--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When in our isolation we see our lives…" description: "\"When in our isolation we see our lives seeping away as a mere succession of moments, tossed meaninglessly about by accidents and overwhelming events; w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c59/karl-jaspers-11518_accidents_when-in-our-isolation-we-see-our-lives-s_1461757.jpg" --- # When in our isolation we see our lives seeping away as a… ![“When in our isolation we see our lives seeping away as a mere succession of moments, tossed meaninglessly about by accidents and overwhelming events; when we contemplate a history that seems to be at an end, leaving only chaos behind it, then we are impelled to raise ourselves above history.” quote by Karl Jaspers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c59/karl-jaspers-11518_accidents_when-in-our-isolation-we-see-our-lives-s_1461757.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c59/karl-jaspers-11518_accidents_when-in-our-isolation-we-see-our-lives-s_1461757.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c59/karl-jaspers-11518_accidents_when-in-our-isolation-we-see-our-lives-s_1461757.jpg) > “When in our isolation we see our lives seeping away as a mere succession of moments, tossed meaninglessly about by accidents and overwhelming events; when we contemplate a history that seems to be at an end, leaving only chaos behind it, then we are impelled to raise ourselves above history.” [Karl Jaspers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-jaspers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. In crises, we feel life slipping into meaningless moments, yet this awareness can motivate us to transcend chaos and seek higher purpose. **In simple terms:** Chaos can inspire us to rise above. Key Takeaway Seek meaning beyond chaotic events. Themes existentialism meaning transcendence Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal crises - historical upheavals - creative pursuits Key Concepts nihilism agency Questions to Reflect On - What gives you purpose in chaos? - How can you act meaningfully amid uncertainty? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on transcendence may ignore practical coping. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accidents/) [Chaos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chaos/) [Events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/events/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Isolation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isolation/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Succession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/succession/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [The Bible teaches that history began in the Middle East, and someday history will end in the Middle East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/the-bible-teaches-that-history-began-in-the-middle-east-and-someday/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [History, in the end, becomes a form of irony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/history-in-the-end-becomes-a-form-of-irony/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [If patriarchy had a specific beginning in history, it can also have an end](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-mies/if-patriarchy-had-a-specific-beginning-in-history-it-can-also-have-an/) [Maria Mies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-mies/) > [Great romances in history end in death. Romeo and Juliet, JFK and Jackie, Siegfried and Froi,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinnie/great-romances-in-history-end-in-death-romeo-and-juliet-jfk-and/) Vinnie > [My goal was to show the history of the end of the Cold War through both sides - the U.S. side and the Soviet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-hoffman/my-goal-was-to-show-the-history-of-the-end-of-the-cold-war-through/) [David E. Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-hoffman/) > [There has yet to be a human to survive a span of history without at least one end of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/there-has-yet-to-be-a-human-to-survive-a-span-of-history-without-at/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“recent events compel us to raise anew. From the beginning, the most serious and systematic attempts to write Universal Histories saw the central issue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-fukuyama/recent-events-compel-us-to-raise-anew-from-the-beginning-the-most/) [Francis Fukuyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-fukuyama/) > [ The most widely discussed formulation of \[the One World model\] was the "end of history" thesis advanced by Francis Fukuyama. "We may be witnessing,"… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/the-most-widely-discussed-formulation-of-the-one-world-model-was-the/) [Samuel P. 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The truth is messy and chaotic and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-murray/history-in-the-end-is-only-another-kind-of-story-and-stories-are/) [Paul Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-murray/) > [History remains an open horizon that cannot be dismissed through appeals to the end of history or end of ideology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/history-remains-an-open-horizon-that-cannot-be-dismissed-through/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [For me, it's very easy to write a horror movie that's just a succession of scary sequences, but it's hard to find horror movies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ehren-kruger/for-me-it-s-very-easy-to-write-a-horror-movie-that-s-just-a/) [Ehren Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ehren-kruger/) > [The sky was a sparkling succession of black diamonds on black velvet made crystal clear by the blackout.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/the-sky-was-a-sparkling-succession-of-black-diamonds-on-black-velvet/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) ## More by Karl Jaspers > [The more determinedly I exist, as myself, within the conditions of the time, the more clearly I shall hear the language of the past,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-jaspers/the-more-determinedly-i-exist-as-myself-within-the-conditions-of-the/) [Karl Jaspers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-jaspers/) > [Nietzsche's ideas and plans: for example, the idea of giving up the whole wretched academic world to form a secular monastic community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-jaspers/nietzsche-s-ideas-and-plans-for-example-the-idea-of-giving-up-the/) [Karl Jaspers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-jaspers/) > [What is meaningful cannot in fact be isolated…. We achieve understanding within a circular movement from particular facts to the whole that includes them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-jaspers/what-is-meaningful-cannot-in-fact-be-isolated-we-achieve/) [Karl Jaspers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-jaspers/) > [“But each one of us is guilty insofar as he remained inactive. The guilt of passivity is different. Impotence excuses; no moral law demands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-jaspers/but-each-one-of-us-is-guilty-insofar-as-he-remained-inactive-the/) [Karl Jaspers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-jaspers/) > [At the present moment, the security of coherent philosophy, which existed from Parmenides to Hegel, is lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-jaspers/at-the-present-moment-the-security-of-coherent-philosophy-which/) [Karl Jaspers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-jaspers/) > [The great philosophers and the great works are standards for the selection of what is essential. 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