--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A vital part of philosophizing is…" description: "\"A vital part of philosophizing is learning to trust one's own intuitivist intelligence, getting one's center of gravity back between one's feet. In our..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75d/kenny-smith-2406_center-of-gravity_a-vital-part-of-philosophizing-is-learni_2469121.png" --- # A vital part of philosophizing is learning to trust one's… ![“A vital part of philosophizing is learning to trust one's own intuitivist intelligence, getting one's center of gravity back between one's feet. In our culture-so outer-directed, "objective" or extraverted-this is already heresy. This is self-mastering thinking, centered in what has been…” quote by Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75d/kenny-smith-2406_center-of-gravity_a-vital-part-of-philosophizing-is-learni_2469121.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75d/kenny-smith-2406_center-of-gravity_a-vital-part-of-philosophizing-is-learni_2469121.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75d/kenny-smith-2406_center-of-gravity_a-vital-part-of-philosophizing-is-learni_2469121.png) > “A vital part of philosophizing is learning to trust one's own intuitivist intelligence, getting one's center of gravity back between one's feet. In our culture-so outer-directed, "objective" or extraverted-this is already heresy. This is self-mastering thinking, centered in what has been well-tested as certainties: autarkia or self-rule.” [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True philosophical work requires trusting one's own intuition and inner logic, rejecting external authority. **In simple terms:** Trust inner intuition over external opinions. Key Takeaway Cultivate self‑trust. Themes self‑reliance philosophy individualism Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal decision making - creative problem solving - meditation - journaling - independent research Key Concepts Epistemology self‑mastery Questions to Reflect On - When should you seek external feedback? - How do you balance intuition with reason? A Different Perspective Overreliance on intuition may ignore useful evidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Center of gravity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/center-of-gravity/) [Certainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Feet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feet/) [Gravity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gravity/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Heresy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heresy/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Intuitivist Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intuitivist-intelligence-741818/) [Learning to trust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning-to-trust/) [Objectives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objectives/) [Philosophizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophizing-575617/) [Philosophizing Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophizing-learning-741819/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Tested](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tested/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thinking Centered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking-centered-741817/) [Vital Philosophizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vital-philosophizing-741816/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [To achieve victory we must mass our forces at the hub of all power & movement. The enemy's 'Center of Gravity'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-achieve-victory-we-must-mass-our-forces-at-the-hub-of-all-power/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The thought must have its own center of gravity; it cannot just be either here or there. We must find this center of gravity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-de-salzmann/the-thought-must-have-its-own-center-of-gravity-it-cannot-just-be/) [Jeanne de Salzmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-de-salzmann/) > [You're thinking of Europe as Germany and France. I don't. I think that's old Europe. If you look at the entire NATO Europe today,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/you-re-thinking-of-europe-as-germany-and-france-i-don-t-i-think-that-2/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [Has the center of gravity shifted such that all governments have greater powers and fewer restrictions than they ever had, and are empowered by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/has-the-center-of-gravity-shifted-such-that-all-governments-have/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [When you're wearing jeans there's a shift in your center of gravity. A costume like this and a character like this, there's no way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-stevenson/when-you-re-wearing-jeans-there-s-a-shift-in-your-center-of-gravity-a/) [Ray Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-stevenson/) > [I'd heard that swimming feels so good when you're pregnant, and I love being in the ocean. I was even paddle boarding up until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisa-miller/i-d-heard-that-swimming-feels-so-good-when-you-re-pregnant-and-i-love/) [Marisa Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisa-miller/) > [Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don't fight them. Just find a new way to stand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/challenges-are-gifts-that-force-us-to-search-for-a-new-center-of/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [In 2003, at the time I made my "Old Europe" comment, the center of gravity in NATO and Europe had long since shifted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/in-2003-at-the-time-i-made-my-old-europe-comment-the-center-of/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [It is the moment when what was chaos is now seen as having a center of gravity. There is a shape where a moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-elbow/it-is-the-moment-when-what-was-chaos-is-now-seen-as-having-a-center/) [Peter Elbow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-elbow/) > [Africa is our center of gravity, our cultural and spiritual mother and father, our beating heart, no matter where we live on the face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-henrik-clarke/africa-is-our-center-of-gravity-our-cultural-and-spiritual-mother-and/) [John Henrik Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-henrik-clarke/) > [If a house has a center of gravity, first of all there is stability. From stability there is serenity. I think this leads to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junzo-yoshimura/if-a-house-has-a-center-of-gravity-first-of-all-there-is-stability/) [Junzo Yoshimura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junzo-yoshimura/) > [In Advance of All Parting is a tough, unsentimental examination of marital grief. Musically elegant and inventive, understated and passionate, the poems give us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chase-twichell/in-advance-of-all-parting-is-a-tough-unsentimental-examination-of/) [Chase Twichell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chase-twichell/) > [The Professor took the old practices and studied them, worked out their mechanical principles and then devised a graded scientific set of tricks, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-professor-took-the-old-practices-and-studied-them-worked-out/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [When the landscape buckles and jerks around, when a dust column of debris rises from the collapse of a block of buildings on bodies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/when-the-landscape-buckles-and-jerks-around-when-a-dust-column-of/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [A great commotion immobilized her in her center of gravity, planted her in her place, and her defensive will was demolished by the irresistible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/a-great-commotion-immobilized-her-in-her-center-of-gravity-planted/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) ## More by Kenny Smith > [The approach of intellect or noesis will forever be an effete and limited sort of thing by contrast with the vigor and color of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/the-approach-of-intellect-or-noesis-will-forever-be-an-effete-and/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [One can hardly appreciate how academia has perverted its highest tasks and "ideals" without pondering long and hard the implications of Jacques Barzun's House…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/one-can-hardly-appreciate-how-academia-has-perverted-its-highest/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [When academics claim a topic is obsolete, they mean merely they are tired of flogging it with their cliches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/when-academics-claim-a-topic-is-obsolete-they-mean-merely-they-are/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [If you look at the NBA, it's the richest and wealthiest group of African-American men in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/if-you-look-at-the-nba-it-s-the-richest-and-wealthiest-group-of/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [In late modernity we grow more and more accustomed to politicians and public figures who are indebted to their appetites for their "values," to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/in-late-modernity-we-grow-more-and-more-accustomed-to-politicians-and/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [How infinitely happier and more grateful is the whole personality or spirit when it finds something nourishing in art or writing or thinking, than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/how-infinitely-happier-and-more-grateful-is-the-whole-personality-or/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [There are a lot more famous fathers out there than me with daughters who wouldn't mind singing careers... but the talent and the work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/there-are-a-lot-more-famous-fathers-out-there-than-me-with-daughters/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [Games like 'Call of Duty' and 'NBA Baller Beats' have so much to them. I was more of the 'Pac-Man' generation where we were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/games-like-call-of-duty-and-nba-baller-beats-have-so-much-to-them-i/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [The Rockets have a philosophy of what they think their coach should be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/the-rockets-have-a-philosophy-of-what-they-think-their-coach-should-be/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [I've played more park games than NBA games, and I had a 10-year NBA career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/i-ve-played-more-park-games-than-nba-games-and-i-had-a-10-year-nba/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [I'm always the neutral guy, man. I'm able to bring people together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/i-m-always-the-neutral-guy-man-i-m-able-to-bring-people-together/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [People compose the schedules they do out of the priorities they have; and someone who says otherwise is deceiving himself about what he really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/people-compose-the-schedules-they-do-out-of-the-priorities-they-have/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [There's hasn't been a day in my life since I was 9 years old that I haven't touched a basketball or done something connected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/there-s-hasn-t-been-a-day-in-my-life-since-i-was-9-years-old-that-i/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [You can have your own thought process about things, but you still need to include and co-exist with other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/you-can-have-your-own-thought-process-about-things-but-you-still-need/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [NCAA is looking at how to do a better job enforcing their rules instead of looking at why the predatorial environment is created. There's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/ncaa-is-looking-at-how-to-do-a-better-job-enforcing-their-rules/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) [Explore all 168 Kenny Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) ## More Center of gravity quotes > [To achieve victory we must mass our forces at the hub of all power & movement. The enemy's 'Center of Gravity'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-achieve-victory-we-must-mass-our-forces-at-the-hub-of-all-power/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When the landscape buckles and jerks around, when a dust column of debris rises from the collapse of a block of buildings on bodies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/when-the-landscape-buckles-and-jerks-around-when-a-dust-column-of/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [The Professor took the old practices and studied them, worked out their mechanical principles and then devised a graded scientific set of tricks, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-professor-took-the-old-practices-and-studied-them-worked-out/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In Advance of All Parting is a tough, unsentimental examination of marital grief. Musically elegant and inventive, understated and passionate, the poems give us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chase-twichell/in-advance-of-all-parting-is-a-tough-unsentimental-examination-of/) [Chase Twichell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chase-twichell/) > [If a house has a center of gravity, first of all there is stability. From stability there is serenity. I think this leads to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junzo-yoshimura/if-a-house-has-a-center-of-gravity-first-of-all-there-is-stability/) [Junzo Yoshimura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junzo-yoshimura/) > [Africa is our center of gravity, our cultural and spiritual mother and father, our beating heart, no matter where we live on the face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-henrik-clarke/africa-is-our-center-of-gravity-our-cultural-and-spiritual-mother-and/) [John Henrik Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-henrik-clarke/) > [It is the moment when what was chaos is now seen as having a center of gravity. There is a shape where a moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-elbow/it-is-the-moment-when-what-was-chaos-is-now-seen-as-having-a-center/) [Peter Elbow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-elbow/) > [In 2003, at the time I made my "Old Europe" comment, the center of gravity in NATO and Europe had long since shifted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/in-2003-at-the-time-i-made-my-old-europe-comment-the-center-of/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don't fight them. Just find a new way to stand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/challenges-are-gifts-that-force-us-to-search-for-a-new-center-of/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [I'd heard that swimming feels so good when you're pregnant, and I love being in the ocean. I was even paddle boarding up until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisa-miller/i-d-heard-that-swimming-feels-so-good-when-you-re-pregnant-and-i-love/) [Marisa Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisa-miller/) > [When you're wearing jeans there's a shift in your center of gravity. A costume like this and a character like this, there's no way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-stevenson/when-you-re-wearing-jeans-there-s-a-shift-in-your-center-of-gravity-a/) [Ray Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-stevenson/) > [Has the center of gravity shifted such that all governments have greater powers and fewer restrictions than they ever had, and are empowered by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/has-the-center-of-gravity-shifted-such-that-all-governments-have/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [You're thinking of Europe as Germany and France. I don't. I think that's old Europe. If you look at the entire NATO Europe today,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/you-re-thinking-of-europe-as-germany-and-france-i-don-t-i-think-that-2/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [The thought must have its own center of gravity; it cannot just be either here or there. We must find this center of gravity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-de-salzmann/the-thought-must-have-its-own-center-of-gravity-it-cannot-just-be/) [Jeanne de Salzmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-de-salzmann/) > [A great commotion immobilized her in her center of gravity, planted her in her place, and her defensive will was demolished by the irresistible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/a-great-commotion-immobilized-her-in-her-center-of-gravity-planted/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) [Browse all 25 Center of gravity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/center-of-gravity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A vital part of philosophizing is learning to trust one's own intuitivist intelligence, getting one's center of gravity back between one's feet. 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