--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In our contemporary social and…" description: "\"“In our contemporary social and intellectual plight, it is nothing less than shocking to discover that those persons who claim to have discovered an ab..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a5/karl-mannheim-40736_intellectual-moral_in-our-contemporary-social-and-intellect_504492.png" --- # In our contemporary social and intellectual plight, it is… ![“In our contemporary social and intellectual plight, it is nothing less than shocking to discover that those persons who claim to have discovered an absolute are usually the same people who also pretend to be superior to the rest. To find people in our day attempting to pass off to the world and…” quote by Karl Mannheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a5/karl-mannheim-40736_intellectual-moral_in-our-contemporary-social-and-intellect_504492.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a5/karl-mannheim-40736_intellectual-moral_in-our-contemporary-social-and-intellect_504492.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a5/karl-mannheim-40736_intellectual-moral_in-our-contemporary-social-and-intellect_504492.png) > ““In our contemporary social and intellectual plight, it is nothing less than shocking to discover that those persons who claim to have discovered an absolute are usually the same people who also pretend to be superior to the rest. To find people in our day attempting to pass off to the world and recommending to others some nostrum of the absolute which they claim to have discovered is merely a sign of the loss of and the need for intellectual and moral certainty, felt by broad sections of the population who are unable to look life in the face.”” [Karl Mannheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-mannheim/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People claiming absolute truths often act superior, reflecting a societal need for certainty amid uncertainty. **In simple terms:** Claims of absolute truth reveal insecurity and superiority. Key Takeaway Question authority and seek humility. Themes authority certainty superiority intellectualism insecurity Mood critical analytical skeptical Type philosophical academic political When to use this quote - academic debate - media analysis - political discourse - personal belief systems Key Concepts sociology philosophy critical theory Questions to Reflect On - What drives the need for certainty? - How can we foster intellectual humility? A Different Perspective Absolute claims can be harmful if unexamined. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolute Claim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolute-claim-1131254/) [Discovered Absolute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovered-absolute-1028398/) [Intellectual Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual-moral/) [Nostrum Absolute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostrum-absolute-4289301/) [Social Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-intellectual-2913089/) ## Related quotes > [“Somehow I feel that a person who thinks he has discovered the absolute truth will not be someone I know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manu-joseph/somehow-i-feel-that-a-person-who-thinks-he-has-discovered-the/) [Manu Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manu-joseph/) > [Birth on U.S. territory has never been an absolute claim to citizenship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-schlafly/birth-on-u-s-territory-has-never-been-an-absolute-claim-to-citizenship/) [Phyllis Schlafly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-schlafly/) > [“Resigned that those surrounding him had no idea who he was, and invariably kind to his social and intellectual inferiors, he sometimes felt doubly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/resigned-that-those-surrounding-him-had-no-idea-who-he-was-and/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“The motives behind scientism are culturally significant. They have been mixed, as usual: genuine curiosity in search of truth; the rage for certainty and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-motives-behind-scientism-are-culturally-significant-they-have/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [“The Net’s interactivity gives us powerful new tools for finding information, expressing ourselves, and conversing with others. It also turns us into lab rats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-g-carr/the-net-s-interactivity-gives-us-powerful-new-tools-for-finding/) [Nicholas G. Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-g-carr/) > [I do not believe that God has created us under this dire necessity to toil, like beasts, to sustain life. I believe it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lloyd-garrison/i-do-not-believe-that-god-has-created-us-under-this-dire-necessity-to/) [William Lloyd Garrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lloyd-garrison/) > [In most circles, the idea of economic planning has been in disrepute most of the time and, particularly in America, has almost carried connotations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunnar-myrdal/in-most-circles-the-idea-of-economic-planning-has-been-in-disrepute/) [Gunnar Myrdal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunnar-myrdal/) > [I'm really trying to dredge up what one might call intellectual and moral material. For example, when do you realize that you are an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-m-really-trying-to-dredge-up-what-one-might-call-intellectual-and/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [Skepticism, as I said, is not intellectual only; it is moral also; a chronic atrophy and disease of the whole soul. A man lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/skepticism-as-i-said-is-not-intellectual-only-it-is-moral-also-a/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [There are so many intellectual and moral angels battling for rationalism, good citizenship, and pure spirituality; so many and such eminent ones, so very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/there-are-so-many-intellectual-and-moral-angels-battling-for/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [If we are to survive, we must have ideas, vision, and courage. These things are rarely produced by committees. Everything that matters in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/if-we-are-to-survive-we-must-have-ideas-vision-and-courage-these/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [“You can tell a lot about the intellectual and moral progress of a nation’s citizens, by the quality and nature of the films they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/you-can-tell-a-lot-about-the-intellectual-and-moral-progress-of-a/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [The best causes tend to attract to their support the worst arguments, which seems to be equally true in the intellectual and in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-fisher/the-best-causes-tend-to-attract-to-their-support-the-worst-arguments/) [Ronald Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-fisher/) > [The art of life lies in taking pleasures as they pass, and the keenest pleasures are not intellectual, nor are they always moral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristippus/the-art-of-life-lies-in-taking-pleasures-as-they-pass-and-the-keenest/) [Aristippus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristippus/) > [Ambition is the subtlest beast of the intellectual and moral field. It is wonderfully adroit in concealing itself from its owner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/ambition-is-the-subtlest-beast-of-the-intellectual-and-moral-field-it/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) ## More by Karl Mannheim > [At this point in history when all things which concern man and the structure and elements of history itself are suddenly revealed to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-mannheim/at-this-point-in-history-when-all-things-which-concern-man-and-the/) [Karl Mannheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-mannheim/) > [The distrust and suspicion which men everywhere evidence toward their adversaries, at all states of historical development, may be regarded as the immediate precursor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-mannheim/the-distrust-and-suspicion-which-men-everywhere-evidence-toward-their/) [Karl Mannheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-mannheim/) > [Behind every rational and irrational force in human society there is a social mechanism which determines where it is to appear and what forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-mannheim/behind-every-rational-and-irrational-force-in-human-society-there-is/) [Karl Mannheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-mannheim/) > [“ideology signifies a phenomenon intermediate between a simple lie at one pole, and an error, which is the result of a distorted and faulty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-mannheim/ideology-signifies-a-phenomenon-intermediate-between-a-simple-lie-at/) [Karl Mannheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-mannheim/) > [All knowledge is oriented toward some object and is influenced in its approach by the nature of the object with which it is pre-occupied.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-mannheim/all-knowledge-is-oriented-toward-some-object-and-is-influenced-in-its/) [Karl Mannheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-mannheim/) > [A modern theory of knowledge which takes account of the relational as distinct from the merely relative character of all historical knowledge must start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-mannheim/a-modern-theory-of-knowledge-which-takes-account-of-the-relational-as/) [Karl Mannheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-mannheim/) > [As long as one does not call his own position into question but regards it as absolute, while interpreting his opponents' ideas as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-mannheim/as-long-as-one-does-not-call-his-own-position-into-question-but/) [Karl Mannheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-mannheim/) > [For progressive people the present is the beginning of the future. For conservative people the present is the end of the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-mannheim/for-progressive-people-the-present-is-the-beginning-of-the-future-for/) [Karl Mannheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-mannheim/) > [ \[W\]hen the empirical investigator glories in his refusal to go beyond the specialized observation dictated by the traditions of his discipline, be they ever… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-mannheim/w-hen-the-empirical-investigator-glories-in-his-refusal-to-go-beyond/) [Karl Mannheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-mannheim/) [Explore all 10 Karl Mannheim quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-mannheim/) ## More Intellectual Moral quotes > [In most circles, the idea of economic planning has been in disrepute most of the time and, particularly in America, has almost carried connotations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunnar-myrdal/in-most-circles-the-idea-of-economic-planning-has-been-in-disrepute/) [Gunnar Myrdal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunnar-myrdal/) > [I'm really trying to dredge up what one might call intellectual and moral material. For example, when do you realize that you are an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-m-really-trying-to-dredge-up-what-one-might-call-intellectual-and/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [Skepticism, as I said, is not intellectual only; it is moral also; a chronic atrophy and disease of the whole soul. A man lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/skepticism-as-i-said-is-not-intellectual-only-it-is-moral-also-a/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The best causes tend to attract to their support the worst arguments, which seems to be equally true in the intellectual and in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-fisher/the-best-causes-tend-to-attract-to-their-support-the-worst-arguments/) [Ronald Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-fisher/) > [I do not believe that God has created us under this dire necessity to toil, like beasts, to sustain life. I believe it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lloyd-garrison/i-do-not-believe-that-god-has-created-us-under-this-dire-necessity-to/) [William Lloyd Garrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lloyd-garrison/) > [The art of life lies in taking pleasures as they pass, and the keenest pleasures are not intellectual, nor are they always moral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristippus/the-art-of-life-lies-in-taking-pleasures-as-they-pass-and-the-keenest/) [Aristippus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristippus/) > [Ambition is the subtlest beast of the intellectual and moral field. It is wonderfully adroit in concealing itself from its owner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/ambition-is-the-subtlest-beast-of-the-intellectual-and-moral-field-it/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [“You can tell a lot about the intellectual and moral progress of a nation’s citizens, by the quality and nature of the films they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/you-can-tell-a-lot-about-the-intellectual-and-moral-progress-of-a/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [If we are to survive, we must have ideas, vision, and courage. These things are rarely produced by committees. Everything that matters in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/if-we-are-to-survive-we-must-have-ideas-vision-and-courage-these/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [There are so many intellectual and moral angels battling for rationalism, good citizenship, and pure spirituality; so many and such eminent ones, so very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/there-are-so-many-intellectual-and-moral-angels-battling-for/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“We hold from God the gift which, as far as we are concerned, contains all others, Life — physical, intellectual, and moral life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/we-hold-from-god-the-gift-which-as-far-as-we-are-concerned-contains/) [Frédéric Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“We are born in both intellectual and moral darkness. We need the influence of the Holy Spirit—in the life of Jesus Christ, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heath-white/we-are-born-in-both-intellectual-and-moral-darkness-we-need-the/) [Heath White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heath-white/) > [Thus the State never intentionally confronts a man's sense, intellectual or moral, but only his body, his senses. It is not armed with superior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/thus-the-state-never-intentionally-confronts-a-man-s-sense/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What an absurd notion that women have not intellectual and moral faculties sufficent for anything else but domestic concerns!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/what-an-absurd-notion-that-women-have-not-intellectual-and-moral/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [No man, who continues to add something to the material, intellectual and moral well-being of the place in which he lives, is left long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/no-man-who-continues-to-add-something-to-the-material-intellectual/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) [Browse all 48 Intellectual Moral quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual-moral/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In our contemporary social and intellectual plight, it is nothing less than shocking to discover that those persons who claim to have discovered an absolute are usually the same people who also pretend to be superior to the rest. 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