---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mere physical growing up, mere mastery of…"
description: "\"Mere physical growing up, mere mastery of the bare necessities of subsistence will not suffice to reproduce the life of the group. Deliberate effort an..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d49/john-dewey-545_deliberate_mere-physical-growing-up-mere-mastery-of_2092584.jpg"
---

#  Mere physical growing up, mere mastery of the bare…

![“Mere physical growing up, mere mastery of the bare necessities of subsistence will not suffice to reproduce the life of the group. Deliberate effort and the taking of thoughtful pains are required.” quote by John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d49/john-dewey-545_deliberate_mere-physical-growing-up-mere-mastery-of_2092584.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d49/john-dewey-545_deliberate_mere-physical-growing-up-mere-mastery-of_2092584.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d49/john-dewey-545_deliberate_mere-physical-growing-up-mere-mastery-of_2092584.jpg)

> “Mere physical growing up, mere mastery of the bare necessities of subsistence will not suffice to reproduce the life of the group. Deliberate effort and the taking of thoughtful pains are required.”

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Individual development requires more than basic survival; intentional effort and thoughtful challenges are essential for contributing to the community.

**In simple terms:** Basic needs aren't enough; purposeful work matters.

Key Takeaway

Embrace deliberate challenges.

Themes

education personal growth community

Mood

reflective motivational

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- career development
- volunteering
- skill mastery
- team projects

Key Concepts

intentionality effort meaningful work

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you balance personal needs with community contribution?
- What purposeful challenges can you set today?

A Different Perspective

May overlook personal well‑being in pursuit of group goals.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Deliberate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deliberate/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Groups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/groups/) [Growing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing/) [Growing Mere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-mere-4142875/) [Growing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-up/) [Hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-work/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mastery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mastery/) [Mere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mere/) [Mere Physical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mere-physical-4142876/) [Necessities Subsistence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necessities-subsistence-4142873/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Subsistence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subsistence/) [Subsistence Suffice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subsistence-suffice-4142874/) [Thoughtful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughtful/)

## Related quotes

> [Adults are naturally most conscious of directing the conduct of others when they are immediately aiming so to do. As a rule, they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/adults-are-naturally-most-conscious-of-directing-the-conduct-of/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [Thinking is the accurate and deliberate instituting of connections between what is done and its consequences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/thinking-is-the-accurate-and-deliberate-instituting-of-connections/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [He who cannot by his labor suffice for his own support has no claim to the privilege of helping himself to the money of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/he-who-cannot-by-his-labor-suffice-for-his-own-support-has-no-claim/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [ \[P\]opulation, when unchecked, goes on doubling itself every twenty-five years, or increases in a geometrical ratio. ... \[T\]he means of subsistence, under circumstances the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/p-opulation-when-unchecked-goes-on-doubling-itself-every-twenty-five/)

[Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/)

> [The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/the-power-of-population-is-indefinitely-greater-than-the-power-in-the/)

[Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/)

> [“(On producer/consumer relationship in subsistence farming) This is the sort of interconnectedness that once defined every outpost across our emerging nation. But outposts grew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-hewitt/on-producer-consumer-relationship-in-subsistence-farming-this-is-the/)

[Ben Hewitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-hewitt/)

> [If the land was divided among all the inhabitants of a country, so that each of them possessed precisely the quantity necessary for his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-robert-jacques-turgot-baron-de-laune/if-the-land-was-divided-among-all-the-inhabitants-of-a-country-so/)

[Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot, Baron de Laune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-robert-jacques-turgot-baron-de-laune/)

> [For extending its sway, partly by force of arms, partly by the voluntary submission of weaker tribes, the community soon acquires wealth and slaves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-extending-its-sway-partly-by-force-of-arms-partly-by-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Most man only care for science so far as they get a living by it, and that they worship even error when it affords…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/most-man-only-care-for-science-so-far-as-they-get-a-living-by-it-and/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [If this labourer were in possession of his own means of production, and was satisfied to live as a labourer, he need not work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/if-this-labourer-were-in-possession-of-his-own-means-of-production/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

> [Of the laws of nature, on which the condition of man depends, that which is attended with the greatest number of consequences, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mill/of-the-laws-of-nature-on-which-the-condition-of-man-depends-that/)

[James Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mill/)

> [“People who live at subsistence level want first things to be put first. They are not particularly interested in freedom of religion, freedom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-marshall/people-who-live-at-subsistence-level-want-first-things-to-be-put/)

[Sebastian Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-marshall/)

> [What more degrades woman today than that she so often seeks marriage as a support? Why is the holy sacrament of love, the sanctity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-c-ames/what-more-degrades-woman-today-than-that-she-so-often-seeks-marriage/)

[Mary C. Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-c-ames/)

> [...the science of calculation also is indispensable as far as the extraction of the square and cube roots: Algebra as far as the quadratic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-science-of-calculation-also-is-indispensable-as-far-as-the/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [It is evident that the right of acquiring and possessing property, and having it protected, is one of the natural, inherent, and unalienable rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-paterson/it-is-evident-that-the-right-of-acquiring-and-possessing-property-and/)

[William Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-paterson/)

## More by John Dewey

> [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [“Empirically, things are poignant, tragic, beautiful, humorous, settled, disturbed, comfortable, annoying, barren, harsh, consoling, splendid, fearful; are such immediately and in their own right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/empirically-things-are-poignant-tragic-beautiful-humorous-settled/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [A good aim surveys the present state of experience of pupils, and forming a tentative plan of treatment, keeps the plan constantly in view…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/a-good-aim-surveys-the-present-state-of-experience-of-pupils-and/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [Experiences in order to be educative must lead out into an expanding world of subject matter, a subject matter of facts or information and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/experiences-in-order-to-be-educative-must-lead-out-into-an-expanding/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [A tribe, let us say, is warlike. The successes for which it strives, the achievements upon which it sets store, are connected with fighting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/a-tribe-let-us-say-is-warlike-the-successes-for-which-it-strives-the/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [The phrase "think for one's self" is a pleonasm. Unless one does it for one's self, it isn't thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-phrase-think-for-one-s-self-is-a-pleonasm-unless-one-does-it-for/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [Doctrine that eliminates or even obscures the function of choice of values and enlistment of desires and emotions in behalf of those chosen weakens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/doctrine-that-eliminates-or-even-obscures-the-function-of-choice-of/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [There is no such thing as educational value in the abstract. The notion that some subjects and methods and that acquaintance with certain facts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/there-is-no-such-thing-as-educational-value-in-the-abstract-the/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [Men live in a community in virtue of the things which they have in common; and communication is the way in which they come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/men-live-in-a-community-in-virtue-of-the-things-which-they-have-in/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [We can have facts without thinking but we cannot have thinking without facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/we-can-have-facts-without-thinking-but-we-cannot-have-thinking/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [But progress in knowledge has made us aware of the superficiality of Plato's lumping of individuals and their original powers into a few sharply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/but-progress-in-knowledge-has-made-us-aware-of-the-superficiality-of/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [Even the alleged benefits of war, so far as more than alleged, spring from the fact that conflict of peoples at least enforces intercourse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/even-the-alleged-benefits-of-war-so-far-as-more-than-alleged-spring/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [“When the organization called soul is free, moving and operative, initial as well as terminal, it is spirit. Qualities are both static, substantial, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/when-the-organization-called-soul-is-free-moving-and-operative/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [Since in reality there is nothing to which growth is relative save more growth, there is nothing to which education is subordinate save more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/since-in-reality-there-is-nothing-to-which-growth-is-relative-save/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [Creative thinking will improve as we relate the new fact to the old and all facts to each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/creative-thinking-will-improve-as-we-relate-the-new-fact-to-the-old/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

[Explore all 486 John Dewey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

## More Deliberate quotes

> [The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance”: “The differences between expert performers and normal adults are not immutable, that is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-anders-ericsson/the-role-of-deliberate-practice-in-the-acquisition-of-expert/)

[K. Anders Ericsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-anders-ericsson/)

> [One of the noblest words in our language is "grace," defined as "unearned blessing." We live by grace far more than by anything else.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/one-of-the-noblest-words-in-our-language-is-grace-defined-as-unearned/)

[D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/)

> [There should be a period of time during each practice session when you perform. Invite some friends in to your practice room and play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-jacobs/there-should-be-a-period-of-time-during-each-practice-session-when/)

[Arnold Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-jacobs/)

> [“Be deliberate in your choices. We are created to do what we are called to do and what we are born to experience, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-connor/be-deliberate-in-your-choices-we-are-created-to-do-what-we-are-called/)

[Julie Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-connor/)

> [Deliberate long before thou consecrate a friend, and when thy impartial justice concludes him worthy of thy bosom, receive him joyfully, and entertain him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/deliberate-long-before-thou-consecrate-a-friend-and-when-thy/)

[Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/)

> [We study health, and we deliberate upon our meats and drink and air and exercises, and we hew and we polish every stone that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/we-study-health-and-we-deliberate-upon-our-meats-and-drink-and-air/)

[John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/)

> [Deflation means a slowdown of income growth. Markets shrink, new capital investment and employment also taper off, so wages decline. That is what's happening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/deflation-means-a-slowdown-of-income-growth-markets-shrink-new/)

[Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/)

> [I say that human nature is the original beginning and the raw material, and deliberate effort is what makes it patterned, ordered, and exalted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xun-kuang/i-say-that-human-nature-is-the-original-beginning-and-the-raw/)

[Xun Kuang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xun-kuang/)

> [Even today to be civilised is held to be synonymous with being westernised. Advanced countries devote large resources to formulating and spreading ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/even-today-to-be-civilised-is-held-to-be-synonymous-with-being/)

[Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/)

> [Holidays are in no sense an alternative to the congestion and bustle of the cities and work. Quite the contrary. People look to escape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/holidays-are-in-no-sense-an-alternative-to-the-congestion-and-bustle/)

[Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/)

> [I often think about how my sons will come to know about September 11th. Something overheard? A newspaper image? In school? I would prefer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/i-often-think-about-how-my-sons-will-come-to-know-about-september/)

[Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/)

> [In our lives and in our careers, whether we are aware of it or not, we are constantly navigating a path by deciding between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/in-our-lives-and-in-our-careers-whether-we-are-aware-of-it-or-not-we/)

[Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/)

> [“a creature cloistered now by deliberate choice and still in the throes of enforced apprenticeship to, rather than voluntary or even acquiescent participation in,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/a-creature-cloistered-now-by-deliberate-choice-and-still-in-the/)

[William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/)

> [“Success is a choice; you choose it and work it out! Excellence is deliberate and so it is intentionally pursued. No successful person ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/success-is-a-choice-you-choose-it-and-work-it-out-excellence-is/)

[Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/)

> [Theory may be deliberate, as in a chapter on chemistry, or it may be second nature, as in the immemorial doctrine of ordinary enduring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/theory-may-be-deliberate-as-in-a-chapter-on-chemistry-or-it-may-be/)

[Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/)

[Browse all 503 Deliberate quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deliberate/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Mere physical growing up, mere mastery of the bare necessities of subsistence will not suffice to reproduce the life of the group. Deliberate effort and the taking of thoughtful pains are required.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "John Dewey"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/mere-physical-growing-up-mere-mastery-of-the-bare-necessities-of/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Deliberate"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/mere-physical-growing-up-mere-mastery-of-the-bare-necessities-of/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d49/john-dewey-545_deliberate_mere-physical-growing-up-mere-mastery-of_2092584.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d49/john-dewey-545_deliberate_mere-physical-growing-up-mere-mastery-of_2092584.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d49/john-dewey-545_deliberate_mere-physical-growing-up-mere-mastery-of_2092584.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Mere physical growing up, mere mastery of the bare necessities of subsistence will not suffice to reproduce…” — John Dewey",
                "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": "John Dewey",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Mere physical growing up, mere mastery...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/mere-physical-growing-up-mere-mastery-of-the-bare-necessities-of/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/mere-physical-growing-up-mere-mastery-of-the-bare-necessities-of/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
