--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is the mark of great ideas: they…" description: "\"“This is the mark of great ideas: they unify people and they also act to unify the disparate parts of the human being; they speak of a social order tha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24d/jacob-needleman-16314_great-ideas_this-is-the-mark-of-great-ideas-they-uni_290694.jpg" --- # This is the mark of great ideas: they unify people and… ![“This is the mark of great ideas: they unify people and they also act to unify the disparate parts of the human being; they speak of a social order that is possible on the basis of an ordering within the individual self.” quote by Jacob Needleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24d/jacob-needleman-16314_great-ideas_this-is-the-mark-of-great-ideas-they-uni_290694.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24d/jacob-needleman-16314_great-ideas_this-is-the-mark-of-great-ideas-they-uni_290694.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24d/jacob-needleman-16314_great-ideas_this-is-the-mark-of-great-ideas-they-uni_290694.jpg) > ““This is the mark of great ideas: they unify people and they also act to unify the disparate parts of the human being; they speak of a social order that is possible on the basis of an ordering within the individual self.”” [Jacob Needleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-needleman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Great ideas connect people and integrate the fragmented aspects of the self, proposing a social order rooted in inner harmony. **In simple terms:** Ideas link people and unify the self. Key Takeaway Seek ideas that harmonize inner and outer worlds. Themes connection integration philosophy social order Mood inspired reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - leadership - community building - personal development - education - conflict resolution Key Concepts holism self‑actualization collective consciousness Questions to Reflect On - How can you translate a unifying idea into daily practice? - What inner fragments need integration? A Different Perspective Ideas may be too abstract to inspire concrete change without practical steps. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Great ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-ideas/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Social order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-order/) ## Related quotes > [You will find that hate can unify people more quickly and more fervently than devotion ever could.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/you-will-find-that-hate-can-unify-people-more-quickly-and-more/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [Like Lenny Kravitz, I wanna make the world a better place; I wanna unify people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-prass/like-lenny-kravitz-i-wanna-make-the-world-a-better-place-i-wanna/) [Natalie Prass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-prass/) > [I try to unify the people. It's simple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skip-marley/i-try-to-unify-the-people-it-s-simple/) [Skip Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skip-marley/) > [I will admit that we are attracted to issues that unify people rather than divide them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bono/i-will-admit-that-we-are-attracted-to-issues-that-unify-people-rather/) [Bono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bono/) > [I just want to unify people. A crowd full of people singing one song... that doesn't derive from anything dishonest... It's someone's truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bibi-bourelly/i-just-want-to-unify-people-a-crowd-full-of-people-singing-one-song/) [Bibi Bourelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bibi-bourelly/) > [Obama's only attempt to unify the country was to unify people who believe that his enemies need to be eliminated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/obama-s-only-attempt-to-unify-the-country-was-to-unify-people-who/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [The chaos of two cultures merging is the best time to forge a new identity to unify people, because everyone is looking for answers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-droga/the-chaos-of-two-cultures-merging-is-the-best-time-to-forge-a-new/) [David Droga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-droga/) > [“When apparent stability disintegrates, As it must-- God is Change-- People tend to give in To fear and depression, To need and greed. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/when-apparent-stability-disintegrates-as-it-must-god-is-change-people/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [Folk music was to strengthen and unify people, whether it was through an uprising and rebellion or whether is was through hard work, bringing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pj-harvey/folk-music-was-to-strengthen-and-unify-people-whether-it-was-through/) [PJ Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pj-harvey/) > [Music is a great way to unify people and the Asian community as a whole because they're segregated. There's Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis. As a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naughty-boy/music-is-a-great-way-to-unify-people-and-the-asian-community-as-a/) [Naughty Boy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naughty-boy/) > [Music is a vehicle and a tool. Music is used to unify people and spread messages of upliftment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skip-marley/music-is-a-vehicle-and-a-tool-music-is-used-to-unify-people-and/) [Skip Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skip-marley/) > [The world is a complicated place, and there's a lot of division between people. The performing arts tend to unify people in a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rubenstein/the-world-is-a-complicated-place-and-there-s-a-lot-of-division/) [David Rubenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rubenstein/) > [Our world, so we see and hear on all sides, is drowning in materialism, commercialism, consumerism. But the problem is not really there. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-needleman/our-world-so-we-see-and-hear-on-all-sides-is-drowning-in-materialism/) [Jacob Needleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-needleman/) > [My whole life and my whole career, even through my music, I tell people: let's unify; let's show more love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dj-khaled/my-whole-life-and-my-whole-career-even-through-my-music-i-tell-people/) [DJ Khaled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dj-khaled/) > [We will make every effort to unify all ethnic groups, to strengthen belief in Taiwan and to persist in reform.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chen-shui-bian/we-will-make-every-effort-to-unify-all-ethnic-groups-to-strengthen/) [Chen Shui-bian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chen-shui-bian/) ## More by Jacob Needleman > [We are born for meaning, not pleasure, unless it is pleasure that is steeped in meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-needleman/we-are-born-for-meaning-not-pleasure-unless-it-is-pleasure-that-is/) [Jacob Needleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-needleman/) > [Why has time disappeared in our culture? How is it that after decades of inventions and new technologies devoted to saving time and labor,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-needleman/why-has-time-disappeared-in-our-culture-how-is-it-that-after-decades/) [Jacob Needleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-needleman/) > [If one steps out on a starry night and observes one's inner state, one asks if one could hate or be overwhelmed by envy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-needleman/if-one-steps-out-on-a-starry-night-and-observes-one-s-inner-state-one/) [Jacob Needleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-needleman/) > [Life is not so much defined by the external situation as it is by the internal one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-needleman/life-is-not-so-much-defined-by-the-external-situation-as-it-is-by-the/) [Jacob Needleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-needleman/) > [Our modern world-view tragically misperceives and wrongly defines what it is to be human. We are conditioned by our society to believe happiness comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-needleman/our-modern-world-view-tragically-misperceives-and-wrongly-defines/) [Jacob Needleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-needleman/) > [For the growing number of people seeking to approach the ideas of Gurdjieff, Toward Awakening by Jean Vaysse offers reliable guidance, as well as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-needleman/for-the-growing-number-of-people-seeking-to-approach-the-ideas-of/) [Jacob Needleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-needleman/) > [The problem of money dogs our steps throughout the whole of our lives, exerting a pressure that, in its way, is as powerful and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-needleman/the-problem-of-money-dogs-our-steps-throughout-the-whole-of-our-lives/) [Jacob Needleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-needleman/) > [ What is \[the role of money\] in the search for meaning? Is our relationship to it one of the chief factors that keeps us… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-needleman/what-is-the-role-of-money-in-the-search-for-meaning-is-our/) [Jacob Needleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-needleman/) > [“Remember how long you have been putting these things off, and how often you have received an opportunity from the gods and have not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-needleman/remember-how-long-you-have-been-putting-these-things-off-and-how/) [Jacob Needleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-needleman/) > [As my personal explorations continued, I experienced this quality of inner reality more and more and could no longer doubt that the meaning of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-needleman/as-my-personal-explorations-continued-i-experienced-this-quality-of/) [Jacob Needleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-needleman/) > [To love my neighbor is to assist the arising and unfolding in him of that which can harmonize the real elements of his nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-needleman/to-love-my-neighbor-is-to-assist-the-arising-and-unfolding-in-him-of/) [Jacob Needleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-needleman/) > [Our world, so we see and hear on all sides, is drowning in materialism, commercialism, consumerism. But the problem is not really there. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-needleman/our-world-so-we-see-and-hear-on-all-sides-is-drowning-in-materialism/) [Jacob Needleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-needleman/) > [As to how I would guide someone who is confused about the idea of God, I would suggest that he or she begins identifying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-needleman/as-to-how-i-would-guide-someone-who-is-confused-about-the-idea-of-god/) [Jacob Needleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-needleman/) > [Money is like a mirror to our culture. What we see tells us who we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-needleman/money-is-like-a-mirror-to-our-culture-what-we-see-tells-us-who-we-are/) [Jacob Needleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-needleman/) > [If the group is an art form of the future, then convening groups is an artistry we must cultivate to fully harvest the promise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-needleman/if-the-group-is-an-art-form-of-the-future-then-convening-groups-is-an/) [Jacob Needleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-needleman/) [Explore all 40 Jacob Needleman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-needleman/) ## More Great ideas quotes > [“Yes, read about jobs and your hours and wages. Yes, you must strike, you must have better lives. But you must read also about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-poole/yes-read-about-jobs-and-your-hours-and-wages-yes-you-must-strike-you/) [Ernest Poole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-poole/) > [The realization that my problem was one that concerned all men, a problem of living and thinking, suddenly swept over me and I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-realization-that-my-problem-was-one-that-concerned-all-men-a/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Great ideas behave like the Sun. Even in the middle of nowhere, they find people and shine on them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/great-ideas-behave-like-the-sun-even-in-the-middle-of-nowhere-they/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Great ideas get even better when you share them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loesje/great-ideas-get-even-better-when-you-share-them/) [Loesje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loesje/) > [“Inspiration is the seed of imagination, where great ideas bloom”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-sodini/inspiration-is-the-seed-of-imagination-where-great-ideas-bloom/) [Jennifer Sodini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-sodini/) > [I do value my work awfully; but in reality only consider this: all this world of ours is nothing but a speck of mildew,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-do-value-my-work-awfully-but-in-reality-only-consider-this-all-this/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“You do not say someone is holy because he puts forth great ideas concerning the knowledge of God and the attributes of God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-molinos/you-do-not-say-someone-is-holy-because-he-puts-forth-great-ideas/) [Michael Molinos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-molinos/) > [Most people who have kids are, "Hey, I want another me. I like me. I'm pretty cool, and I've got really great ideas, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cross/most-people-who-have-kids-are-hey-i-want-another-me-i-like-me-i-m/) [David Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cross/) > [All the ideas in the universe can be described by words. Therefore, if you simply take all the words and rearrange them randomly enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-the-ideas-in-the-universe-can-be-described-by-words-therefore-if/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't love great ideas. I love the little human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/i-don-t-love-great-ideas-i-love-the-little-human-being/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [I often think of a quote from entrepreneur Jim Rohn: 'You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-ohanian/i-often-think-of-a-quote-from-entrepreneur-jim-rohn-you-are-the/) [Alexis Ohanian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-ohanian/) > [Since many things we see were once an idea, let us create good ideas today because they will be the realities of tomorrow! When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/since-many-things-we-see-were-once-an-idea-let-us-create-good-ideas/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Any leader who asks the right questions of the right people has the potential to discover and develop great ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/any-leader-who-asks-the-right-questions-of-the-right-people-has-the/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [With God's help, I've not had a drink in nine and a half years. That's my whole story right there. And because of that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ringo-starr/with-god-s-help-i-ve-not-had-a-drink-in-nine-and-a-half-years-that-s/) [Ringo Starr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ringo-starr/) > [we can't be creative if we refuse to be confused. Change always starts with confusion; cherished interpretations must dissolve to make way for what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-j-wheatley/we-can-t-be-creative-if-we-refuse-to-be-confused-change-always-starts/) [Margaret J. Wheatley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-j-wheatley/) [Browse all 254 Great ideas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-ideas/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“This is the mark of great ideas: they unify people and they also act to unify the disparate parts of the human being; they speak of a social order that is possible on the basis of an ordering within the individual self.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jacob Needleman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-needleman/this-is-the-mark-of-great-ideas-they-unify-people-and-they-also-act/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Great ideas" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-needleman/this-is-the-mark-of-great-ideas-they-unify-people-and-they-also-act/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24d/jacob-needleman-16314_great-ideas_this-is-the-mark-of-great-ideas-they-uni_290694.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24d/jacob-needleman-16314_great-ideas_this-is-the-mark-of-great-ideas-they-uni_290694.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24d/jacob-needleman-16314_great-ideas_this-is-the-mark-of-great-ideas-they-uni_290694.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“This is the mark of great ideas: they unify people and they also act to unify the disparate parts of the…” — Jacob Needleman", "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": "Jacob Needleman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-needleman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“This is the mark of great...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-needleman/this-is-the-mark-of-great-ideas-they-unify-people-and-they-also-act/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-needleman/this-is-the-mark-of-great-ideas-they-unify-people-and-they-also-act/#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 } } ] } ```