--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Activity proneness in the service of an…" description: "\"Activity proneness in the service of an ideology ... leads the individual into an irreversible series of commitments from which is forged an identity t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d04/edgar-schein-41428_activity_activity-proneness-in-the-service-of-an_926476.jpg" --- # Activity proneness in the service of an ideology ... leads… ![“Activity proneness in the service of an ideology ... leads the individual into an irreversible series of commitments from which is forged an identity to which the individual inevitably becomes strongly attached psychologically.” quote by Edgar Schein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d04/edgar-schein-41428_activity_activity-proneness-in-the-service-of-an_926476.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d04/edgar-schein-41428_activity_activity-proneness-in-the-service-of-an_926476.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d04/edgar-schein-41428_activity_activity-proneness-in-the-service-of-an_926476.jpg) > “Activity proneness in the service of an ideology ... leads the individual into an irreversible series of commitments from which is forged an identity to which the individual inevitably becomes strongly attached psychologically.” [Edgar Schein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-schein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Commitments to an ideology can lock a person into a self‑reinforcing identity that becomes hard to change. **In simple terms:** Ideology can trap identity. Key Takeaway Beware of rigid ideological ties. Themes identity ideology commitment psychology Mood reflective serious Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - political activism - religious devotion - corporate culture - personal belief systems Key Concepts self‑concept cognitive dissonance social identity Questions to Reflect On - What beliefs define you? - How can you test the flexibility of your identity? A Different Perspective Identity may be reshaped with new experiences and reflection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Commitment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commitment/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Ideology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideology/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Positive atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive-atheism/) ## Related quotes > [To read in the service of any ideology is not, in my judgment, to read at all,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/to-read-in-the-service-of-any-ideology-is-not-in-my-judgment-to-read/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [A reactionary is someone who wants to return to a previous state - that's never a possibility in my books. For me, everything's irreversible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-houellebecq/a-reactionary-is-someone-who-wants-to-return-to-a-previous-state-that/) [Michel Houellebecq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-houellebecq/) > [I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and democracy - but that could change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-quayle/i-believe-we-are-on-an-irreversible-trend-toward-more-freedom-and/) [Dan Quayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-quayle/) > [Women's liberation, if not the most extreme then certainly the most influential neo-Marxist movement in America, has done to the American home what communism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-wisse/women-s-liberation-if-not-the-most-extreme-then-certainly-the-most/) Ruth Wisse > [So many social changes are as irreversible as the reaction when sodium is thrown into water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunnar-myrdal/so-many-social-changes-are-as-irreversible-as-the-reaction-when/) [Gunnar Myrdal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunnar-myrdal/) > [Rape is a crime against sleep and memory; it's afterimage imprints itself like an irreversible negative from the camera obscura of dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/rape-is-a-crime-against-sleep-and-memory-it-s-afterimage-imprints/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [All life pulsates in time to the Earth and our artificial fields cause abnormal reactions in all organisms... Increasing electropollution could set in motion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-o-becker/all-life-pulsates-in-time-to-the-earth-and-our-artificial-fields/) [Robert O. Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-o-becker/) > [“but I do believe one ought to recognize the irreversible nature of reality, particularly if one wants to avoid it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-pritchard/but-i-do-believe-one-ought-to-recognize-the-irreversible-nature-of/) [John Pritchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-pritchard/) > [It is hard to have patience with people who say ''There is no death'' or ''Death doesn't matter'.' There is death. And whatever is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-hard-to-have-patience-with-people-who-say-there-is-no-death-or/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Leave the broken, irreversible past in God's hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/leave-the-broken-irreversible-past-in-god-s-hands-and-step-out-into/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [Accepting the the past is irreversible and the future doesn't exist means we can actually be in the present moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/accepting-the-the-past-is-irreversible-and-the-future-doesn-t-exist/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Look at situations as contingent, not as inevitable, look at them as the result of a series of historical choices made by men and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/look-at-situations-as-contingent-not-as-inevitable-look-at-them-as/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [The revolutionary process by which all books, old and new, in all languages, will soon be available digitally, at practically no cost for storage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-epstein/the-revolutionary-process-by-which-all-books-old-and-new-in-all/) [Jason Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-epstein/) > [Can the state, which represents the whole of society and has the duty of protecting society, fulfill that duty by lowering itself to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/can-the-state-which-represents-the-whole-of-society-and-has-the-duty/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Most people think that aging is irreversible and we know that there are mechanisms even in the human machinery that allow for the reversal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/most-people-think-that-aging-is-irreversible-and-we-know-that-there/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) ## More by Edgar Schein > [The only thing of real importance that leaders do is to create and manage culture. If you do not manage culture, it manages you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-schein/the-only-thing-of-real-importance-that-leaders-do-is-to-create-and/) [Edgar Schein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-schein/) > [I am defining leadership in terms of the role, not the position.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-schein/i-am-defining-leadership-in-terms-of-the-role-not-the-position/) [Edgar Schein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-schein/) > [Leadership is the ability to step outside the culture to start evolutionary change processes that are more adaptive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-schein/leadership-is-the-ability-to-step-outside-the-culture-to-start/) [Edgar Schein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-schein/) > [The company ... has no rights to survive. But value systems and philosophies survive. People take them with them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-schein/the-company-has-no-rights-to-survive-but-value-systems-and/) [Edgar Schein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-schein/) > [Culture is the deeper level of basic assumptions and beliefs that are shared by members of an organization, that operate unconsciously and define in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-schein/culture-is-the-deeper-level-of-basic-assumptions-and-beliefs-that-are/) [Edgar Schein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-schein/) > [The only thing of real importance that leader do is to create and manage culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-schein/the-only-thing-of-real-importance-that-leader-do-is-to-create-and/) [Edgar Schein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-schein/) > [A pattern of shared basic assumptions invented, discovered, or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with its problems of external…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-schein/a-pattern-of-shared-basic-assumptions-invented-discovered-or/) [Edgar Schein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-schein/) > [In most organizational change efforts, it is much easier to draw on the strengths of the culture than to overcome the constraints by changing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-schein/in-most-organizational-change-efforts-it-is-much-easier-to-draw-on/) [Edgar Schein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-schein/) > [Culture is not a surface phenomenon, it is our very care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-schein/culture-is-not-a-surface-phenomenon-it-is-our-very-care/) [Edgar Schein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-schein/) [Explore all 10 Edgar Schein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-schein/) ## More Activity quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Fighting's fun, man. It's a great activity, it's a great sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/fighting-s-fun-man-it-s-a-great-activity-it-s-a-great-sport/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/) [Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [For the longest time, neuroscientists were forced to be passive observers of brain activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gero-miesenbock/for-the-longest-time-neuroscientists-were-forced-to-be-passive/) Gero Miesenbock > [Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/enjoyment-is-not-a-goal-it-is-a-feeling-that-accompanies-important/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Once an activity has been socialized, it is impossible to point out, by concrete example, how men in a free market could better conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/once-an-activity-has-been-socialized-it-is-impossible-to-point-out-by/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [“Fun is not an activity, it is a state of mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/fun-is-not-an-activity-it-is-a-state-of-mind/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I have to consider everything I eat; I consider every activity I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kimball/i-have-to-consider-everything-i-eat-i-consider-every-activity-i-do/) [Charlie Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kimball/) > [Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/almost-all-good-businesses-engage-in-pain-today-gain-tomorrow/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) Browse all 3,263 Activity quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Activity proneness in the service of an ideology ... leads the individual into an irreversible series of commitments from which is forged an identity to which the individual inevitably becomes strongly attached psychologically.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edgar Schein" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-schein/activity-proneness-in-the-service-of-an-ideology-leads-the-individual/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Activity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-schein/activity-proneness-in-the-service-of-an-ideology-leads-the-individual/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d04/edgar-schein-41428_activity_activity-proneness-in-the-service-of-an_926476.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d04/edgar-schein-41428_activity_activity-proneness-in-the-service-of-an_926476.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d04/edgar-schein-41428_activity_activity-proneness-in-the-service-of-an_926476.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Activity proneness in the service of an ideology ... leads the individual into an irreversible series of…” — Edgar Schein", "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": "Edgar Schein", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-schein/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Activity proneness in the service of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-schein/activity-proneness-in-the-service-of-an-ideology-leads-the-individual/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-schein/activity-proneness-in-the-service-of-an-ideology-leads-the-individual/#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 } } ] } ```