--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The more humanity advances, the more it…" description: "\"The more humanity advances, the more it is degraded.\" — Gustave Flaubert" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/340/gustave-flaubert-354_humanity_the-more-humanity-advances-the-more-it-i_2136363.jpg" --- # The more humanity advances, the more it is degraded. ![“The more humanity advances, the more it is degraded.” quote by Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/340/gustave-flaubert-354_humanity_the-more-humanity-advances-the-more-it-i_2136363.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/340/gustave-flaubert-354_humanity_the-more-humanity-advances-the-more-it-i_2136363.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/340/gustave-flaubert-354_humanity_the-more-humanity-advances-the-more-it-i_2136363.jpg) > “The more humanity advances, the more it is degraded.” [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Progress in civilization often brings new problems, suggesting that advancement can erode moral or social values. **In simple terms:** Advancement can cause decay. Key Takeaway Balance progress with ethics. Themes technology civilization morality progress decay Mood reflective concerned Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - urban development - environmental policy - digital media - education reform Key Concepts Philosophy ethics social critique Questions to Reflect On - What modern advances have improved life? - How can we mitigate negative effects? A Different Perspective The statement is pessimistic and may overlook benefits of progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Advances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advances/) [Advances Degraded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advances-degraded-4428132/) [Degraded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degraded/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Humanity Advances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity-advances-4111683/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) ## Related quotes > [The quicker humanity advances, the more important it is to be the one who deals the first blow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-kaltenbrunner/the-quicker-humanity-advances-the-more-important-it-is-to-be-the-one/) [Ernst Kaltenbrunner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-kaltenbrunner/) > [As humanity perfects itself, man becomes degraded. When everything is reduced to the mere counter-balancing of economic interests, what room will there be for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/as-humanity-perfects-itself-man-becomes-degraded-when-everything-is/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [When art becomes merely shock value, our sense of humanity is slowly degraded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/when-art-becomes-merely-shock-value-our-sense-of-humanity-is-slowly/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [You may go over the world and you will find that every form of religion which has breathed upon this earth has degraded woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/you-may-go-over-the-world-and-you-will-find-that-every-form-of/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [Man is not made better by being degraded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-dix/man-is-not-made-better-by-being-degraded/) [Dorothea Dix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-dix/) > [Somehow Photoshop and the ease with which one can produce an image has degraded the quality of photography in general.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-erwitt/somehow-photoshop-and-the-ease-with-which-one-can-produce-an-image/) [Elliott Erwitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-erwitt/) > [It is in vain to look for the elevation of woman so long as she is degraded in marriage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/it-is-in-vain-to-look-for-the-elevation-of-woman-so-long-as-she-is/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [There is something in us, somehow, that, in the most degraded condition, we snatch at a chance to deceive ourselves into a fanciedsuperiority to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/there-is-something-in-us-somehow-that-in-the-most-degraded-condition/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Every hour I spent on manual work, every hour I was humiliated in England or degraded has helped me because that's the same way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-sata/every-hour-i-spent-on-manual-work-every-hour-i-was-humiliated-in/) [Michael Sata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-sata/) > [A poet who is a bad man is a degraded being, baser and more culpable than a bad man who is not a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/a-poet-who-is-a-bad-man-is-a-degraded-being-baser-and-more-culpable/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [I'm an actor, so I love to be degraded!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmy-rossum/i-m-an-actor-so-i-love-to-be-degraded/) [Emmy Rossum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmy-rossum/) > [You degrade us and then ask why we are degraded. You shut our mouths and ask why we don't speak. You close your colleges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/you-degrade-us-and-then-ask-why-we-are-degraded-you-shut-our-mouths/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [Art degraded, Imagination denied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/art-degraded-imagination-denied/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [No government can be strong and flourishing while the national character is weak and degraded. A government must flourish and decay with its subjects;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-robbins-curtis/no-government-can-be-strong-and-flourishing-while-the-national/) [Benjamin Robbins Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-robbins-curtis/) > [Much of the same sort of degraded and filthy talk can still be heard among the orc-minded; dreary and repetitive with hatred and contempt,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/much-of-the-same-sort-of-degraded-and-filthy-talk-can-still-be-heard/) [J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/) ## More by Gustave Flaubert > [As for the piano, the faster her fingers flew over it, the more he marveled. She struck the keys with aplomb and ran from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/as-for-the-piano-the-faster-her-fingers-flew-over-it-the-more-he/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Caught up in life, you see it badly. You suffer from it or enjoy it too much. The artist, in my opinion, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/caught-up-in-life-you-see-it-badly-you-suffer-from-it-or-enjoy-it-too/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“When one does something, one must do it wholly and well. Those bastard existences where you sell suet all day and write poetry at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/when-one-does-something-one-must-do-it-wholly-and-well-those-bastard/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Isn’t ‘not to be bored’ one of the principal goals of life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/isn-t-not-to-be-bored-one-of-the-principal-goals-of-life/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Love is a springtime plant that perfumes everything with its hope, even the ruins to which it clings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/love-is-a-springtime-plant-that-perfumes-everything-with-its-hope/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“But her life was as cold as an attic facing north; and boredom, like a silent spider, was weaving its web in the shadows,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/but-her-life-was-as-cold-as-an-attic-facing-north-and-boredom-like-a/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [When you reduce a woman to writing, she makes you think of a thousand other women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/when-you-reduce-a-woman-to-writing-she-makes-you-think-of-a-thousand/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/travel-makes-one-modest-you-see-what-a-tiny-place-you-occupy-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“We must not touch our idols; the gilt sticks to our fingers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/we-must-not-touch-our-idols-the-gilt-sticks-to-our-fingers/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [A superhuman will is needed in order to write, and I am only a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/a-superhuman-will-is-needed-in-order-to-write-and-i-am-only-a-man/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [The writer must wade into life as into the sea, but only up to the navel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-writer-must-wade-into-life-as-into-the-sea-but-only-up-to-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [COLD. Healthier than heat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/cold-healthier-than-heat/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [And indeed, what is better than to sit by one's fireside in the evening with a book, while the wind beats against the window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/and-indeed-what-is-better-than-to-sit-by-one-s-fireside-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [One's existence should be in two parts: one should live like a bourgeois and think like a demigod.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/one-s-existence-should-be-in-two-parts-one-should-live-like-a/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Emma was no asleep, she was pretending to be asleep; and, while he was dozing off at her side, she lay awake, dreaming other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/emma-was-no-asleep-she-was-pretending-to-be-asleep-and-while-he-was/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) [Explore all 526 Gustave Flaubert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## More Advances quotes > [Advances in technology neither impede nor augment literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/advances-in-technology-neither-impede-nor-augment-literature/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [I have done this before but I'll do it again, Please comment :) Thanks in advances…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/i-have-done-this-before-but-i-ll-do-it-again-please-comment-thanks-in/) [Unkown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unkown/) > [What I imagined doesn't require anti-gravity beams or anything too spectacular, just advances in analysing different genes, finding out what they can do and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-trigell/what-i-imagined-doesn-t-require-anti-gravity-beams-or-anything-too/) [Jonathan Trigell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-trigell/) > [“Even as technology advances, we don't”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-morgan/even-as-technology-advances-we-don-t/) [Elliot Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-morgan/) > [I'm not sure the least educated members of the population are missing out on the advances in medical technology as much as they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-jay-olshansky/i-m-not-sure-the-least-educated-members-of-the-population-are-missing/) [S. Jay Olshansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-jay-olshansky/) > [The idea would be in my mind - and I know it sounds strange - is that the most important advances in medicine would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-soon-shiong/the-idea-would-be-in-my-mind-and-i-know-it-sounds-strange-is-that-the/) [Patrick Soon-Shiong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-soon-shiong/) > [We live increasingly in a world of haves and have-nots, of gated communities next to ghettos, of extreme poverty and unbelievable riches. Some enjoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noreena-hertz/we-live-increasingly-in-a-world-of-haves-and-have-nots-of-gated/) [Noreena Hertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noreena-hertz/) > [“Advances in technology can be empowering, progressive and enriching. History has shown this across civilisations and societies. But it has also shown, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rasheed-ogunlaru/advances-in-technology-can-be-empowering-progressive-and-enriching/) [Rasheed Ogunlaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rasheed-ogunlaru/) > [“Advances are made by answering questions. Discoveries are made by questioning answers. —Bernard Haisch”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-houston/advances-are-made-by-answering-questions-discoveries-are-made-by/) [Philip Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-houston/) > [My mother often mailed me articles from 'Reader's Digest' about advances in DNA chemistry. No matter how I tried to explain it to her,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/my-mother-often-mailed-me-articles-from-reader-s-digest-about/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [Evolution advances, not by a priori design, but by the selection of what works best out of whatever choices offer. We are the products…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/evolution-advances-not-by-a-priori-design-but-by-the-selection-of/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [For the concept of a circuit of the blood does not destroy, but rather advances traditional medicine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-harvey/for-the-concept-of-a-circuit-of-the-blood-does-not-destroy-but-rather/) [William Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-harvey/) > [Advances are Made by Answering Questions. Discoveries are Made by Questioning Answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-haisch/advances-are-made-by-answering-questions-discoveries-are-made-by-2/) [Bernard Haisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-haisch/) > [From stoplights to skyscrapers, turn anywhere in civilization and you will see imagination at work. It's in our inventions, advances and remedies and how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-s-fletcher/from-stoplights-to-skyscrapers-turn-anywhere-in-civilization-and-you/) [Geoffrey S. Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-s-fletcher/) > [The most important advances, the qualitative leaps, are the least predictable. Not even the best scientists predicted the impact of nuclear physics, and everyday…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/the-most-important-advances-the-qualitative-leaps-are-the-least/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) [Browse all 109 Advances quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advances/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The more humanity advances, the more it is degraded.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gustave Flaubert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-more-humanity-advances-the-more-it-is-degraded/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Advances" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-more-humanity-advances-the-more-it-is-degraded/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/340/gustave-flaubert-354_humanity_the-more-humanity-advances-the-more-it-i_2136363.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/340/gustave-flaubert-354_humanity_the-more-humanity-advances-the-more-it-i_2136363.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/340/gustave-flaubert-354_humanity_the-more-humanity-advances-the-more-it-i_2136363.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The more humanity advances, the more it is degraded.” — Gustave Flaubert", "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": "Gustave Flaubert", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The more humanity advances, the more...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-more-humanity-advances-the-more-it-is-degraded/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-more-humanity-advances-the-more-it-is-degraded/#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 } } ] } ```