--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Man has \"a mind that soars out to…" description: "\"“Man has \"a mind that soars out to speculate about atoms and infinity, who can place himself imaginatively at a point in space and contemplate bemusedl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/201/ernest-becker-7036_mind_man-has-a-mind-that-soars-out-to-specula_3166642.jpg" --- # Man has "a mind that soars out to speculate about atoms… ![“Man has "a mind that soars out to speculate about atoms and infinity, who can place himself imaginatively at a point in space and contemplate bemusedly his own planet. This immense expansion, this dexterity, this ethereality, this self-consciousness gives to man literally the status of a small god…” quote by Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/201/ernest-becker-7036_mind_man-has-a-mind-that-soars-out-to-specula_3166642.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/201/ernest-becker-7036_mind_man-has-a-mind-that-soars-out-to-specula_3166642.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/201/ernest-becker-7036_mind_man-has-a-mind-that-soars-out-to-specula_3166642.jpg) > ““Man has "a mind that soars out to speculate about atoms and infinity, who can place himself imaginatively at a point in space and contemplate bemusedly his own planet. This immense expansion, this dexterity, this ethereality, this self-consciousness gives to man literally the status of a small god in nature... Yet, at the same time... man is a worm and food for worms”” [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human consciousness lets us imagine beyond our physical limits, granting a god‑like status, yet we remain mortal and vulnerable. **In simple terms:** We are both grand and fragile. Key Takeaway Balance ambition with humility. Themes mortality human consciousness humility ambition Mood thoughtful philosophical Type existential inspirational When to use this quote - scientific inquiry - spiritual contemplation - ethical decision‑making - personal growth Key Concepts existentialism philosophical duality Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to be a “small god”? - How can we honor our limits while aspiring? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on grandeur can ignore practical constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Self consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-consciousness/) ## Related quotes > [“Yet, at the same time, as the Eastern sages also knew, man is a worm and food for worms. 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Saint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-l-saint/) > [“Charles Darwin himself recognized this problem and feared it when he wrote hauntingly: “Within me the horrid doubt always arises whether the convictions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-clark/charles-darwin-himself-recognized-this-problem-and-feared-it-when-he/) [Mark Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-clark/) > [Guilt, the poor man's mind control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-kijewski/guilt-the-poor-man-s-mind-control/) [Karen Kijewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-kijewski/) > [For the ordinary man, whose mind is a checkerboard of crisscrossing reflections, opinions, and prejudices, bare attention is virtually impossible; his life is thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kapleau/for-the-ordinary-man-whose-mind-is-a-checkerboard-of-crisscrossing/) [Philip Kapleau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kapleau/) > [“(W)hen a load is too heavy for one horse to pull, what do we do? Hitch another to it, don't we? That's just common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-seredy/w-hen-a-load-is-too-heavy-for-one-horse-to-pull-what-do-we-do-hitch/) [Kate Seredy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-seredy/) > [...that swimming, sloping, elusive something about the dark-bluish tint of the iris which seemed still to retain the shadows it had absorbed of ancient,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/that-swimming-sloping-elusive-something-about-the-dark-bluish-tint-of/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“The powers of a man's mind are directly proportioned to the quantity of coffee he drinks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-powers-of-a-man-s-mind-are-directly-proportioned-to-the-quantity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The powers of a man's mind are directly proportional to the quantity of coffee he drank.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mackintosh/the-powers-of-a-man-s-mind-are-directly-proportional-to-the-quantity/) [James Mackintosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mackintosh/) > [He will see himself and life and the world as truly as our human limitations will permit; realizing the brevity and minuteness of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/he-will-see-himself-and-life-and-the-world-as-truly-as-our-human/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [The inlet of a man's mind is what he learns; the outlet is what he accomplishes. If his mind is not fed by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremiah-jenks/the-inlet-of-a-man-s-mind-is-what-he-learns-the-outlet-is-what-he/) Jeremiah Jenks > [“Since knowledge, thinking, and rational action are properties of the individual, since the choice to exercise his rational faculty or not depends on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/since-knowledge-thinking-and-rational-action-are-properties-of-the/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Man's mind is his basic tool of survival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/man-s-mind-is-his-basic-tool-of-survival/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## More by Ernest Becker > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“the characteristics the modern mind prides itself on are precisely those of madness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/the-characteristics-the-modern-mind-prides-itself-on-are-precisely/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“When we are young we are often puzzled by the fact that each person we admire seems to have a different version of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/when-we-are-young-we-are-often-puzzled-by-the-fact-that-each-person/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [Relationship is thus always slavery of a kind, which leaves a residue of guilt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/relationship-is-thus-always-slavery-of-a-kind-which-leaves-a-residue/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“neurosis as a problem of character and have seen that it can be approached in two ways: as a problem of too much narrowness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/neurosis-as-a-problem-of-character-and-have-seen-that-it-can-be/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [When we understand that man is the only animal who must create meaning, who must open a wedge into neutral nature, we already understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/when-we-understand-that-man-is-the-only-animal-who-must-create/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [What is the ideal for mental health, then? A lived, compelling illusion that does not lie about life, death, and reality; one honest enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-is-the-ideal-for-mental-health-then-a-lived-compelling-illusion/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“This is one of the reasons for bigotry and censorship of all kinds over personal morality: people fear that the standard morality will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/this-is-one-of-the-reasons-for-bigotry-and-censorship-of-all-kinds/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“Civilized" society is a hopeful belief and protest that science, money and goods make man count for more than any other animal. In this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/civilized-society-is-a-hopeful-belief-and-protest-that-science-money/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We might say that psychoanalysis revealed to us the complex penalties of denying the truth of man's condition, what we might call the costs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/we-might-say-that-psychoanalysis-revealed-to-us-the-complex-penalties/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“Understanding this, Rank could take a great step beyond Freud. Freud thought that modern man’s moral dependence on another was a result of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/understanding-this-rank-could-take-a-great-step-beyond-freud-freud/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“The world of human aspiration is largely fictitious and if we do not understand this we understand nothing about man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/the-world-of-human-aspiration-is-largely-fictitious-and-if-we-do-not/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“If the partner becomes God he can just as easily become the Devil; the reason is not far to seek. For one thing, one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/if-the-partner-becomes-god-he-can-just-as-easily-become-the-devil-the/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“every human being is… equally unfree, that is, we… create out of freedom, a prison….”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/every-human-being-is-equally-unfree-that-is-we-create-out-of-freedom/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“The point is that if the love object is divine perfection, then one’s own self is elevated by joining one’s destiny to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/the-point-is-that-if-the-love-object-is-divine-perfection-then-one-s/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) [Explore all 95 Ernest Becker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) ## More Mind quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [“William didn't look like he'd be difficult about anything - he was thin and sandy-haired and already wore eyeglasses like his father. 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A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [“Picking locks was not a skill he had ever cultivated, but he persisted day after day, turning the tip of his talon into different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/picking-locks-was-not-a-skill-he-had-ever-cultivated-but-he-persisted/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [Do you think that God would separate me from my husband if I killed myself? I feel as though I am going out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-you-think-that-god-would-separate-me-from-my-husband-if-i-killed/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not here trying to convince anybody to vote for Donald Trump. 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