---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everyone knows the experience of…"
description: "\"“Everyone knows the experience of encountering other persons only under the aspect of how they intersect with our projects, and of noticing them only i..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22a/john-f-crosby-182782_awareness_everyone-knows-the-experience-of-encount_150533.jpg"
---

#  Everyone knows the experience of encountering other…

![“Everyone knows the experience of encountering other persons only under the aspect of how they intersect with our projects, and of noticing them only insofar as we have to notice them in order to interact with them as we pursue our goals. But from time to time we realize more keenly that the other…” quote by John F. Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22a/john-f-crosby-182782_awareness_everyone-knows-the-experience-of-encount_150533.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22a/john-f-crosby-182782_awareness_everyone-knows-the-experience-of-encount_150533.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22a/john-f-crosby-182782_awareness_everyone-knows-the-experience-of-encount_150533.jpg)

> ““Everyone knows the experience of encountering other persons only under the aspect of how they intersect with our projects, and of noticing them only insofar as we have to notice them in order to interact with them as we pursue our goals. But from time to time we realize more keenly that the other with whom we are dealing is a person, and then we feel the irreverence and the arrogance of our attitude. We become aware of a certain violence with which we have been treating other persons; we realize that we have to draw back and grant them a space in which to be themselves as persons, and that we have to cease seeing them exclusively in relation to our projects.””

John F. Crosby

## About This Quote

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

We often see people as tools for goals, but must recognize their full humanity and give them space.

**In simple terms:** Treat others as persons, not objects.

Key Takeaway

Respect others’ autonomy.

Themes

empathy humanity relationships

Mood

reflective compassionate

Type

philosophical

When to use this quote

- workplace interactions
- friendships
- community building

Key Concepts

philosophy ethics

Questions to Reflect On

- What steps can you take to see people beyond utility?

A Different Perspective

Changing deep habits is challenging.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awareness/) [Being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Personhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personhood/) [Relationships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relationships/) [Selfhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfhood/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/)

## Related quotes

> [“Mingus Rude, Arthur Lomb, Gabriel Stern and Tim Vandertooth, even Aaron K. Doily: Dylan never met anyone who wasn't about to change immediately into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/mingus-rude-arthur-lomb-gabriel-stern-and-tim-vandertooth-even-aaron/)

[Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/)

> [You see, the interesting thing about books, as opposed, say, to films, is that it's always just one person encountering the book, it's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/you-see-the-interesting-thing-about-books-as-opposed-say-to-films-is/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [The camera is a fluid way of encountering that other reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-uelsmann/the-camera-is-a-fluid-way-of-encountering-that-other-reality/)

[Jerry Uelsmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-uelsmann/)

> [You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, the encountering may be the very experience which creates the vitality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-may-encounter-many-defeats-but-you-must-not-be-defeated-in-fact-2/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [It is hard to go on living without some hope of encountering the extraordinary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/it-is-hard-to-go-on-living-without-some-hope-of-encountering-the/)

[Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/)

> [Artists do not run away from non-being, but by encountering and wrestling with it, force it to produce being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/artists-do-not-run-away-from-non-being-but-by-encountering-and/)

[Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/)

> [“All my life, I've been trying to fill an emptiness inside. But that emptiness...I've built myself around it. Filling it in would be like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-charlton/all-my-life-i-ve-been-trying-to-fill-an-emptiness-inside-but-that/)

[Blake Charlton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-charlton/)

> [“The burden of selfhood,” she sighed. “Life-long anguish. Straining to support an elaborate artifice every waking moment. Trying to maintain our bullshit personas. Haircuts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-baker/the-burden-of-selfhood-she-sighed-life-long-anguish-straining-to/)

[Adam Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-baker/)

> [“the struggle is not with others, but within us, to do what we are called to do”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-j-geddes/the-struggle-is-not-with-others-but-within-us-to-do-what-we-are/)

[john j geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-j-geddes/)

> [“Love, the phenomenal act of canceling self in favor of the very same self.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giannis-delimitsos/love-the-phenomenal-act-of-canceling-self-in-favor-of-the-very-same/)

[Giannis Delimitsos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giannis-delimitsos/)

> [“She did not care what some pampered citizens thought of her. She knew her worth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-morris/she-did-not-care-what-some-pampered-citizens-thought-of-her-she-knew/)

Lucy Morris

> [“Once he said to her: 'You are like me; you are different from other people. You are Kamala and no one else, and within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-hesse/once-he-said-to-her-you-are-like-me-you-are-different-from-other/)

[Herman Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-hesse/)

> [“When you’re here, an i in the Ocean, you’re no longer waiting for something to happen or to change. When you’re here you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-pierre-weill/when-you-re-here-an-i-in-the-ocean-you-re-no-longer-waiting-for/)

Jean-Pierre Weill

> [“When I arrive to a new place, it is no longer the place it was before my arrival. And I am not the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giannis-delimitsos/when-i-arrive-to-a-new-place-it-is-no-longer-the-place-it-was-before/)

[Giannis Delimitsos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giannis-delimitsos/)

> [“Many modern gurus encourage us to ‘be ourselves’. Perhaps it has not occurred to them that we can only ever be ourselves – nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giannis-delimitsos/many-modern-gurus-encourage-us-to-be-ourselves-perhaps-it-has-not/)

[Giannis Delimitsos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giannis-delimitsos/)

## More Awareness quotes

> [An enlightened awareness is within each one of us, right at this moment. This enlightened awareness is truly unborn and marvellously illuminating; and everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bankei-yotaku/an-enlightened-awareness-is-within-each-one-of-us-right-at-this/)

[Bankei Yotaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bankei-yotaku/)

> [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/)

[Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/)

> [Listening is a very active awareness of the coming together of at least two lives. Listening, as far as I'm concerned, is certainly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-rogers/listening-is-a-very-active-awareness-of-the-coming-together-of-at/)

[Fred Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-rogers/)

> [“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/)

> [A tree is a self: it is 'unseen shaping' more than it is leaves or bark, roots or cellulose or fruit ... What this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/a-tree-is-a-self-it-is-unseen-shaping-more-than-it-is-leaves-or-bark/)

[Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/)

> [I know the importance of highly trained awareness of the “moment” and the immediate and intuitive response of the photographer. It should be obvious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/i-know-the-importance-of-highly-trained-awareness-of-the-moment-and/)

[Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/)

> [The thing about living alone is that it gives you a lot of time to think. You don't necessarily reach any conclusions, because wisdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/the-thing-about-living-alone-is-that-it-gives-you-a-lot-of-time-to/)

[Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/)

> [“It is not so much about fighting against the ego; it is more about harmonizing with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-sara/it-is-not-so-much-about-fighting-against-the-ego-it-is-more-about/)

[Grace Sara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-sara/)

> [I'm part of a team that raises millions of dollars and raises awareness of HIV and AIDS all over the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-evangelista/i-m-part-of-a-team-that-raises-millions-of-dollars-and-raises/)

[Linda Evangelista](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-evangelista/)

> [“Don’t turn your face away. Once you’ve seen, you can no longer act like you don’t know. Open your eyes to the truth. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vashti-quiroz-vega/don-t-turn-your-face-away-once-you-ve-seen-you-can-no-longer-act-like/)

Vashti Quiroz-Vega

> [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/)

[Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/)

> [Sometimes I am a collector of data, and only a collector, and am likely to be gross and miserly, piling up notes, pleased with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-fort/sometimes-i-am-a-collector-of-data-and-only-a-collector-and-am-likely/)

[Charles Fort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-fort/)

> [The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-bird-with-the-thorn-in-its-breast-it-follows-an-immutable-law-it/)

[Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/)

> [Seeking means: to have a goal; but finding means: to be free, to be receptive, to have no goal. You, O worthy one, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/seeking-means-to-have-a-goal-but-finding-means-to-be-free-to-be/)

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

> [Human freedom involves our capacity to pause between the stimulus and response and, in that pause, to choose the one response toward which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/human-freedom-involves-our-capacity-to-pause-between-the-stimulus-and/)

[Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/)

[Browse all 4,768 Awareness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awareness/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Everyone knows the experience of encountering other persons only under the aspect of how they intersect with our projects, and of noticing them only insofar as we have to notice them in order to interact with them as we pursue our goals. But from time to time we realize more keenly that the other with whom we are dealing is a person, and then we feel the irreverence and the arrogance of our attitude. We become aware of a certain violence with which we have been treating other persons; we realize that we have to draw back and grant them a space in which to be themselves as persons, and that we have to cease seeing them exclusively in relation to our projects.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "John F. Crosby"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-crosby/everyone-knows-the-experience-of-encountering-other-persons-only/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Awareness"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-crosby/everyone-knows-the-experience-of-encountering-other-persons-only/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22a/john-f-crosby-182782_awareness_everyone-knows-the-experience-of-encount_150533.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22a/john-f-crosby-182782_awareness_everyone-knows-the-experience-of-encount_150533.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22a/john-f-crosby-182782_awareness_everyone-knows-the-experience-of-encount_150533.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Everyone knows the experience of encountering other persons only under the aspect of how they intersect with…” — John F. Crosby",
                "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 F. Crosby",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-crosby/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Everyone knows the experience of encountering...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-crosby/everyone-knows-the-experience-of-encountering-other-persons-only/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-crosby/everyone-knows-the-experience-of-encountering-other-persons-only/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
