--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Human history began with an act of…" description: "\"Human history began with an act of disobedience and it is not unlikely that it will be terminated by an act of obedience\" — Erich Fromm" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32d/erich-fromm-367_disobedience_human-history-began-with-an-act-of-disob_1356737.jpg" --- # Human history began with an act of disobedience and it is… ![“Human history began with an act of disobedience and it is not unlikely that it will be terminated by an act of obedience” quote by Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32d/erich-fromm-367_disobedience_human-history-began-with-an-act-of-disob_1356737.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32d/erich-fromm-367_disobedience_human-history-began-with-an-act-of-disob_1356737.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32d/erich-fromm-367_disobedience_human-history-began-with-an-act-of-disob_1356737.jpg) > “Human history began with an act of disobedience and it is not unlikely that it will be terminated by an act of obedience” [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human progress often starts with defiance, yet it may end when conformity prevails. **In simple terms:** Progress begins with rebellion, may end with compliance. Key Takeaway Balance daring with responsibility. Themes rebellion progress conformity Mood reflective cautious Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - social movements - organizational change - personal growth - political activism Key Concepts philosophy human nature social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What drives you to challenge the status quo? - When might obedience be necessary? A Different Perspective Blind obedience can stifle innovation and moral courage. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Disobedience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disobedience/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Human history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-history/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Obedience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obedience/) ## Related quotes > [Human history began as an act of disobedience, and it is not unlikely that it will be terminated by an act of obedience. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/human-history-began-as-an-act-of-disobedience-and-it-is-not-unlikely/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Human history begins with man's act of disobedience which is at the very same time the beginning of his freedom and development of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/human-history-begins-with-man-s-act-of-disobedience-which-is-at-the/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Human history begins with man's act of disobedience which is at the same time the beginning of his freedom and the development of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/human-history-begins-with-man-s-act-of-disobedience-which-is-at-the-2/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [The government believed that adherence to authority was human nature, so the Gezi protests were a real surprise to them. After the initial moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/safak-pavey/the-government-believed-that-adherence-to-authority-was-human-nature/) [Safak Pavey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/safak-pavey/) > [You think OWS is radical? You think 350.org was radical for helping organize mass civil disobedience in D.C. in August against the Keystone Pipeline?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/you-think-ows-is-radical-you-think-350-org-was-radical-for-helping/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [While it is unlikely that poetry or art shall eliminate the reality of war in the twenty-first century, it is thrilling to know there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aberjhani/while-it-is-unlikely-that-poetry-or-art-shall-eliminate-the-reality/) [Aberjhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aberjhani/) > [I think that what I was talking about was that as a woman growing up in a Mormon tradition in Salt Lake City, Utah,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-think-that-what-i-was-talking-about-was-that-as-a-woman-growing-up/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [“It is disobedience and not obedience that prompts us to select from the commands of Christ which ones we care to obey.”–1893, Sermon 2317 “No”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-haddon-spurgeon/it-is-disobedience-and-not-obedience-that-prompts-us-to-select-from/) [Charles Haddon Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-haddon-spurgeon/) > [Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/disobedience-is-the-true-foundation-of-liberty-the-obedient-must-be/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Disobedience is as much a proof of authority as obedience. You cannot rebel without acknowledging a government. You cannot be a heretic until you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffany-reisz/disobedience-is-as-much-a-proof-of-authority-as-obedience-you-cannot/) [Tiffany Reisz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffany-reisz/) > [Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/civil-disobedience-is-not-our-problem-our-problem-is-civil-obedience/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“You can do the right thing that seems wrong to others, or the wrong thing that seems right, and its actually puerile to await…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/you-can-do-the-right-thing-that-seems-wrong-to-others-or-the-wrong/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Obedience is an act of faith; disobedience is the result of unbelief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-louis-cole/obedience-is-an-act-of-faith-disobedience-is-the-result-of-unbelief/) [Edwin Louis Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-louis-cole/) > [International affairs is very much run like the mafia. The godfather does not accept disobedience, even from a small storekeeper who doesn't pay his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/international-affairs-is-very-much-run-like-the-mafia-the-godfather/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“There is indeed something delightful about being able to combine obedience and disobedience in the same act.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-indeed-something-delightful-about-being-able-to-combine/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## More by Erich Fromm > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Only when man succeeds in developing his reason and love further than he has done so far, only when he can build a world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/only-when-man-succeeds-in-developing-his-reason-and-love-further-than/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Freedom does not mean license.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/freedom-does-not-mean-license/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“It is hardly necessary to stress the fact that the ability to love as an act of giving depends on the character development of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/it-is-hardly-necessary-to-stress-the-fact-that-the-ability-to-love-as/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [The pace of science forces the pace of technique. Theoretical physics forces atomic energy on us; the successful production of the fission bomb forces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-pace-of-science-forces-the-pace-of-technique-theoretical-physics/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Exploitation and manipulation produce boredom and triviality; they cripple man, and all factors that make man into a psychic cripple turn him also into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/exploitation-and-manipulation-produce-boredom-and-triviality-they/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Well-being is possible to the degree to which one has overcome one's narcissism; to the degree to which one is open, responsive, sensitive, awake,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/well-being-is-possible-to-the-degree-to-which-one-has-overcome-one-s/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“The wealth of data to be found in social and political life. The belief that people do not want to make sacrifices is notoriously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-wealth-of-data-to-be-found-in-social-and-political-life-the/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [By equality, one once understood equality in the very same sense in which the Bible speaks of equality: that we are all equal, inasmuch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/by-equality-one-once-understood-equality-in-the-very-same-sense-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“Human beings had two basic orientations: HAVING and BEING HAVING: seeks to acquire, posses things even people BEING: focuses on the experience; exchanging, engaging,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/human-beings-had-two-basic-orientations-having-and-being-having-seeks/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“Most people are not even aware of their need to conform. They live under the illusion that they follow their own ideas and inclinations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/most-people-are-not-even-aware-of-their-need-to-conform-they-live/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Just as modern mass production requires the standardization of commodities, so the social process requires standardization of man, and this standardization is called equality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/just-as-modern-mass-production-requires-the-standardization-of/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [To respect a person is not possible without knowing him; care and responsibility would be blind if they were not guided by knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/to-respect-a-person-is-not-possible-without-knowing-him-care-and/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Love is an active power in man; a power which breaks through the walls which separate man from his fellow men, which unite him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/love-is-an-active-power-in-man-a-power-which-breaks-through-the-walls/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“Perhaps most trivial talk is a need to talk about oneself; hence, the never-ending subject of health and sickness, children, travel, successes, what one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/perhaps-most-trivial-talk-is-a-need-to-talk-about-oneself-hence-the/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) [Explore all 558 Erich Fromm quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) ## More Disobedience quotes > [“There is indeed something delightful about being able to combine obedience and disobedience in the same act.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-indeed-something-delightful-about-being-able-to-combine/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [ \[Putin\] is a bully. And bullies only understand when we punch them in the nose, but we need to do that economically. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ayotte/putin-is-a-bully-and-bullies-only-understand-when-we-punch-them-in/) [Kelly Ayotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ayotte/) > [The world - and America - has been defined by people who haven't necessarily abided by the laws and the rules. Civil disobedience is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-kennedy/the-world-and-america-has-been-defined-by-people-who-haven-t/) [Rory Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-kennedy/) > [Every fact of science was once Damned. Every invention was considered impossible. Every discovery was a nervous shock to some orthodoxy. Every artistic innovation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/every-fact-of-science-was-once-damned-every-invention-was-considered/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [When you say 'no' and you get on the streets and you do an act of civil disobedience, it changes your psychology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-bradbrook/when-you-say-no-and-you-get-on-the-streets-and-you-do-an-act-of-civil/) [Gail Bradbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-bradbrook/) > [... professing myself moreover convinced that the general's unjust interference, so far from being really injurious to their felicity, was perhaps rather conducive to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/professing-myself-moreover-convinced-that-the-general-s-unjust/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is a man's original virtue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/disobedience-in-the-eyes-of-anyone-who-has-read-history-is-a-man-s/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Disobedience of any kind, on any level, is sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innah-delos-angeles/disobedience-of-any-kind-on-any-level-is-sin/) [Innah Delos Angeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/innah-delos-angeles/) > [Arrogance is a mixture of impertinence, disobedience, indiscipline, rudeness, harshness, and a self-assertive nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sivananda/arrogance-is-a-mixture-of-impertinence-disobedience-indiscipline/) [Sivananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sivananda/) > [Disobedience was man's Original Virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/disobedience-was-man-s-original-virtue/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [“...This is the arena in which a spiritualized disobedience means most. It doesn't mean a second New Deal, another massive bureaucratic attack on our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-white/this-is-the-arena-in-which-a-spiritualized-disobedience-means-most-it/) [Curtis White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-white/) > [There is all the difference in the world between the criminal's avoiding the public eye and the civil disobedience's taking the law into his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/there-is-all-the-difference-in-the-world-between-the-criminal-s/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Racial discrimination in elections in Texas is no mere historical artifact. To the contrary, Texas has been found in violation of the Voting Rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/racial-discrimination-in-elections-in-texas-is-no-mere-historical/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [Satyagraha does not depend on outside help, it derives all its strength from within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/satyagraha-does-not-depend-on-outside-help-it-derives-all-its/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [International affairs is very much run like the mafia. The godfather does not accept disobedience, even from a small storekeeper who doesn't pay his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/international-affairs-is-very-much-run-like-the-mafia-the-godfather/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Browse all 489 Disobedience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disobedience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Human history began with an act of disobedience and it is not unlikely that it will be terminated by an act of obedience", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Erich Fromm" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/human-history-began-with-an-act-of-disobedience-and-it-is-not/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Disobedience" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/human-history-began-with-an-act-of-disobedience-and-it-is-not/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32d/erich-fromm-367_disobedience_human-history-began-with-an-act-of-disob_1356737.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32d/erich-fromm-367_disobedience_human-history-began-with-an-act-of-disob_1356737.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32d/erich-fromm-367_disobedience_human-history-began-with-an-act-of-disob_1356737.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Human history began with an act of disobedience and it is not unlikely that it will be terminated by an act…” — Erich Fromm", "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": "Erich Fromm", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Human history began with an act...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/human-history-began-with-an-act-of-disobedience-and-it-is-not/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/human-history-began-with-an-act-of-disobedience-and-it-is-not/#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 } } ] } ```