--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The liberal professions, and in a wider…" description: "\"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 in..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/529/emile-durkheim-7413_active_the-liberal-professions-and-in-a-wider-s_178804.jpg" --- # The liberal professions, and in a wider sense the… ![“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 intellectual life.” quote by Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/529/emile-durkheim-7413_active_the-liberal-professions-and-in-a-wider-s_178804.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/529/emile-durkheim-7413_active_the-liberal-professions-and-in-a-wider-s_178804.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/529/emile-durkheim-7413_active_the-liberal-professions-and-in-a-wider-s_178804.jpg) > “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 intellectual life.” [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. Affluent and professional classes tend to have a strong appetite for knowledge and active intellectual engagement. **In simple terms:** Well-to-do people often love learning and thinking. Key Takeaway Encourage intellectual pursuits across all groups. Themes education social class intellectual life Mood thoughtful analytical Type sociological observational When to use this quote - policy making - education reform - community programs - media - public speaking Key Concepts knowledge seeking learning culture social stratification Questions to Reflect On - How can we broaden intellectual engagement beyond elite groups? - What role does socioeconomic status play in learning? A Different Perspective Access to knowledge may still be limited by systemic barriers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Intellectual life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual-life/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Liberal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberal/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Professions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professions/) ## Related quotes > [The joy of discovery is certainly the liveliest that the mind of man can ever feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-bernard/the-joy-of-discovery-is-certainly-the-liveliest-that-the-mind-of-man/) [Claude Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-bernard/) > [I do have a peripatetic and active intellectual curiosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-kawasaki/i-do-have-a-peripatetic-and-active-intellectual-curiosity/) [Guy Kawasaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-kawasaki/) > [A slender acquaintance with the world must convince every man, that actions, not words, are the true criterion of the attachment of his friends,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/a-slender-acquaintance-with-the-world-must-convince-every-man-that/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [There are professions more harmful than industrial design, but only a few.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-papanek/there-are-professions-more-harmful-than-industrial-design-but-only-a/) [Victor Papanek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-papanek/) > [“Compared to art, all other professions are but chores.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-l-rese/compared-to-art-all-other-professions-are-but-chores/) [T.L. Rese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-l-rese/) > [Literature is the most noble of professions. In fact, it is about the only one fit for a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/literature-is-the-most-noble-of-professions-in-fact-it-is-about-the/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [I may have come into politics with an unacknowledged condescension toward the game and the people who played it, but I left with more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/i-may-have-come-into-politics-with-an-unacknowledged-condescension/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [Art and relligion are not professions: they are not occupations for which men can be paid. The artist and the saint do what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/art-and-relligion-are-not-professions-they-are-not-occupations-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Many in the creative professions were nerds in their pasts because they spent so long reading comics and using their imaginations when they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-lee/many-in-the-creative-professions-were-nerds-in-their-pasts-because/) [Jim Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-lee/) > [Teaching is the profession that teaches all the other professions. . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-sutter/teaching-is-the-profession-that-teaches-all-the-other-professions/) [Rick Sutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-sutter/) > [Human nature is the same in all professions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/human-nature-is-the-same-in-all-professions/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [The announcement that I was going to be an actor was made when was I was 10 years old. And that didn't go down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reggie-lee/the-announcement-that-i-was-going-to-be-an-actor-was-made-when-was-i/) [Reggie Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reggie-lee/) > [“As profession recognizes profession, so, too, does vice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/as-profession-recognizes-profession-so-too-does-vice/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [There are some professions that culturally and sociologically take a long time to change, and because of that, there's still sexism in comedy audiences.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-hart/there-are-some-professions-that-culturally-and-sociologically-take-a/) [Miranda Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-hart/) > [Rapid development in areas like machine-to-machine communications and the Internet of Things, coupled with the proliferation of big data, means higher-skilled professions, such as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-dehaze/rapid-development-in-areas-like-machine-to-machine-communications-and/) [Alain Dehaze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-dehaze/) ## 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/) > [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/) > [The totality of beliefs and sentiments common to the average members of a society forms a determinate system with a life of its own.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/the-totality-of-beliefs-and-sentiments-common-to-the-average-members/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) [Explore all 87 Emile Durkheim quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) ## More Active quotes > [Listening is a very active awareness of the coming together of at least two lives. 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Love is not fundamentally a sweet feeling; not, at heart, a matter of sentiment, attachment, or being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-heyward/love-like-truth-and-beauty-is-concrete-love-is-not-fundamentally-a/) [Carter Heyward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-heyward/) > [Studying Sol's interior by looking for analogous patterns on its incandescent face is known as helioseismology, an active - if largely unpronounceable - research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/studying-sol-s-interior-by-looking-for-analogous-patterns-on-its/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Science manipulates things and gives up living in them. It makes its own limited models of things; operating upon these indices or variables to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/science-manipulates-things-and-gives-up-living-in-them-it-makes-its/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [I stayed in L.A. long enough to get on my feet, and then I moved back to New York. The reason I moved here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iggy-pop/i-stayed-in-l-a-long-enough-to-get-on-my-feet-and-then-i-moved-back/) [Iggy Pop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iggy-pop/) > [The answer to any challenge you are having has nothing to do with God's willingness to help. It has to do with your acceptance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-beckwith/the-answer-to-any-challenge-you-are-having-has-nothing-to-do-with-god/) [Michael Beckwith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-beckwith/) > [Pete Townsend for me was a huge influence. 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