--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All too willingly man sees himself as the…" description: "\"All too willingly man sees himself as the centre of the universe, as something not belonging to the rest of nature but standing apart as a different an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e29/konrad-lorenz-8538_belonging_all-too-willingly-man-sees-himself-as-th_470230.jpg" --- # All too willingly man sees himself as the centre of the… ![“All too willingly man sees himself as the centre of the universe, as something not belonging to the rest of nature but standing apart as a different and higher being. Many people cling to this error and remain deaf to the wisest command ever given by a sage, the famous "Know thyself" inscribed in…” quote by Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e29/konrad-lorenz-8538_belonging_all-too-willingly-man-sees-himself-as-th_470230.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e29/konrad-lorenz-8538_belonging_all-too-willingly-man-sees-himself-as-th_470230.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e29/konrad-lorenz-8538_belonging_all-too-willingly-man-sees-himself-as-th_470230.jpg) > “All too willingly man sees himself as the centre of the universe, as something not belonging to the rest of nature but standing apart as a different and higher being. Many people cling to this error and remain deaf to the wisest command ever given by a sage, the famous "Know thyself" inscribed in the temple of Delphi.” [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans often view themselves as separate from nature, ignoring the ancient wisdom of self‑knowledge and humility. **In simple terms:** We feel apart from nature, forgetting humility. Key Takeaway Practice humility and self‑reflection. Themes philosophy environment humility Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - environmental activism - personal growth - leadership Key Concepts anthropology psychology self‑awareness Questions to Reflect On - What does “know thyself” mean to you? - How can humility improve our relationship with nature? A Different Perspective Self‑knowledge alone may not change behavior without action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belonging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belonging/) [Delphi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delphi/) [Know thyself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-thyself/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Not belonging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/not-belonging/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Sage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sage/) [Standing apart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standing-apart/) [Temples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/temples/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) ## Related quotes > [...we were like two people standing apart on separate mountain peaks, recklessly leaning forward to throw stones at one another, unaware of the dangerous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/we-were-like-two-people-standing-apart-on-separate-mountain-peaks/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [The writer is a person who is standing apart, like the cheese in 'The Farmer in the Dell' standing there alone but deciding to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/the-writer-is-a-person-who-is-standing-apart-like-the-cheese-in-the/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [I believe - I know (there are not many things I should care to dogmatize about, on the subject of writing) that writers need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/i-believe-i-know-there-are-not-many-things-i-should-care-to-dogmatize/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [Summer is filled with breaking the rules and standing apart, ignoring your head and following you heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suman-rai/summer-is-filled-with-breaking-the-rules-and-standing-apart-ignoring/) [Suman Rai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suman-rai/) > [Summers filled with breaking the rules, standing apart, ignoring your head, and following your heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyssa-engell/summers-filled-with-breaking-the-rules-standing-apart-ignoring-your/) Alyssa Engell > [An historian should yield himself to his subject, become immersed in the place and period of his choice, standing apart from it now and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-eliot-morison/an-historian-should-yield-himself-to-his-subject-become-immersed-in/) [Samuel Eliot Morison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-eliot-morison/) > [The tension between standing apart, and being fully involved; that is what makes a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/the-tension-between-standing-apart-and-being-fully-involved-that-is/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [If a principle exists it must be immutable, for that is what a principle is - a truth standing apart from the mood of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-cooper/if-a-principle-exists-it-must-be-immutable-for-that-is-what-a/) [Jeff Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-cooper/) > [The question we must ask ourselves as a culture is whether we want to embrace the change that must come, or resist it. Are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-lyman/the-question-we-must-ask-ourselves-as-a-culture-is-whether-we-want-to/) [Howard Lyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-lyman/) > [Pathology has made us acquainted with a great number of states in which the boundary lines between the ego and the external world become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/pathology-has-made-us-acquainted-with-a-great-number-of-states-in/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“The same feeling of not belonging, of futility, wherever I go: I pretend interest in what matters nothing to me, I bestir myself mechanically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-m-cioran/the-same-feeling-of-not-belonging-of-futility-wherever-i-go-i-pretend/) [Emil M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-m-cioran/) > [Of course in Turkey I'm seen as being on the 'Western' side, criticised by the nationalists, criticised by the communitarians as not belonging. Even,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/of-course-in-turkey-i-m-seen-as-being-on-the-western-side-criticised/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [The feeling of being an underdog, not belonging, is very much me. You harbour a little feeling of resentment towards the 'upper dog'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sa-larsson/the-feeling-of-being-an-underdog-not-belonging-is-very-much-me-you/) [Asa Larsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sa-larsson/) > [“When the sense of «not belonging» is tolling the bell for true happiness, it infuses people into accepting life as a failure, or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/when-the-sense-of-not-belonging-is-tolling-the-bell-for-true/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) ## More by Konrad Lorenz > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [I owe undying gratitude to my patient parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/i-owe-undying-gratitude-to-my-patient-parents/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [It is a good morning exercise for a research scientist to discard a pet hypothesis every day before breakfast. It keeps him young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/it-is-a-good-morning-exercise-for-a-research-scientist-to-discard-a/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > ['I don't need brains,' says the billionaire contemptuously. 'I'm brainy enough myself!' The broker cries out in desperation, 'What, in heaven's name, do you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/i-don-t-need-brains-says-the-billionaire-contemptuously-i-m-brainy/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [I have found the missing link between the higher ape and civilized man; it is we.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/i-have-found-the-missing-link-between-the-higher-ape-and-civilized/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [The fidelity of a dog is a precious gift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/the-fidelity-of-a-dog-is-a-precious-gift/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [Whenever we find, in two forms of life that are unrelated to each other, a similarity of form or of behaviour patterns which relates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/whenever-we-find-in-two-forms-of-life-that-are-unrelated-to-each/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [...he who has seen the intimate beauty of nature cannot tear himself away from it again. He must become either a poet or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/he-who-has-seen-the-intimate-beauty-of-nature-cannot-tear-himself/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [We had better dispense with the personification of evil, because it leads, all too easily, to the most dangerous kind of war: religious war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/we-had-better-dispense-with-the-personification-of-evil-because-it/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [If you confine yourself to this Skinnerian technique, you study nothing but the learning apparatus and you leave out everything that is different in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/if-you-confine-yourself-to-this-skinnerian-technique-you-study/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [All scientific knowledge to which man owes his role as master of the world arose from playful activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/all-scientific-knowledge-to-which-man-owes-his-role-as-master-of-the/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [All the advantages that man has gained from his ever-deepening understanding of the natural world that surrounds him, his technological, chemical and medical progress,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/all-the-advantages-that-man-has-gained-from-his-ever-deepening/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [Truth in science can be defined as the working hypothesis best suited to open the way to the next better one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/truth-in-science-can-be-defined-as-the-working-hypothesis-best-suited/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [“Every scientist should, after all, regard it as his duty to tell the public, in a generally intelligible way, about what he is doing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/every-scientist-should-after-all-regard-it-as-his-duty-to-tell-the/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [I consider early childhood events as most essential to a man's scientific and philosophical development.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/i-consider-early-childhood-events-as-most-essential-to-a-man-s/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) [Explore all 78 Konrad Lorenz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) ## More Belonging quotes > [She might be without country, without nation, but inside her there was still a being that could exist and be free, that could simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-maas/she-might-be-without-country-without-nation-but-inside-her-there-was/) [Sharon Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-maas/) > [I always think the best way of motivating yourself is to put yourself in a situation where you feel like you're belonging to something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-jackson/i-always-think-the-best-way-of-motivating-yourself-is-to-put-yourself/) [Colin Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-jackson/) > [It is a well-settled principle of the international code that where one nation owes another a liquidated debt which it refuses or neglects to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-jackson/it-is-a-well-settled-principle-of-the-international-code-that-where/) [Andrew Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-jackson/) > [The region belonging to the pure intellect is straitened: the imagination labours to extend its territories, to give it room. She sweeps across the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/the-region-belonging-to-the-pure-intellect-is-straitened-the/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [I am convinced that human nature is basically affectionate and good. If our behavior follows our kind and loving nature, immense benefits will result,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/i-am-convinced-that-human-nature-is-basically-affectionate-and-good/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [“The reason “belonging” was so potent, so attractive, so much a part of the human yearning, was that it also meant safety, and loyalty.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-penny/the-reason-belonging-was-so-potent-so-attractive-so-much-a-part-of/) [Louise Penny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-penny/) > [If some student belonging to weaker section of society suffers distress, humanity says it must be addressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arun-jaitley/if-some-student-belonging-to-weaker-section-of-society-suffers/) [Arun Jaitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arun-jaitley/) > [Connection gives purpose and meaning to our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/connection-gives-purpose-and-meaning-to-our-lives/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [My father was a man of great charity towards the poor, and compassion for the sick, and also for servants; so much so, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-father-was-a-man-of-great-charity-towards-the-poor-and-compassion/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Maybe the problem with the world is, that people are too quick to judge. And out of desperation, the loneliness creeps in like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/maybe-the-problem-with-the-world-is-that-people-are-too-quick-to/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [“It turns out to be the place of true belonging, and it's the bravest and most sacred place you'll stand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/it-turns-out-to-be-the-place-of-true-belonging-and-it-s-the-bravest/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [The hardest thing about being at Sony was not the travel; it was being divorced from the public and private life I had in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-stringer/the-hardest-thing-about-being-at-sony-was-not-the-travel-it-was-being/) [Howard Stringer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-stringer/) > [Whenever you are examining someone else's belongings, you are bound to learn many interesting things about the person of which you were not previously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whenever-you-are-examining-someone-else-s-belongings-you-are-bound-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“She isn't anybody's,' Rook said darkly. 'Son. she's not yours, either," Sarah Fleet said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaida-jones/she-isn-t-anybody-s-rook-said-darkly-son-she-s-not-yours-either-sarah/) [Jaida Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaida-jones/) > [We have become this very fear-based culture, especially post-9/11. Fear is the opposite of love, in my opinion. I think there would be more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/we-have-become-this-very-fear-based-culture-especially-post-9-11-fear/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) [Browse all 876 Belonging quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belonging/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "All too willingly man sees himself as the centre of the universe, as something not belonging to the rest of nature but standing apart as a different and higher being. Many people cling to this error and remain deaf to the wisest command ever given by a sage, the famous \"Know thyself\" inscribed in the temple of Delphi.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Konrad Lorenz" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/all-too-willingly-man-sees-himself-as-the-centre-of-the-universe-as/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Belonging" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/all-too-willingly-man-sees-himself-as-the-centre-of-the-universe-as/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e29/konrad-lorenz-8538_belonging_all-too-willingly-man-sees-himself-as-th_470230.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e29/konrad-lorenz-8538_belonging_all-too-willingly-man-sees-himself-as-th_470230.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e29/konrad-lorenz-8538_belonging_all-too-willingly-man-sees-himself-as-th_470230.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“All too willingly man sees himself as the centre of the universe, as something not belonging to the rest of…” — Konrad Lorenz", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Konrad Lorenz", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "All too willingly man sees himself...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/all-too-willingly-man-sees-himself-as-the-centre-of-the-universe-as/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/all-too-willingly-man-sees-himself-as-the-centre-of-the-universe-as/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```