--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Humans feel at home in a world of things…" description: "\"Humans feel at home in a world of things, whose essences and laws it can grasp and define in terms of concepts; but shy and ill at ease in a world of e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/450/etienne-gilson-21565_concepts_humans-feel-at-home-in-a-world-of-things_318577.jpg" --- # Humans feel at home in a world of things, whose essences… ![“Humans feel at home in a world of things, whose essences and laws it can grasp and define in terms of concepts; but shy and ill at ease in a world of existences, because to exist is an act, not a thing.” quote by Etienne Gilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/450/etienne-gilson-21565_concepts_humans-feel-at-home-in-a-world-of-things_318577.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/450/etienne-gilson-21565_concepts_humans-feel-at-home-in-a-world-of-things_318577.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/450/etienne-gilson-21565_concepts_humans-feel-at-home-in-a-world-of-things_318577.jpg) > “Humans feel at home in a world of things, whose essences and laws it can grasp and define in terms of concepts; but shy and ill at ease in a world of existences, because to exist is an act, not a thing.” [Etienne Gilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etienne-gilson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans comfortably understand concepts and laws, but struggle with raw existence, which is an active process, not a static thing. **In simple terms:** We grasp concepts, not existence. Key Takeaway Embrace the dynamic nature of being. Themes philosophy existentialism ontology Mood reflective serious Type philosophical existential When to use this quote - spiritual practice - creative work - scientific research Key Concepts essence vs existence phenomenology Questions to Reflect On - How do you define existence? - Can we reconcile concepts with lived experience? A Different Perspective Existential focus can cause anxiety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Essence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essence/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Ill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ill/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Humans feel deeply the suffering of their friends and allies and easily discount/dismiss the comparable experience of their enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/humans-feel-deeply-the-suffering-of-their-friends-and-allies-and/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [“Our emotions are different but we have them. We never cast a cold eye on life or death. Don't misunderstand our seeming serenity. After…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/our-emotions-are-different-but-we-have-them-we-never-cast-a-cold-eye/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“To breathe air, to sight a beautiful day, to hear a bird... those are marvellous things and its unfortunate we as humans never feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-rowe/to-breathe-air-to-sight-a-beautiful-day-to-hear-a-bird-those-are/) [Nikki Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-rowe/) > [I think in art, but especially in films, people are trying to confirm their own existences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/i-think-in-art-but-especially-in-films-people-are-trying-to-confirm/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) > [Like Leibniz's possible worlds, most men are only equally entitled pretenders to existence. There are few existences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/like-leibniz-s-possible-worlds-most-men-are-only-equally-entitled/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [“The successive existences in a series of rebirths are not like the pearls in a pearl necklace, held together by a string, the “soul,”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sogyal-rinpoche/the-successive-existences-in-a-series-of-rebirths-are-not-like-the/) [Sogyal Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sogyal-rinpoche/) > [“Many of us, I suppose, see our existences not as lives, but as life-holders, zarfs, waiting for the job, the person, the event to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tibor-fischer/many-of-us-i-suppose-see-our-existences-not-as-lives-but-as-life/) [Tibor Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tibor-fischer/) > [“MAGNITUDE of EXISTENCE U are a dot A point A speck An image A stillness A shadow A centrifugal force Turning into itself Emanating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-chumacero/magnitude-of-existence-u-are-a-dot-a-point-a-speck-an-image-a/) Olivia Chumacero > [“We were alone here. We had always been alone here. When we died and rid ourselves of our meaningless existences, we would die alone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-sheehan/we-were-alone-here-we-had-always-been-alone-here-when-we-died-and-rid/) [Madeline Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-sheehan/) > [“Every existing thing is born without reason, prolongs itself out of weakness and dies by chance. I leaned back and closed my eyes. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/every-existing-thing-is-born-without-reason-prolongs-itself-out-of-2/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [A novel is balanced between a few true impressions and the multitude of false ones that make up most of what we call life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-novel-is-balanced-between-a-few-true-impressions-and-the-multitude-2/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [I have never felt any rest in sleep. For a few seconds I am numbed, then a new life begins, freed from the conditions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-rard-de-nerval/i-have-never-felt-any-rest-in-sleep-for-a-few-seconds-i-am-numbed/) [Gerard De Nerval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-rard-de-nerval/) > [Let us investigate more closely this property common to animal and plant, this power of producing its likeness, this chain of successive existences of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/let-us-investigate-more-closely-this-property-common-to-animal-and/) [Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/) > [I think the key to writing the truth of our existences, so much of this is being incubated online, is examining the conflicts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-zambreno/i-think-the-key-to-writing-the-truth-of-our-existences-so-much-of/) [Kate Zambreno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-zambreno/) > [“When we arrived we were met by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, both producers of the film. Lorri and I hadn't seen them in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-echols/when-we-arrived-we-were-met-by-peter-jackson-and-fran-walsh-both/) [Damien Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-echols/) ## More by Etienne Gilson > [History is the only laboratory we have in which to test the consequences of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etienne-gilson/history-is-the-only-laboratory-we-have-in-which-to-test-the/) [Etienne Gilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etienne-gilson/) > [“Modern man, brought up on Kantian idealism, regards nature as being no more than an outcome of the laws of the mind. Losing all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etienne-gilson/modern-man-brought-up-on-kantian-idealism-regards-nature-as-being-no/) [Étienne Gilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etienne-gilson/) > [“The Middle Ages were long preoccupied with the nature of the concept, or of the notion which the intellect abstracts from the object; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etienne-gilson/the-middle-ages-were-long-preoccupied-with-the-nature-of-the-concept/) [Étienne Gilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etienne-gilson/) > [Radiance belongs to being considered precisely as beautiful: it is, in being, that which catches the eye, or the ear, or the mind, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etienne-gilson/radiance-belongs-to-being-considered-precisely-as-beautiful-it-is-in/) [Etienne Gilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etienne-gilson/) > [“When man subverted order he did a great deal more than merely fall away from the rationality of his nature, diminish his own humanity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etienne-gilson/when-man-subverted-order-he-did-a-great-deal-more-than-merely-fall/) [Étienne Gilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etienne-gilson/) > [“Just as it is by His goodness that God gives being to beings, so also it is by His goodness that He makes causes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etienne-gilson/just-as-it-is-by-his-goodness-that-god-gives-being-to-beings-so-also/) [Étienne Gilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etienne-gilson/) > [To minds tormented by the divine thirst, it is useless to offer the most certain knowledge of the laws of numbers and the arrangement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etienne-gilson/to-minds-tormented-by-the-divine-thirst-it-is-useless-to-offer-the/) [Etienne Gilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etienne-gilson/) > [“As long as one makes some kind of conscious state, whether a “passive sensation” or an “apprehended”, come before reality, one will remain more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etienne-gilson/as-long-as-one-makes-some-kind-of-conscious-state-whether-a-passive/) [Étienne Gilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etienne-gilson/) > [Man is not a mind that thinks, but a being who knows other beings as true, who loves them as good and who enjoys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etienne-gilson/man-is-not-a-mind-that-thinks-but-a-being-who-knows-other-beings-as/) [Etienne Gilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etienne-gilson/) > [If our previous analyses are correct, they all point to the same conclusion, that metaphysical adventures are doomed to fail when their authors substitute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etienne-gilson/if-our-previous-analyses-are-correct-they-all-point-to-the-same/) [Etienne Gilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etienne-gilson/) > [“But if one decides to start with Descartes and finish with Aristotle, and to employ an idealist method while shamelessly making use of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etienne-gilson/but-if-one-decides-to-start-with-descartes-and-finish-with-aristotle/) [Étienne Gilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etienne-gilson/) > [“What is necessary is that epistemology, instead of being the pre-condition for ontology, should grow in it and with it, being at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etienne-gilson/what-is-necessary-is-that-epistemology-instead-of-being-the-pre/) [Étienne Gilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etienne-gilson/) > [“Pure sensism leads inevitably to universal doubt; if reality is in the end reducible to sensible appearance, then, since this is in a state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etienne-gilson/pure-sensism-leads-inevitably-to-universal-doubt-if-reality-is-in-the/) [Étienne Gilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etienne-gilson/) > [“If pure philosophy took any of its ideas from Christian revelation, if anything in the Bible and the Gospel has passed into metaphysics, if,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etienne-gilson/if-pure-philosophy-took-any-of-its-ideas-from-christian-revelation-if/) [Étienne Gilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etienne-gilson/) > [“He(E.A.Poe) cannot be blamed for not saying clearly what beauty is. The greatest philosophers in the world acknowledge in the end that the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etienne-gilson/he-e-a-poe-cannot-be-blamed-for-not-saying-clearly-what-beauty-is-the/) [Étienne Gilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etienne-gilson/) [Explore all 29 Etienne Gilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etienne-gilson/) ## More Concepts quotes > [Capability is just a concept of what is it we're looking at. Now how far we can go along that and what new capabilities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/capability-is-just-a-concept-of-what-is-it-we-re-looking-at-now-how/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) > [Our concept of a family holiday was going to a guest house in the Lake district or Wales where walking was part of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bannister/our-concept-of-a-family-holiday-was-going-to-a-guest-house-in-the/) [Roger Bannister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bannister/) > [What is music? Music is language. A human being wants to express ideas in this language, but not ideas that can be translated into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-webern/what-is-music-music-is-language-a-human-being-wants-to-express-ideas/) [Anton Webern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-webern/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [The whole concept of stage fright is fascinating. Actors get stage fright, but they wouldn't be on the stage in the first place if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/the-whole-concept-of-stage-fright-is-fascinating-actors-get-stage/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [I do like talking with friends about big concepts, you know, the stuff that will ruin a party. To me, the party hasn't begun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mercer/i-do-like-talking-with-friends-about-big-concepts-you-know-the-stuff/) [James Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mercer/) > [You imagine that I look back on my life's work with calm satisfaction. But from nearby it looks quite different. There is not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/you-imagine-that-i-look-back-on-my-life-s-work-with-calm-satisfaction/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [For a physicist mathematics is not just a tool by means of which phenomena can be calculated, it is the main source of concepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/for-a-physicist-mathematics-is-not-just-a-tool-by-means-of-which/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [One of the most powerful concepts, one which is a sure cure for lack of confidence, is the thought that God is with you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/one-of-the-most-powerful-concepts-one-which-is-a-sure-cure-for-lack/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [All significant concepts of the modern theory of the state are secularized theological concepts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/all-significant-concepts-of-the-modern-theory-of-the-state-are/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [If you are trying to live a life in accordance with the Bible, the concept and call to justice are inescapable. We do justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/if-you-are-trying-to-live-a-life-in-accordance-with-the-bible-the/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [So many times we come to Jesus in worship and ask Him for things that He already IS and has already done... What a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-nockels/so-many-times-we-come-to-jesus-in-worship-and-ask-him-for-things-that/) Christy Nockels > [ I don't think in national categories. For me it \[policy\] is about concepts and substance. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-claude-juncker/i-don-t-think-in-national-categories-for-me-it-policy-is-about/) [Jean-Claude Juncker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-claude-juncker/) > [In the very beginning, Yelp started as a service where we really didn't think people would write reviews for fun. The whole concept of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-stoppelman/in-the-very-beginning-yelp-started-as-a-service-where-we-really-didn/) [Jeremy Stoppelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-stoppelman/) > [To pray without expectation is to misunderstand the whole concept of prayer and relationship with God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/to-pray-without-expectation-is-to-misunderstand-the-whole-concept-of/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) Browse all 2,468 Concepts quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Humans feel at home in a world of things, whose essences and laws it can grasp and define in terms of concepts; but shy and ill at ease in a world of existences, because to exist is an act, not a thing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Etienne Gilson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etienne-gilson/humans-feel-at-home-in-a-world-of-things-whose-essences-and-laws-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Concepts" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etienne-gilson/humans-feel-at-home-in-a-world-of-things-whose-essences-and-laws-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/450/etienne-gilson-21565_concepts_humans-feel-at-home-in-a-world-of-things_318577.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/450/etienne-gilson-21565_concepts_humans-feel-at-home-in-a-world-of-things_318577.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/450/etienne-gilson-21565_concepts_humans-feel-at-home-in-a-world-of-things_318577.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Humans feel at home in a world of things, whose essences and laws it can grasp and define in terms of…” — Etienne Gilson", "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": "Etienne Gilson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etienne-gilson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Humans feel at home in a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etienne-gilson/humans-feel-at-home-in-a-world-of-things-whose-essences-and-laws-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etienne-gilson/humans-feel-at-home-in-a-world-of-things-whose-essences-and-laws-it/#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 } } ] } ```