--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All my moral and intellectual being is…" description: "\"“All my moral and intellectual being is penetrated by an invincible conviction that whatever falls under the dominion of our senses must be in nature a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bc/joseph-conrad-336_faith_all-my-moral-and-intellectual-being-is-p_2195137.jpg" --- # All my moral and intellectual being is penetrated by an… ![“All my moral and intellectual being is penetrated by an invincible conviction that whatever falls under the dominion of our senses must be in nature and, however exceptional, cannot differ in its essence from all the other effects of the visible and tangible world of which we are a self-conscious…” quote by Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bc/joseph-conrad-336_faith_all-my-moral-and-intellectual-being-is-p_2195137.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bc/joseph-conrad-336_faith_all-my-moral-and-intellectual-being-is-p_2195137.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bc/joseph-conrad-336_faith_all-my-moral-and-intellectual-being-is-p_2195137.jpg) > ““All my moral and intellectual being is penetrated by an invincible conviction that whatever falls under the dominion of our senses must be in nature and, however exceptional, cannot differ in its essence from all the other effects of the visible and tangible world of which we are a self-conscious part. The world of the living contains enough marvels and mysteries as it is—marvels and mysteries acting upon our emotions and intelligence in ways so inexplicable that it would almost justify the conception of life as an enchanted state. No, I am too firm in my consciousness of the marvelous to be ever fascinated by the mere supernatural which (take it any way you like) is but a manufactured article, the fabrication of minds insensitive to the intimate delicacies of our relation to the dead and to the living, in their countless multitudes; a desecration of our tenderest memories; an outrage on our dignity.”” [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author argues that sensory experience defines reality, rejecting supernatural explanations as human constructs that disrespect life and memory. **In simple terms:** Reality is defined by what we can sense; the supernatural is a human invention. Key Takeaway Trust empirical evidence over mystical speculation. Themes reality empiricism skepticism humanism Mood thoughtful critical inquisitive Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - scientific research - philosophical debate - education - ethical decision-making - cultural analysis Key Concepts ontology epistemology metaphysics Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate between useful myth and harmful delusion? - Can intuition coexist with empirical reasoning? A Different Perspective Supernatural beliefs can provide comfort and meaning for many. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Humanism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanism/) [Naturalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/naturalism/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [“The world of the living contains enough marvels and mysteries..acting upon our emotions and intelligence in ways so inexplicable that it would almost justify…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-world-of-the-living-contains-enough-marvels-and-mysteries-acting/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [Life's enchanted cup sparkles near the brim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/life-s-enchanted-cup-sparkles-near-the-brim/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Be clearly aware of the stars and infinity on high. Then life seems almost enchanted after all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/be-clearly-aware-of-the-stars-and-infinity-on-high-then-life-seems/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [And life 's enchanted cup but sparkles near the brim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/and-life-s-enchanted-cup-but-sparkles-near-the-brim/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Years steal fire from the mind as vigor from the limb; and life's enchanted cup but sparkles near the brim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/years-steal-fire-from-the-mind-as-vigor-from-the-limb-and-life-s/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Yet Time, who changes all, had altered him in soul and aspect as in age: Years steal Fire from the mind as vigor from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/yet-time-who-changes-all-had-altered-him-in-soul-and-aspect-as-in-age/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [“Humanism is naturalism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/humanism-is-naturalism/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [There are also two Christianities in the world today. There is (1) the Christianity of the New Testament, and there is (2) the Christianity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/there-are-also-two-christianities-in-the-world-today-there-is-1-the/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [Without moral and intellectual independence, there is no anchor for national independence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ben-gurion/without-moral-and-intellectual-independence-there-is-no-anchor-for/) [David Ben-Gurion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ben-gurion/) > [“What could be more rational than the decision to use my gifts in a way which would most clearly manifest my moral and intellectual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-howatch/what-could-be-more-rational-than-the-decision-to-use-my-gifts-in-a/) [Susan Howatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-howatch/) > [Sam Harris fearlessly describes a moral and intellectual emergency precipitated by religious fantasies--misguided beliefs that create suffering, that rationalize violence, that have endangered our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janna-levin/sam-harris-fearlessly-describes-a-moral-and-intellectual-emergency/) [Janna Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janna-levin/) > [From the moral as from the intellectual point of view, the child is born neither good nor bad but master of his destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/from-the-moral-as-from-the-intellectual-point-of-view-the-child-is/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [The teacher who would be true to his mission and accomplish the most good, must give prominence to moral as well as intellectual instruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-jackson/the-teacher-who-would-be-true-to-his-mission-and-accomplish-the-most/) Sheldon Jackson > [The function of comedy is to dispelunconsciousness by turning the searchlight of the keenest moral and intellectual analysisright on to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-function-of-comedy-is-to-dispelunconsciousness-by-turning-the/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The progress of dynamic ideals will not be eternally blocked. Through general, moral and intellectual advancement... shall the latent aspiration of justice for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-isaac-kook/the-progress-of-dynamic-ideals-will-not-be-eternally-blocked-through/) [Abraham Isaac Kook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-isaac-kook/) ## More by Joseph Conrad > [“Hunters for gold or pursuers of fame, they all had gone out on that stream, bearing the sword, and often the torch, messengers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/hunters-for-gold-or-pursuers-of-fame-they-all-had-gone-out-on-that/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [The good author is he who contemplates without marked joy or excessive sorrow the adventures of his soul amongst criticisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-good-author-is-he-who-contemplates-without-marked-joy-or/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“Let the earth and the sea each have its own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/let-the-earth-and-the-sea-each-have-its-own/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [He hated all this, and somehow he couldn't get away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/he-hated-all-this-and-somehow-he-couldn-t-get-away/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“A fool, what with sheer fright and fine sentiments, is always safe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/a-fool-what-with-sheer-fright-and-fine-sentiments-is-always-safe/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“The mind of man is capable of anything-because everything is in it, all the past as well as all the future. 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It was a form of human industry, perverse indeed, but still an industry exercised in an industrious world;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/thieving-was-not-a-sheer-absurdity-it-was-a-form-of-human-industry/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [I found myself back in the sepulchral city resenting the sight of people hurrying through the streets to filch a little money from each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/i-found-myself-back-in-the-sepulchral-city-resenting-the-sight-of/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [Society was calling to its accomplished child to come, to be taken care of, to be instructed, to be judged, to be condemned; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/society-was-calling-to-its-accomplished-child-to-come-to-be-taken/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [I was constantly watching myself, my secret self, as dependent on my actions as my own personality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/i-was-constantly-watching-myself-my-secret-self-as-dependent-on-my/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) [Explore all 645 Joseph Conrad quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) ## More Conscious quotes > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [Woman, in short, has an unconscious life, man a conscious life, and the genius the most conscious life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/woman-in-short-has-an-unconscious-life-man-a-conscious-life-and-the/) [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-a-negro-in-this-country-and-to-be-relatively-conscious-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Just as everybody has the vote including women, I think children should, because as a child is conscious of itself then it has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/just-as-everybody-has-the-vote-including-women-i-think-children/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [If you are not conscious of all of the different parts of yourself, the part of yourself that is the strongest will win out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-zukav/if-you-are-not-conscious-of-all-of-the-different-parts-of-yourself/) [Gary Zukav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-zukav/) > [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/) > [Repugnant is a creature who would squander the ability To lift an eye to heaven, conscious of his fleeting time here](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/repugnant-is-a-creature-who-would-squander-the-ability-to-lift-an-eye/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [The goal of the Creator is for each entity to make a conscious choice to again seek Oneness, out of our own free will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wilcock/the-goal-of-the-creator-is-for-each-entity-to-make-a-conscious-choice/) [David Wilcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wilcock/) > [I know one thing: that you can do a lot of things but if you don't educate people into conscious anarchism it gets frittered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-know-one-thing-that-you-can-do-a-lot-of-things-but-if-you-don-t/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [All black people who are even minimally conscious, black people who have ever experienced Europe's technological power crusading in the vanguard of a civilizing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-nkosi/all-black-people-who-are-even-minimally-conscious-black-people-who/) [Lewis Nkosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-nkosi/) > [ A mind conscious of right laughs at the falsehoods of rumour. \[Lat., Conscia mens recti famae mendacia risit.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/a-mind-conscious-of-right-laughs-at-the-falsehoods-of-rumour-lat/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [I don't think my paintings are self-conscious but you feel the consciousness of them. Without them being self-conscious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-schnabel/i-don-t-think-my-paintings-are-self-conscious-but-you-feel-the/) [Julian Schnabel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-schnabel/) Browse all 3,716 Conscious quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“All my moral and intellectual being is penetrated by an invincible conviction that whatever falls under the dominion of our senses must be in nature and, however exceptional, cannot differ in its essence from all the other effects of the visible and tangible world of which we are a self-conscious part. The world of the living contains enough marvels and mysteries as it is—marvels and mysteries acting upon our emotions and intelligence in ways so inexplicable that it would almost justify the conception of life as an enchanted state. 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