--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In living things, nature springs an…" description: "\"“In living things, nature springs an ontological surprise in which the world-accident of terrestrial conditions brings to light an entirely new possibi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9b/hans-jonas-45994_identity_in-living-things-nature-springs-an-ontol_1863761.jpg" --- # In living things, nature springs an ontological surprise… ![“In living things, nature springs an ontological surprise in which the world-accident of terrestrial conditions brings to light an entirely new possibility of being: systems of matter that are unities of a manifold, not in virtue of a synthesizing perception whose object they happen to be, nor by…” quote by Hans Jonas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9b/hans-jonas-45994_identity_in-living-things-nature-springs-an-ontol_1863761.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9b/hans-jonas-45994_identity_in-living-things-nature-springs-an-ontol_1863761.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9b/hans-jonas-45994_identity_in-living-things-nature-springs-an-ontol_1863761.jpg) > ““In living things, nature springs an ontological surprise in which the world-accident of terrestrial conditions brings to light an entirely new possibility of being: systems of matter that are unities of a manifold, not in virtue of a synthesizing perception whose object they happen to be, nor by the mere concurrence of the forces that bind their parts together, but in virtue of themselves, for the sake of themselves, and continually sustained by themselves. Here wholeness is self-integrating in active performance, and form for once is the cause rather than the result of the material collections in which it successively subsists. Unity here is self-unifying, by means of changing multiplicity. Sameness, while it last, (and it does not last inertially, in the manner of static identity or of on-moving continuity), is perpetual self-renewal through process, borne on the shift of otherness. This active self-integration of life alone gives substance to the term “individual”: it alone yields the ontological concept of an individual as against a merely phenomenological one. The ontological individual, its very existence at any moment, its duration and its identity in duration is, then, essentially its own function, its own concern, its own continuous achievement. In this process of self-sustained being, the relation of the organism to its own concern, its own continuous achievement. In this process of self-sustained being, the relation of the organism to its material substance is of a double nature: the materials are essential to its specifically, accidental individually; it coincides with their actual collection at the instant, but is not bound to any one collection in the succession of instants, “riding” their change like the crest of a wave and bound only to their form of collection which endures as its own feat. Dependent on their availability as materials, its is independent of their sameness as these; its own, functional identity, passingly incorporating theirs, is of a different order. In a word, the organic form stands in a dialectical relation of needful freedom to matter.”” [Hans Jonas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-jonas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Individuals are self‑creating wholes, constantly renewing through internal processes rather than static identity. **In simple terms:** People continually reinvent themselves through inner activity. Key Takeaway Cultivate self‑driven growth and adaptability. Themes self‑creation process philosophy identity Mood introspective analytical Type philosophical academic When to use this quote - personal development - creative work - spiritual practice - scientific research Key Concepts ontological individuality self‑sustaining systems Questions to Reflect On - What internal processes define your identity? - How can you support self‑renewal? A Different Perspective Complex philosophical language may limit accessibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-alone/) [Living things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-things/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Ontology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ontology/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) ## Related quotes > [Our daily existence requires both closeness and distance, the wholeness of self, the wholeness of intimacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-viorst/our-daily-existence-requires-both-closeness-and-distance-the/) [Judith Viorst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-viorst/) > [Remembering our past, carrying it around with us always, may be the necessary requirement for maintaining, as they say, the wholeness of the self.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/remembering-our-past-carrying-it-around-with-us-always-may-be-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“Every human being has both sets of forces within him. One set clings to safety and defensiveness out of fear, tending to regress backward,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-harold-maslow/every-human-being-has-both-sets-of-forces-within-him-one-set-clings/) [Abraham Harold Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-harold-maslow/) > [“People seem unable to admit this principle of chance. 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Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-watts/) > [A perfect life is like that of a ship of war which has its own place in the fleet and can share in its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gilbert-hamerton/a-perfect-life-is-like-that-of-a-ship-of-war-which-has-its-own-place/) [Philip Gilbert Hamerton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-gilbert-hamerton/) > [“But he will fear least to become nothing in death who has recognized that he is already nothing now, and who consequently no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/but-he-will-fear-least-to-become-nothing-in-death-who-has-recognized/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [We hear much nowadays as to the speculative ideas of men concerning the condition beyond the grave; but the admission that there is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-e-talmage/we-hear-much-nowadays-as-to-the-speculative-ideas-of-men-concerning/) [James E. Talmage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-e-talmage/) > [“For it is not only lethargy alone which causes human relationships to repeat themselves in the same old way with such unspeakable monotony in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/for-it-is-not-only-lethargy-alone-which-causes-human-relationships-to/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) ## More by Hans Jonas > [“The alien is that which stems from elsewhere and does not belong here . . . The stranger who does not know the ways…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-jonas/the-alien-is-that-which-stems-from-elsewhere-and-does-not-belong-here/) [Hans Jonas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-jonas/) > [We need wisdom the most when we believe in it the least.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-jonas/we-need-wisdom-the-most-when-we-believe-in-it-the-least/) [Hans Jonas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-jonas/) > [“That nature does not care, one way or the other, is the true abyss. That only man cares, in his finitude facing nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-jonas/that-nature-does-not-care-one-way-or-the-other-is-the-true-abyss-that/) [Hans Jonas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-jonas/) > [“For in the ever-repeated origination of highly organized individuals from an infinitesimal germ, the working-out of a prearranged plan of growth and development seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-jonas/for-in-the-ever-repeated-origination-of-highly-organized-individuals/) [Hans Jonas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-jonas/) > [Blind nature will nearly always select the most probable, but man can let the most improbable become actual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-jonas/blind-nature-will-nearly-always-select-the-most-probable-but-man-can/) [Hans Jonas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-jonas/) > [“Whatever variety evolution brings forth... Every new dimension of world-response...means another modality for God's trying out his hidden essence and discovering himself through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-jonas/whatever-variety-evolution-brings-forth-every-new-dimension-of-world/) [Hans Jonas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-jonas/) [Explore all 7 Hans Jonas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-jonas/) ## More Identity quotes > [I don't doubt that straight white men have identity issues and identity complexes and struggle with defining themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-simien/i-don-t-doubt-that-straight-white-men-have-identity-issues-and/) [Justin Simien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-simien/) > [In the hearing world, I'm constantly having to lip-read and trying to understand what's going on. Sign language is so beautiful. It gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-ayling-ellis/in-the-hearing-world-i-m-constantly-having-to-lip-read-and-trying-to/) [Rose Ayling-Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-ayling-ellis/) > [I think the next 50 years are going to present the human race with challenges that so far exceed the limitations of geopolitical boundaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/i-think-the-next-50-years-are-going-to-present-the-human-race-with/) [Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/) > [You have expressive nationalism, I mean very identity driven, which shaped each other a lot of that in the Middle East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subrahmanyam-jaishankar/you-have-expressive-nationalism-i-mean-very-identity-driven-which/) [Subrahmanyam Jaishankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subrahmanyam-jaishankar/) > [Family over friends, because real friends are family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/family-over-friends-because-real-friends-are-family/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think everybody, or the great majority of human beings, have this aspiration to become other: to live a different identity, at least for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/i-think-everybody-or-the-great-majority-of-human-beings-have-this/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [The language we share is at the core of our identity as citizens, and our ticket to full participation in American political life. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa/the-language-we-share-is-at-the-core-of-our-identity-as-citizens-and/) [S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) > [Tell me how much a nation knows about its own language, and I will tell you how much that nation knows about its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ciardi/tell-me-how-much-a-nation-knows-about-its-own-language-and-i-will/) [John Ciardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ciardi/) > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“In the worldly life, due to maadakta (intoxication of the ego of ‘I am Chandubhai’), one has completely lost awareness of everything about one’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/in-the-worldly-life-due-to-maadakta-intoxication-of-the-ego-of-i-am/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“At the moment, then, of Man’s victory over Nature, we find the whole human race subjected to some individual men, and those individuals subjected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/at-the-moment-then-of-man-s-victory-over-nature-we-find-the-whole/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [She might be without country, without nation, but inside her there was still a being that could exist and be free, that could simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-maas/she-might-be-without-country-without-nation-but-inside-her-there-was/) [Sharon Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-maas/) > [“Self-realization or self-knowing or awakening is about knowing/ becoming conscious of our true nature and living in harmony with the universe in an ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-vazhakunnathu/self-realization-or-self-knowing-or-awakening-is-about-knowing/) [Thomas Vazhakunnathu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-vazhakunnathu/) > [“There are some things that one individual can do for another, and there are some things that one race can do for another. But,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/there-are-some-things-that-one-individual-can-do-for-another-and/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [“Why were there no words that spoke positively about being concerned about the self? Why was there only negative connotation in terms like "selfish",…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-dalton/why-were-there-no-words-that-spoke-positively-about-being-concerned/) A.J. Dalton [Browse all 11,949 Identity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In living things, nature springs an ontological surprise in which the world-accident of terrestrial conditions brings to light an entirely new possibility of being: systems of matter that are unities of a manifold, not in virtue of a synthesizing perception whose object they happen to be, nor by the mere concurrence of the forces that bind their parts together, but in virtue of themselves, for the sake of themselves, and continually sustained by themselves. Here wholeness is self-integrating in active performance, and form for once is the cause rather than the result of the material collections in which it successively subsists. Unity here is self-unifying, by means of changing multiplicity. Sameness, while it last, (and it does not last inertially, in the manner of static identity or of on-moving continuity), is perpetual self-renewal through process, borne on the shift of otherness. This active self-integration of life alone gives substance to the term “individual”: it alone yields the ontological concept of an individual as against a merely phenomenological one. The ontological individual, its very existence at any moment, its duration and its identity in duration is, then, essentially its own function, its own concern, its own continuous achievement. In this process of self-sustained being, the relation of the organism to its own concern, its own continuous achievement. In this process of self-sustained being, the relation of the organism to its material substance is of a double nature: the materials are essential to its specifically, accidental individually; it coincides with their actual collection at the instant, but is not bound to any one collection in the succession of instants, “riding” their change like the crest of a wave and bound only to their form of collection which endures as its own feat. Dependent on their availability as materials, its is independent of their sameness as these; its own, functional identity, passingly incorporating theirs, is of a different order. 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