--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Each generation lives in the absolute: it…" description: "\"“Each generation lives in the absolute: it behaves as if it had reached the apex if not the end of history.”\" — Emil M. Cioran" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c29/emil-m-cioran-2951_absolute_each-generation-lives-in-the-absolute-it_2266590.jpg" --- # Each generation lives in the absolute: it behaves as if it… ![“Each generation lives in the absolute: it behaves as if it had reached the apex if not the end of history.” quote by Emil M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c29/emil-m-cioran-2951_absolute_each-generation-lives-in-the-absolute-it_2266590.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c29/emil-m-cioran-2951_absolute_each-generation-lives-in-the-absolute-it_2266590.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c29/emil-m-cioran-2951_absolute_each-generation-lives-in-the-absolute-it_2266590.jpg) > ““Each generation lives in the absolute: it behaves as if it had reached the apex if not the end of history.”” [Emil M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-m-cioran/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Each generation believes it has reached the pinnacle of history, reflecting hubris and existential uncertainty. **In simple terms:** People think they’re at history’s peak. Key Takeaway Question assumptions of progress. Themes history hubris existentialism Mood skeptical thoughtful Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - political analysis - cultural critique - personal growth Key Concepts philosophical skepticism generational narrative Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel we are at a historical apex? - What does this belief limit? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on progress can blind to continuity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ## Related quotes > [Everyone in our generation lives in a world where you're surrounded by all sorts of music all the time. 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The only way it could possibly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-parker/it-would-be-incredibly-presumptuous-and-self-serving-of-me-to-believe/) [Sean Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-parker/) > [Are there still other possibilities? Of course there are. What is important to recognize is that all three historical options are really there, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/are-there-still-other-possibilities-of-course-there-are-what-is/) [Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/) > [The avowed aim of all utopian movements is to put an end to history and to establish a final and permanent calm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-avowed-aim-of-all-utopian-movements-is-to-put-an-end-to-history/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [I will end the history of division and conflict through reconciliation and fairness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/park-geun-hye/i-will-end-the-history-of-division-and-conflict-through/) [Park Geun-hye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/park-geun-hye/) > [But Maastricht was not the end of history. It was a first step towards a Europe of growth, of employment, a social Europe. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurent-fabius/but-maastricht-was-not-the-end-of-history-it-was-a-first-step-towards/) [Laurent Fabius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurent-fabius/) > [After America won the Cold War, some believed we had come to the 'end of history,' and budget-cutters celebrated the so-called 'peace dividend.' As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gaffney/after-america-won-the-cold-war-some-believed-we-had-come-to-the-end/) [Frank Gaffney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gaffney/) > [Pickin up things we shouldnt read. It looks like the end of history as we know. Its just the end of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/panic-at-the-disco/pickin-up-things-we-shouldnt-read-it-looks-like-the-end-of-history-as/) [Panic At The Disco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/panic-at-the-disco/) > [Every end in history necessarily contains a new beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/every-end-in-history-necessarily-contains-a-new-beginning/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [“Each people behaves as if it had reached the end of history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/each-people-behaves-as-if-it-had-reached-the-end-of-history/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You need to read more science fiction. Nobody who reads science fiction comes out with this crap about the end of history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/you-need-to-read-more-science-fiction-nobody-who-reads-science/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [Nature is actually the goal at the end of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/nature-is-actually-the-goal-at-the-end-of-history/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The naive thing I suppose is simply that we thought, in the words of Francis Fukuyama, that we had reached the end of history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-meyer/the-naive-thing-i-suppose-is-simply-that-we-thought-in-the-words-of/) [Nicholas Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-meyer/) ## More by Emil M. Cioran > [“If we do not regard ourselves as entrusted with a mission, existence is difficult; action, impossible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-m-cioran/if-we-do-not-regard-ourselves-as-entrusted-with-a-mission-existence/) [Emil M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-m-cioran/) > [“In the fact of being born there is such an absence of necessity that when you think about it a little more than usual,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-m-cioran/in-the-fact-of-being-born-there-is-such-an-absence-of-necessity-that/) [Emil M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-m-cioran/) > [“Filming a scene, there are countless takes of the same incident. Someone watching in the street - obviously a provincial - can't get over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-m-cioran/filming-a-scene-there-are-countless-takes-of-the-same-incident/) [Emil M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-m-cioran/) > [“If I reflect on any moment of my life, the most feverish or the most neutral, what remains? — and what difference is there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-m-cioran/if-i-reflect-on-any-moment-of-my-life-the-most-feverish-or-the-most/) [Emil M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-m-cioran/) > [“You’re against everything that’s been done since the last war,” said the very up-to-date lady. “You’ve got the wrong date: I’m against everything that’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-m-cioran/you-re-against-everything-that-s-been-done-since-the-last-war-said/) [Emil M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-m-cioran/) > [“Call it insensitivity or a passion for remorse, I have never undertaken to rescue what little Absolute this world contains.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-m-cioran/call-it-insensitivity-or-a-passion-for-remorse-i-have-never/) [Emil M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-m-cioran/) > [“Nothing more aggravating than a seamless, unremitting irony which leaves you no time to breathe and still less to think; which instead of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-m-cioran/nothing-more-aggravating-than-a-seamless-unremitting-irony-which/) [Emil M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-m-cioran/) > [“What makes bad poets worse is that they read only poets (just as bad philosophers read only philosophers), whereas they would benefit much more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-m-cioran/what-makes-bad-poets-worse-is-that-they-read-only-poets-just-as-bad/) [Emil M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-m-cioran/) > [“The worst crimes are committed out of enthusiasm, a morbid state responsible for almost all public and private disasters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-m-cioran/the-worst-crimes-are-committed-out-of-enthusiasm-a-morbid-state/) [Emil M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-m-cioran/) > [“There is nothing to say about anything. So there can be no limit to the number of books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-m-cioran/there-is-nothing-to-say-about-anything-so-there-can-be-no-limit-to/) [Emil M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-m-cioran/) > [“Every form of haste, even toward the good, betrays some mental disorder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-m-cioran/every-form-of-haste-even-toward-the-good-betrays-some-mental-disorder/) [Emil M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-m-cioran/) > [“The emphasis on birth is no more than the craving for the insoluble carried to the point of insanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-m-cioran/the-emphasis-on-birth-is-no-more-than-the-craving-for-the-insoluble/) [Emil M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-m-cioran/) > [“There are nights that the most ingenious torturers could not have invented. We emerge from them in pieces, stupid, dazed, with neither memories nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-m-cioran/there-are-nights-that-the-most-ingenious-torturers-could-not-have/) [Emil M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-m-cioran/) > [“When I torment myself a little too much for not working, I tell myself that I might just as well be dead and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-m-cioran/when-i-torment-myself-a-little-too-much-for-not-working-i-tell-myself/) [Emil M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-m-cioran/) > [“Truth remains hidden to the man filled with desire and hatred” (Buddha)…. Which is to say, to every man alive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-m-cioran/truth-remains-hidden-to-the-man-filled-with-desire-and-hatred-buddha/) [Emil M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-m-cioran/) [Explore all 117 Emil M. Cioran quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-m-cioran/) ## More Absolute quotes > [“In the worldly life, due to maadakta (intoxication of the ego of ‘I am Chandubhai’), one has completely lost awareness of everything about one’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/in-the-worldly-life-due-to-maadakta-intoxication-of-the-ego-of-i-am/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [Absolute is a game with only one player where Absolute forgets itself so it would have a reason to fulfill the motion while returning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/absolute-is-a-game-with-only-one-player-where-absolute-forgets-itself/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [“The necessity of nothingness does not create anything. The real value and meaning of the Being are not in its necessity but in its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/the-necessity-of-nothingness-does-not-create-anything-the-real-value/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [Anarchy is the stepping stone to absolute power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/anarchy-is-the-stepping-stone-to-absolute-power/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [I can like something. You can like something. It's not an absolute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-i-am/i-can-like-something-you-can-like-something-it-s-not-an-absolute/) [will.i.am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-i-am/) > [Nothing is absolute. Everything changes, everything moves, everything revolves, everything flies and goes away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/nothing-is-absolute-everything-changes-everything-moves-everything/) [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) > [I - it's simply not for me to evaluate an independent rating agency's processes. But I will say that there was reason to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-carney/i-it-s-simply-not-for-me-to-evaluate-an-independent-rating-agency-s/) [Jay Carney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-carney/) > [Absolute morality is the regulation of conduct in such a way that pain shall not be inflicted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/absolute-morality-is-the-regulation-of-conduct-in-such-a-way-that/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [What is liberty? There is no such thing as absolute liberty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benito-mussolini/what-is-liberty-there-is-no-such-thing-as-absolute-liberty/) [Benito Mussolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benito-mussolini/) > [Doing the right thing at all costs is an absolute, and only a sith deals in absolutes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-filoni/doing-the-right-thing-at-all-costs-is-an-absolute-and-only-a-sith/) [Dave Filoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-filoni/) > [“Energy is the world-born phenomenon, the world that puts itself in motion and flies into space by receiving space into itself. From this point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/energy-is-the-world-born-phenomenon-the-world-that-puts-itself-in/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [“As we see it, space is possible only when the primordial Being swallows emptiness. Space is born when the Being accepts emptiness, the Nonbeing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/as-we-see-it-space-is-possible-only-when-the-primordial-being/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [Absolute faith can blind you to the consequences of the actions you allow. It can tell you it's okay to drop bombs on another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-denton/absolute-faith-can-blind-you-to-the-consequences-of-the-actions-you/) [Andrew Denton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-denton/) > [“Zero is a gateway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/zero-is-a-gateway/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [Absolute perfection is here and now, not in some future, near or far.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/absolute-perfection-is-here-and-now-not-in-some-future-near-or-far/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) Browse all 631 Absolute quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Each generation lives in the absolute: it behaves as if it had reached the apex if not the end of history.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emil M. 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