feet-downward-through/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [For good people to do evil things, it takes religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/for-good-people-to-do-evil-things-it-takes-religion/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [I had wished to find in philosophy and religion a remedy for my disgrace; I searched out an asylum to secure me from love...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-abelard/i-had-wished-to-find-in-philosophy-and-religion-a-remedy-for-my/) [Peter Abelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abelard/) > [Man is a Religious Animal. He is the only Religious Animal. He is the only animal that has the True Religion - several of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/man-is-a-religious-animal-he-is-the-only-religious-animal-he-is-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [until it had been clearly explained that men were always and always partly wrong in all their ideas, life would be full of poison…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-richardson/until-it-had-been-clearly-explained-that-men-were-always-and-always/) [Dorothy Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-richardson/) > [ I have recently been examining all the known superstitions of the world and do not find in our particular superstition \[Christianity\] one redeeming feature. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-have-recently-been-examining-all-the-known-superstitions-of-the/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Science, philosophy and religion are bound to converge as they draw nearer to the whole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/science-philosophy-and-religion-are-bound-to-converge-as-they-draw/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [When we begin to look around us, to observe individuals and societies, and to study philosophies and religions, we realize that our loneliness is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/when-we-begin-to-look-around-us-to-observe-individuals-and-societies/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/with-or-without-religion-you-would-have-good-people-doing-good-things/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) ## More by David E. Cooper > [What impressed me about Plato and Sartre was their conviction that we should live our lives in the light of big truths about reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-cooper/what-impressed-me-about-plato-and-sartre-was-their-conviction-that-we/) [David E. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-cooper/) > [The main objection to the 'scientistic' claim that physics describes the world as it is in itself is that you 'can't weed out' the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-cooper/the-main-objection-to-the-scientistic-claim-that-physics-describes/) [David E. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-cooper/) > [It's as if, for Schopenhauer and perhaps Kant, the mind is there up and running, equipped with its categories and concepts that it then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-cooper/it-s-as-if-for-schopenhauer-and-perhaps-kant-the-mind-is-there-up-and/) [David E. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-cooper/) > [I don't think we should just 'muddle through' and ignore the question of life's meaning. Or better, perhaps, I don't think it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-cooper/i-don-t-think-we-should-just-muddle-through-and-ignore-the-question/) [David E. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-cooper/) > [In all great civilizations, garden discourses have belonged to larger discourses about beauty, the good life, the relation of humankind to nature, and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-cooper/in-all-great-civilizations-garden-discourses-have-belonged-to-larger/) [David E. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-cooper/) > [There is something myopic and stunted in focussing only on the meaning of words and sentences. And this myopia is especially unfortunate when combined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-cooper/there-is-something-myopic-and-stunted-in-focussing-only-on-the/) [David E. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-cooper/) > [It turns out, in fact, that 'theories of meaning' are typically not about meaning in an everyday or 'folk' sense at all. They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-cooper/it-turns-out-in-fact-that-theories-of-meaning-are-typically-not-about/) [David E. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-cooper/) > [In the doctrine of the world and humankind as 'will to power and nothing else', Heidegger identified not an antidote to nihilism, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-cooper/in-the-doctrine-of-the-world-and-humankind-as-will-to-power-and/) [David E. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-cooper/) > [How people make gardens is bound to reflect a way of experiencing the natural world, while at the same time this experience of nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-cooper/how-people-make-gardens-is-bound-to-reflect-a-way-of-experiencing-the/) [David E. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-cooper/) > [The focus of environmental ethics should indeed be on the virtues and how these inform our relationship to natural environments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-cooper/the-focus-of-environmental-ethics-should-indeed-be-on-the-virtues-and/) [David E. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-cooper/) > [For many years, questions about the meaning of life were dismissed as senseless. We were told that life, not being a word or sentence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-cooper/for-many-years-questions-about-the-meaning-of-life-were-dismissed-as/) [David E. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-cooper/) > [I'm very sceptical about the prospects for 'big' environmental causes - 'saving the planet', halving the world's population, ending the exploitation of animals, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-cooper/i-m-very-sceptical-about-the-prospects-for-big-environmental-causes/) [David E. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-cooper/) > [I think that Asian versions of 'ineffabilism' have an advantage over the best-known Western ones, like Schopenhauer's. They are free from the dualistic image…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-cooper/i-think-that-asian-versions-of-ineffabilism-have-an-advantage-over/) [David E. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-cooper/) > [The aim of dis-incumbence is a hubristic one, for it requires confidence in the ability of men and women to live in the belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-cooper/the-aim-of-dis-incumbence-is-a-hubristic-one-for-it-requires/) [David E. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-cooper/) > [There is no reason at all to think that creatures with very different purposes and concerns would arrive at the scientific image, and no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-cooper/there-is-no-reason-at-all-to-think-that-creatures-with-very-different/) [David E. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-cooper/) [Explore all 48 David E. Cooper quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-cooper/) ## More Abiding quotes > [If there is an abiding theme in 'The Pursuit of Happiness,' it is the idea that you come into the world already shaped by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-kennedy/if-there-is-an-abiding-theme-in-the-pursuit-of-happiness-it-is-the/) [Douglas Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-kennedy/) > [Why is it, my shadow-striding friend, that we don't fear dreams? We lose consciousness, lose control, things happen with no apparent logic and abiding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/why-is-it-my-shadow-striding-friend-that-we-don-t-fear-dreams-we-lose/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [I think that there is just a deep and abiding sexism that's part of your life from the moment that you're conscious as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-w-garcia/i-think-that-there-is-just-a-deep-and-abiding-sexism-that-s-part-of/) [Liz W. Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-w-garcia/) > [Faith is the capacity of the soul to perceive the abiding, the invisible in the visible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-baeck/faith-is-the-capacity-of-the-soul-to-perceive-the-abiding-the/) [Leo Baeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-baeck/) > [I think we have two conflicting traditions in this country. I think it's important for us to recognize that we've got a tradition of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-think-we-have-two-conflicting-traditions-in-this-country-i-think-it/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [A wicked mortal is not the idea of God. He is little else than the expression of error. To suppose that sin, lust, hatred,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-baker-eddy/a-wicked-mortal-is-not-the-idea-of-god-he-is-little-else-than-the/) [Mary Baker Eddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-baker-eddy/) > [When the penalty for a policeman's mistake is to put a criminal back out on the street, then we are hurting America; we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/when-the-penalty-for-a-policeman-s-mistake-is-to-put-a-criminal-back/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) > [The value of a dollar is to buy just things; a dollar goes on increasing in value with all the genius and all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-value-of-a-dollar-is-to-buy-just-things-a-dollar-goes-on/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The aims of these three groups are entirely irreconcilable. The aim of the High is to remain where they are. The aim of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-aims-of-these-three-groups-are-entirely-irreconcilable-the-aim-of/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [After more than two decades of trying to destroy the firearms rights of more than 80 million law-abiding American gun owners - and statistically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-gottlieb/after-more-than-two-decades-of-trying-to-destroy-the-firearms-rights/) [Alan Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-gottlieb/) > [When you defile the pleasant streams, And the wild bird's abiding place, You massacre a million dreams, And cast your spittle in God's face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-drinkwater/when-you-defile-the-pleasant-streams-and-the-wild-bird-s-abiding/) [John Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-drinkwater/) > [How can we hope to retain our freedom through the generations if we fail to teach our young that our liberty springs from an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-falwell/how-can-we-hope-to-retain-our-freedom-through-the-generations-if-we/) [Jonathan Falwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-falwell/) > [Love and friendship, two of life's abiding rewards, are endangered species in Hollywood. People crave both, mistaking alliance for friendship, lust for love, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-obst/love-and-friendship-two-of-life-s-abiding-rewards-are-endangered/) [Lynda Obst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-obst/) > [In a government like ours, the Crown is the abiding and unshakable element in government; politicians may come and go, but the Crown remains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/in-a-government-like-ours-the-crown-is-the-abiding-and-unshakable/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [I sometimes forget that life is fragile. The fact that I have more time to dream my dreams and take my ease is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luci-swindoll/i-sometimes-forget-that-life-is-fragile-the-fact-that-i-have-more/) [Luci Swindoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luci-swindoll/) [Browse all 387 Abiding quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abiding/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "An abiding and central concern of philosophy and religion alike is the fear that the world is alien to human beings, that nature is, in Hegel's words, 'out and out other' to 'spirit'. It's easy enough to see how 'constructivist' or 'humanist' conceptions are efforts to dispel this fear.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David E. 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