Bible Quote by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
““Not one people has ever yet organised itself according to the principles of science and reason. Never has there been a single example of that, except only for a brief moment, out of stupidity… Reason and science in the life of peoples always, now and from the beginning of time, have fulfilled merely a secondary and auxiliary function; and that will be their function until the end of time. Peoples are formed and moved by another force that rules and dominates them, but whose origin is unknown and inexplicable. This force is the force of an unquenchable desire to go on to the end, while at the same time denying the end. This is the force of a ceaseless and tireless affirmation of its own being and the denial of death. It is the spirit of life, as the Scriptures say, "of living water", the drying up of which is threatened in the Apocalypse. It is the aesthetic principle, as the philosophers say, the moral principle, as they also identify it. "The search for God", as I call it more simply.””
About This Quote
Source Essay: “The Search for God”, 1865
Human societies are driven by an unconscious, relentless desire for existence that supersedes rational science, shaping culture and morality despite its unknown origin.
In simple terms: Life’s drive outweighs reason.
Acknowledge the deeper drive beyond logic.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- social movements
- political ideology
- artistic creation
- personal ambition
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What unconscious forces shape your choices?
- Can reason coexist with this deeper drive?
Science alone cannot explain the primal force behind human ambition.