--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hegel said that 'truth' is subjective…" description: "\"Hegel said that 'truth' is subjective, thus rejecting the existence of any 'truth' above or beyond human reason. All knowledge is human knowledge.\" — J..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5aa/jostein-gaarder-676_existence_hegel-said-that-truth-is-subjective-thus_651597.png" --- # Hegel said that 'truth' is subjective, thus rejecting the… ![“Hegel said that 'truth' is subjective, thus rejecting the existence of any 'truth' above or beyond human reason. All knowledge is human knowledge.” quote by Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5aa/jostein-gaarder-676_existence_hegel-said-that-truth-is-subjective-thus_651597.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5aa/jostein-gaarder-676_existence_hegel-said-that-truth-is-subjective-thus_651597.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5aa/jostein-gaarder-676_existence_hegel-said-that-truth-is-subjective-thus_651597.png) > “Hegel said that 'truth' is subjective, thus rejecting the existence of any 'truth' above or beyond human reason. All knowledge is human knowledge.” [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Truth is viewed as a human construct, denying any absolute reality beyond human reason. **In simple terms:** Truth is human‑made, not universal. Key Takeaway Question your assumptions about objective truth. Themes philosophy relativism epistemology Mood reflective inquisitive Type analytical thought‑provoking When to use this quote - academic debate - personal belief - cultural discourse Key Concepts subjectivity human reason knowledge construction Questions to Reflect On - How does recognizing truth’s subjectivity affect moral judgments? - Can we ever know anything beyond human perception? A Different Perspective Assumes all perspectives are equally valid, ignoring empirical constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hegel/) [Human knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-knowledge/) [Human reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-reason/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“...Why did just my eyes adore you - Have you ever wondered that? well, as Hegel said, “Too fair to worship, too divine to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/why-did-just-my-eyes-adore-you-have-you-ever-wondered-that-well-as/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“As Hegel said, tragedy was not the conflict between right and wrong but right and right, a dilemma none of us who wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viet-thanh-nguyen/as-hegel-said-tragedy-was-not-the-conflict-between-right-and-wrong/) [Viet Thanh Nguyen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viet-thanh-nguyen/) > [Kierkegaard also said that truth is 'subjective'. By this he did not mean it doesn't matter what we think or believe. He meant that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/kierkegaard-also-said-that-truth-is-subjective-by-this-he-did-not/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [There's a sense in which Marx does contribute to the fund of human knowledge, and we can no more dismiss him than we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/there-s-a-sense-in-which-marx-does-contribute-to-the-fund-of-human/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [“There is no such thing as "truth" or "lies" in this world; there never has been. There are only plain, hard facts. And yet,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nbdycrs/there-is-no-such-thing-as-truth-or-lies-in-this-world-there-never-has/) [Nbdycrs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nbdycrs/) > [Listening causes me to find the existence of truth behind the veil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loreena-mckennitt/listening-causes-me-to-find-the-existence-of-truth-behind-the-veil/) [Loreena McKennitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loreena-mckennitt/) > [We are all dying, every moment that passes of every day. That is the inescapable truth of this existence. It is a truth that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-are-all-dying-every-moment-that-passes-of-every-day-that-is-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Dead may seem to be the end of everything but it can never be an end to the existence of truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/dead-may-seem-to-be-the-end-of-everything-but-it-can-never-be-an-end/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [I want people to know they don’t have to live their lives in a permanent ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ existence. Truth is a powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-lynn-harris/i-want-people-to-know-they-don-t-have-to-live-their-lives-in-a/) [E. Lynn Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-lynn-harris/) > [Truth exists. 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There were therefore no 'eternal truths', no timeless reason.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/hegel-believed-that-the-basis-of-human-cognition-changed-from-one/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“to Hegel, history was like a running river. Every tiny movement in the water at a given spot in the river is determined by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/to-hegel-history-was-like-a-running-river-every-tiny-movement-in-the/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“Hegel claimed that the 'world spirit' is developing toward an ever-expanding knowledge of itself. It's the same with rivers--they become broader and broader as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/hegel-claimed-that-the-world-spirit-is-developing-toward-an-ever/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [To prove religious faith by human reason is rationalistic claptrap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/to-prove-religious-faith-by-human-reason-is-rationalistic-claptrap/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) ## More by Jostein Gaarder > [“I no longer feel the need to see and sense more than I've already experienced. I just want so desperately to hang on what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/i-no-longer-feel-the-need-to-see-and-sense-more-than-i-ve-already/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [The most subversive people are those who ask questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/the-most-subversive-people-are-those-who-ask-questions/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [The sophists were as a rule men who had traveled widely and seen different forms of government. Both conventions and local laws in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/the-sophists-were-as-a-rule-men-who-had-traveled-widely-and-seen/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [Where did the world come from? The question has an answer, even though I cannot get to it. It is a good question. 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I don't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/the-german-poet-goethe-once-said-that-he-who-cannot-draw-on-three/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“Sophie left the den and wandered about in the large garden. She tried to forget what she had learned at school, especially in science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/sophie-left-the-den-and-wandered-about-in-the-large-garden-she-tried/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [...long before the child learns to talk properly-and long before it learns to think philosophically-the world will have become a habit. A pity, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/long-before-the-child-learns-to-talk-properly-and-long-before-it/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“any one question can be more explosive than a thousand answers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/any-one-question-can-be-more-explosive-than-a-thousand-answers/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“We can't own each other's past. The question is whether we have a future together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/we-can-t-own-each-other-s-past-the-question-is-whether-we-have-a/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“Uno no muere en medio del quinto acto.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/uno-no-muere-en-medio-del-quinto-acto/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“Wer das Schicksal durchschauen will, muss es überleben.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/wer-das-schicksal-durchschauen-will-muss-es-berleben/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) [Explore all 305 Jostein Gaarder quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) ## More Existence quotes > [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. 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