--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The parts of a machine work with a…" description: "\"The parts of a machine work with a maximum of cooperativeness for a common result, but they do not form a community. If, however, they were all cogniza..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/641/john-dewey-545_activity_the-parts-of-a-machine-work-with-a-maxim_1967049.jpg" --- # The parts of a machine work with a maximum of… ![“The parts of a machine work with a maximum of cooperativeness for a common result, but they do not form a community. If, however, they were all cognizant of the common end and all interested in it so that they regulated their specific activity in view of it, then they would form a community. But…” quote by John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/641/john-dewey-545_activity_the-parts-of-a-machine-work-with-a-maxim_1967049.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/641/john-dewey-545_activity_the-parts-of-a-machine-work-with-a-maxim_1967049.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/641/john-dewey-545_activity_the-parts-of-a-machine-work-with-a-maxim_1967049.jpg) > “The parts of a machine work with a maximum of cooperativeness for a common result, but they do not form a community. If, however, they were all cognizant of the common end and all interested in it so that they regulated their specific activity in view of it, then they would form a community. But this would involve communication. Each would have to know what the other was about and would have to have some way of keeping the other informed as to his own purpose and progress.” [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. Machines cooperate efficiently but lack community because they don’t share goals or communicate; true community requires mutual awareness and shared purpose. **In simple terms:** Machines work together without being a community; community needs shared goals and communication. Key Takeaway Foster communication and shared purpose in groups. Themes community cooperation communication Mood inspirational thoughtful Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - team projects - organizational management - collaborative technology Key Concepts interdependence shared intent social cohesion Questions to Reflect On - What practices build genuine community beyond functional cooperation? - How can organizations embed shared purpose into daily work? A Different Perspective Assuming cooperation alone creates community ignores the need for relational understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Machines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machines/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) ## Related quotes > [Cooperation called fraternity in the classic French formula is as much a part of the democratic ideal as is personal initiative. That cultural conditions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/cooperation-called-fraternity-in-the-classic-french-formula-is-as/) [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/) > [“Human children, on the other hand, are inherently cooperative. From the earliest ages, they desire to help others, to share information and to participate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wade/human-children-on-the-other-hand-are-inherently-cooperative-from-the/) [Nicholas Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wade/) > [Cooperativeness is not so much learning how to get along with others as taking the kinks out of ourselves, so that others can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/cooperativeness-is-not-so-much-learning-how-to-get-along-with-others/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [Beings who are born not only unaware of, but quite indifferent to, the aims and habits of the social group have to be rendered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/beings-who-are-born-not-only-unaware-of-but-quite-indifferent-to-the/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [All direction is but re-direction; it shifts the activities already going on into another channel. Unless one is cognizant of the energies which are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/all-direction-is-but-re-direction-it-shifts-the-activities-already/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Once women find a way to form community, everyone reaps the rewards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-ryan/once-women-find-a-way-to-form-community-everyone-reaps-the-rewards/) [Meg Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-ryan/) > [When you share your moral common sense with people in your locality, that helps you to form a community. But those gut reactions differ…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-greene/when-you-share-your-moral-common-sense-with-people-in-your-locality/) [Joshua Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-greene/) > [Two people can form a community by excluding a third.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/two-people-can-form-a-community-by-excluding-a-third/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [We often surround ourselves with the people we most want to live with, thus forming a club or clique, not a community. Anyone can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/we-often-surround-ourselves-with-the-people-we-most-want-to-live-with/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) > [“Genocide, as many have noted, is a form of community-building.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-burr-gerrard/genocide-as-many-have-noted-is-a-form-of-community-building/) [David Burr Gerrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-burr-gerrard/) > ['Drag Race' has taught me a lot about how to form community, to take myself less seriously and lose some ego.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-wortham/drag-race-has-taught-me-a-lot-about-how-to-form-community-to-take/) [Jenna Wortham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-wortham/) > [On the Internet, you can form a community without having to go through the trouble of meeting anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-jack/on-the-internet-you-can-form-a-community-without-having-to-go-through/) Ian Jack > [It is possible that the next Buddha will not take the form of an individual. The next Buddha may take the form of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/it-is-possible-that-the-next-buddha-will-not-take-the-form-of-an/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [We have to be cognizant of the fact that they've had foreign fighters coming to volunteer for them, foreign money, foreign weapons, so we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-have-to-be-cognizant-of-the-fact-that-they-ve-had-foreign-fighters/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) ## 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 Activity quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Fighting's fun, man. It's a great activity, it's a great sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/fighting-s-fun-man-it-s-a-great-activity-it-s-a-great-sport/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/) [Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [For the longest time, neuroscientists were forced to be passive observers of brain activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gero-miesenbock/for-the-longest-time-neuroscientists-were-forced-to-be-passive/) Gero Miesenbock > [Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/enjoyment-is-not-a-goal-it-is-a-feeling-that-accompanies-important/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Once an activity has been socialized, it is impossible to point out, by concrete example, how men in a free market could better conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/once-an-activity-has-been-socialized-it-is-impossible-to-point-out-by/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [“Fun is not an activity, it is a state of mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/fun-is-not-an-activity-it-is-a-state-of-mind/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I have to consider everything I eat; I consider every activity I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kimball/i-have-to-consider-everything-i-eat-i-consider-every-activity-i-do/) [Charlie Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kimball/) > [Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/almost-all-good-businesses-engage-in-pain-today-gain-tomorrow/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) Browse all 3,263 Activity quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The parts of a machine work with a maximum of cooperativeness for a common result, but they do not form a community. 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