--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The end of man (as a factual…" description: "\"The end of man (as a factual anthropological limit) is announced to thought from the vantage of the end of man (as a determined opening or the infinity..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75b/jacques-derrida-3948_determined_the-end-of-man-as-a-factual-anthropologi_2815718.jpg" --- # The end of man (as a factual anthropological limit) is… ![“The end of man (as a factual anthropological limit) is announced to thought from the vantage of the end of man (as a determined opening or the infinity of a telos ). Man is that which is in relation to his end, in the fundamentally equivocal sense of the word. Since always.” quote by Jacques Derrida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75b/jacques-derrida-3948_determined_the-end-of-man-as-a-factual-anthropologi_2815718.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75b/jacques-derrida-3948_determined_the-end-of-man-as-a-factual-anthropologi_2815718.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75b/jacques-derrida-3948_determined_the-end-of-man-as-a-factual-anthropologi_2815718.jpg) > “The end of man (as a factual anthropological limit) is announced to thought from the vantage of the end of man (as a determined opening or the infinity of a telos ). Man is that which is in relation to his end, in the fundamentally equivocal sense of the word. Since always.” [Jacques Derrida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-derrida/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human existence is defined by its relation to an ever‑shifting purpose, making any fixed “end” both a limit and a launchpad for thought. **In simple terms:** Purpose is fluid and defines humanity. Key Takeaway Embrace open‑ended possibilities. Themes existentialism philosophy purpose ontology Mood introspective analytical Type philosophical existential When to use this quote - Academic discourse - personal meaning‑making - creative writing - psychological counseling Key Concepts Deconstruction telos relational identity Questions to Reflect On - How does an open end influence personal goals? - What does “end” mean in modern life? A Different Perspective May be seen as overly abstract. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Determined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/determined/) [Infinity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infinity/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [The end of a man work schooling is marriage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshef-ibimodi/the-end-of-a-man-work-schooling-is-marriage/) Joshef Ibimodi > [“Question: What is the chief End of Man? Answer: Man's chief End is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-w-tozer/question-what-is-the-chief-end-of-man-answer-man-s-chief-end-is-to/) [A.W. Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-w-tozer/) > [Animals... are there merely as a means to an end. That end is man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/animals-are-there-merely-as-a-means-to-an-end-that-end-is-man/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [I decline to accept the end of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/i-decline-to-accept-the-end-of-man/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [. . . in the end, there is nothing a man can do that a woman can't, except be a father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-pittman/in-the-end-there-is-nothing-a-man-can-do-that-a-woman-can-t-except-be/) [Frank Pittman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-pittman/) > [In the end, it will be every man for himself... -Loki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-avengers/in-the-end-it-will-be-every-man-for-himself-loki/) [The Avengers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-avengers/) > [May he die with no joy at his end, The man who won't be troubled To unlock the keys of his heart and make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/may-he-die-with-no-joy-at-his-end-the-man-who-won-t-be-troubled-to/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [What is the end of human life? It is not, believe me, the chief end of man that he should make a fortune and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/what-is-the-end-of-human-life-it-is-not-believe-me-the-chief-end-of/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/westminster-shorter-catechism/the-chief-end-of-man-is-to-glorify-god-and-enjoy-him-forever/) Westminster Shorter Catechism > [Holiness, not happiness, is the chief end of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/holiness-not-happiness-is-the-chief-end-of-man/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [The end of man is action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-end-of-man-is-action/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [What is the chief end of man?-to get rich. In what way?-dishonestly if we can; honestly if we must.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/what-is-the-chief-end-of-man-to-get-rich-in-what-way-dishonestly-if/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“In the end, every man's life is but a tale told to him that's lived it, and to him alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-willocks/in-the-end-every-man-s-life-is-but-a-tale-told-to-him-that-s-lived-it/) [Tim Willocks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-willocks/) > [There's some end at last for the man who follows a path; mere rambling is interminable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-elder/there-s-some-end-at-last-for-the-man-who-follows-a-path-mere-rambling/) [Seneca the Elder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-elder/) > [The end of Man is an Action, and not a Thought, though it were the noblest?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-end-of-man-is-an-action-and-not-a-thought-though-it-were-the/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) ## More by Jacques Derrida > [“Still less, despite appearances, will it have been a collection of three “essays” whose itinerary it would be time, after the fact, to recognize;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-derrida/still-less-despite-appearances-will-it-have-been-a-collection-of/) [Jacques Derrida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-derrida/) > [Cinema plus Psychoanalysis equals the Science of Ghosts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-derrida/cinema-plus-psychoanalysis-equals-the-science-of-ghosts/) [Jacques Derrida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-derrida/) > [The traditional statement about language is that it is in itself living, and that writing is the dead part of language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-derrida/the-traditional-statement-about-language-is-that-it-is-in-itself/) [Jacques Derrida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-derrida/) > [We are all mediators, translators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-derrida/we-are-all-mediators-translators/) [Jacques Derrida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-derrida/) > [“... and in the homosexual phase which would follow Eurydice's death ... Orpheus sings no more, he writes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-derrida/and-in-the-homosexual-phase-which-would-follow-eurydice-s-death/) [Jacques Derrida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-derrida/) > [These critics organize and practice in my case a sort of obsessive personality cult which philosophers should know how to question and above all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-derrida/these-critics-organize-and-practice-in-my-case-a-sort-of-obsessive/) [Jacques Derrida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-derrida/) > [Each time this identity announces itself, someone or something cries: Look out for the trap, youre caught. Take off, get free, disengage yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-derrida/each-time-this-identity-announces-itself-someone-or-something-cries/) [Jacques Derrida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-derrida/) > [Within the university... you can study without waiting for any efficient or immediate result. You may search, just for the sake of searching, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-derrida/within-the-university-you-can-study-without-waiting-for-any-efficient/) [Jacques Derrida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-derrida/) > [“Here again, the difference between the effective and the virtual, between mourning and its possibility, seems fragile and porous. The anguished apprehension of mourning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-derrida/here-again-the-difference-between-the-effective-and-the-virtual/) [Jacques Derrida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-derrida/) > [“The wound can have (should only have) just one proper name. I recognize that I love — you — by this: you leave in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-derrida/the-wound-can-have-should-only-have-just-one-proper-name-i-recognize/) [Jacques Derrida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-derrida/) > [Everything is arranged so that it be this way, this is what is called culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-derrida/everything-is-arranged-so-that-it-be-this-way-this-is-what-is-called/) [Jacques Derrida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-derrida/) > [But can one not conceive of a presence, and of a presence to itself of the subject before speech or signs, a presence to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-derrida/but-can-one-not-conceive-of-a-presence-and-of-a-presence-to-itself-of/) [Jacques Derrida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-derrida/) > [“It goes without saying that these effects do not suffice to annul the necessity for a “change of terrain.” It also goes without saying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-derrida/it-goes-without-saying-that-these-effects-do-not-suffice-to-annul-the/) [Jacques Derrida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-derrida/) > [In philosophy, you have to reckon with the implicit level of an accumulated reserve, and thus with a very great number of relays, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-derrida/in-philosophy-you-have-to-reckon-with-the-implicit-level-of-an/) [Jacques Derrida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-derrida/) > [During the fifteen or twenty years in which I tried - it was not always easy with publishers, newspapers, etc. - to forbid photographs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-derrida/during-the-fifteen-or-twenty-years-in-which-i-tried-it-was-not-always/) [Jacques Derrida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-derrida/) [Explore all 118 Jacques Derrida quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-derrida/) ## More Determined quotes > [Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-pink/human-beings-have-an-innate-inner-drive-to-be-autonomous-self/) [Daniel H. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-pink/) > [If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-not-willing-to-learn-no-one-can-help-you-if-you-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ignorance is not bliss — it is oblivion. Determined ignorance is the hastiest kind of oblivion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-wylie/ignorance-is-not-bliss-it-is-oblivion-determined-ignorance-is-the/) [Philip Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-wylie/) > [I was determined to be an actor and make a name in the industry, and hence, I did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nawazuddin-siddiqui/i-was-determined-to-be-an-actor-and-make-a-name-in-the-industry-and/) [Nawazuddin Siddiqui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nawazuddin-siddiqui/) > [Always remember, there is more strength in you than you ever realized or even imagined. Certainly nothing can keep you down if you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/always-remember-there-is-more-strength-in-you-than-you-ever-realized/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [If a Coach is determined to stay in the coaching profession, he will develop from year to year. This much is true, no coach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolph-rupp/if-a-coach-is-determined-to-stay-in-the-coaching-profession-he-will/) [Adolph Rupp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolph-rupp/) > [Early experience shapes the structure and function of the brain. This reveals the fundamental way in which gene expression is determined by experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-siegel/early-experience-shapes-the-structure-and-function-of-the-brain-this/) [Daniel J. Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-siegel/) > [The laws of thermodynamics, as empirically determined, express the approximate and probable behavior of systems of a great number of particles, or, more precisely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-gibbs/the-laws-of-thermodynamics-as-empirically-determined-express-the/) J. Willard Gibbs > [The more we sense...our ultimate potential, the more determined we become to achieve it. It's the difference between your mother hounding you to practice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheri-l-dew/the-more-we-sense-our-ultimate-potential-the-more-determined-we/) [Sheri L. Dew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheri-l-dew/) > [How could a readiness for war in time of peace be safely prohibited, unless we could prohibit, in like manner, the preparations and establishments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/how-could-a-readiness-for-war-in-time-of-peace-be-safely-prohibited/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [Further conceive, I beg, that a stone, while continuing in motion, should be capable of thinking and knowing, that it is endeavoring, as far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/further-conceive-i-beg-that-a-stone-while-continuing-in-motion-should/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Your success will be determined by the quality of your relationships with people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/your-success-will-be-determined-by-the-quality-of-your-relationships/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [I've always been competitive and determined. It's part of my personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-simmonds/i-ve-always-been-competitive-and-determined-it-s-part-of-my/) [Ellie Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-simmonds/) > [We are determined that before the sun sets on this terrible struggle, Our Flag will be recognized throughout the World as a symbol of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-marshall/we-are-determined-that-before-the-sun-sets-on-this-terrible-struggle/) [George C. Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-marshall/) > [I am still determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-washington/i-am-still-determined-to-be-cheerful-and-happy-in-whatever-situation/) [Martha Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-washington/) [Browse all 2,245 Determined quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/determined/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The end of man (as a factual anthropological limit) is announced to thought from the vantage of the end of man (as a determined opening or the infinity of a telos ). Man is that which is in relation to his end, in the fundamentally equivocal sense of the word. 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