--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That men have an interest in knowing the…" description: "\"That men have an interest in knowing the world which surrounds them, and consequently that their reflection should have been applied to it at an early ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04a/emile-durkheim-7413_early_that-men-have-an-interest-in-knowing-the_1125821.jpg" --- # That men have an interest in knowing the world which… ![“That men have an interest in knowing the world which surrounds them, and consequently that their reflection should have been applied to it at an early date, is something that everyone will readily admit.” quote by Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04a/emile-durkheim-7413_early_that-men-have-an-interest-in-knowing-the_1125821.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04a/emile-durkheim-7413_early_that-men-have-an-interest-in-knowing-the_1125821.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04a/emile-durkheim-7413_early_that-men-have-an-interest-in-knowing-the_1125821.jpg) > “That men have an interest in knowing the world which surrounds them, and consequently that their reflection should have been applied to it at an early date, is something that everyone will readily admit.” [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People seek to understand their world, and they project their own perspectives onto it early in life. **In simple terms:** We try to understand the world and reflect ourselves onto it. Key Takeaway Cultivate self‑awareness and critical thinking. Themes knowledge self‑reflection education society Mood analytical inquisitive Type philosophical academic When to use this quote - education - research - personal growth - community dialogue Key Concepts epistemology social theory Questions to Reflect On - How does your background shape your worldview? - What steps improve objective understanding? A Different Perspective Self‑projection can bias understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Reflection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reflection/) [Self-Awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-awareness-2/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Reality manifests itself as constant and objective - independent of us, but as changeable in space and time. 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I freely and readily admit that. But I consider that one of my strongest qualities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-palmer/i-m-a-dreamer-i-freely-and-readily-admit-that-but-i-consider-that-one/) [Arnold Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-palmer/) > [There are some faults which men readily admit, but others not so readily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/there-are-some-faults-which-men-readily-admit-but-others-not-so/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Some of their faults men readily admit, but others not so readily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/some-of-their-faults-men-readily-admit-but-others-not-so-readily/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“This could have occurred nowhere but in England, where men and sea interpenetrate, so to speak—the sea entering into the life of most men,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/this-could-have-occurred-nowhere-but-in-england-where-men-and-sea/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [The disadvantage of men not knowing the past is that they do not know the present. 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I was, and I knew it, an ordinary person who long after he was grown retained the childhood assumption that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-finney/i-was-stunned-i-was-and-i-knew-it-an-ordinary-person-who-long-after/) [Jack Finney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-finney/) > [Generally, I just think there is a real lacking in men knowing how to hit on women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-ratajkowski/generally-i-just-think-there-is-a-real-lacking-in-men-knowing-how-to/) [Emily Ratajkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-ratajkowski/) > [It is a strong proof of men knowing most things before birth, that when mere children they grasp innumerable facts with such speed as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/it-is-a-strong-proof-of-men-knowing-most-things-before-birth-that/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [They were watching, out there past men's knowing, where stars are drowning and whales ferry their vast souls through the black and seamless sea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-were-watching-out-there-past-men-s-knowing-where-stars-are/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [I will not be concerned at other men's not knowing me;I will be concerned at my own want of ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/i-will-not-be-concerned-at-other-men-s-not-knowing-me-i-will-be/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [The disadvantage of men not knowing the past is that they do not know the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/the-disadvantage-of-men-not-knowing-the-past-is-that-they-do-not-know/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) ## More by Emile Durkheim > [Man seeks to learn, and man kills himself because of the loss of cohesion in his religious society; he does not kill himself because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/man-seeks-to-learn-and-man-kills-himself-because-of-the-loss-of/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [Irrespective of any external, regulatory force, our capacity for feeling is in itself an insatiable and bottomless abyss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/irrespective-of-any-external-regulatory-force-our-capacity-for/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [Man's characteristic privilege is that the bond he accepts is not physical but moral; that is, social. He is governed not by a material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/man-s-characteristic-privilege-is-that-the-bond-he-accepts-is-not/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [It is only by historical analysis that we can discover what makes up man, since it is only in the course of history that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/it-is-only-by-historical-analysis-that-we-can-discover-what-makes-up/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [There is no sociology worthy of the name which does not possess a historical character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/there-is-no-sociology-worthy-of-the-name-which-does-not-possess-a/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [The liberal professions, and in a wider sense the well-to-do classes, are certainly those with the liveliest taste for knowledge and the most active…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/the-liberal-professions-and-in-a-wider-sense-the-well-to-do-classes/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [If religion has given birth to all that is essential in society, it is because the idea of society is the soul of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/if-religion-has-given-birth-to-all-that-is-essential-in-society-it-is/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [The man whose whole activity is diverted to inner meditation becomes insensible to all his surroundings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/the-man-whose-whole-activity-is-diverted-to-inner-meditation-becomes/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [Man is a moral being, only because he lives in society. Let all social life disappear and morality will disappear with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/man-is-a-moral-being-only-because-he-lives-in-society-let-all-social/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [One does not advance when one walks toward no goal, or - which is the same thing - when his goal is infinity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/one-does-not-advance-when-one-walks-toward-no-goal-or-which-is-the/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [The roles of art, morality, religion, political faith, science itself are not to repair organic exhaustion nor to provide sound functioning of the organs.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/the-roles-of-art-morality-religion-political-faith-science-itself-are/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [One cannot long remain so absorbed in contemplation of emptiness without being increasingly attracted to it. In vain, one bestows on it the name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/one-cannot-long-remain-so-absorbed-in-contemplation-of-emptiness/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [The man whose whole activity is diverted to inner meditation becomes insensible to all his surroundings. His passions are mere appearances, being sterile. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/the-man-whose-whole-activity-is-diverted-to-inner-meditation-becomes-2/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [By definition, sacred beings are separated beings. That which characterizes them is that there is a break of continuity between them and the profane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/by-definition-sacred-beings-are-separated-beings-that-which/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [For a long time it has been known that the first systems of representations with which men have pictured to themselves the world and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/for-a-long-time-it-has-been-known-that-the-first-systems-of/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) [Explore all 87 Emile Durkheim quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) ## More Early quotes > [I was also known as Frodo because I was an early adopter of 'The Lord of the Rings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/i-was-also-known-as-frodo-because-i-was-an-early-adopter-of-the-lord/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. 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