--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I believe that everyone has to construct…" description: "\"I believe that everyone has to construct a mental model of what they are and where they came from and why they are as they are, and the word soul in ea..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3a/marvin-minsky-7760_believe_i-believe-that-everyone-has-to-construct_1429295.jpg" --- # I believe that everyone has to construct a mental model of… ![“I believe that everyone has to construct a mental model of what they are and where they came from and why they are as they are, and the word soul in each person is the name for that particular mish-mash of those fully formed ideas of one's nature.” quote by Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3a/marvin-minsky-7760_believe_i-believe-that-everyone-has-to-construct_1429295.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3a/marvin-minsky-7760_believe_i-believe-that-everyone-has-to-construct_1429295.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3a/marvin-minsky-7760_believe_i-believe-that-everyone-has-to-construct_1429295.jpg) > “I believe that everyone has to construct a mental model of what they are and where they came from and why they are as they are, and the word soul in each person is the name for that particular mish-mash of those fully formed ideas of one's nature.” [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People build personal identities from layered beliefs, forming a unique “soul.” **In simple terms:** We create mental models of ourselves. Key Takeaway Explore your inner narrative. Themes identity self‑concept philosophy Mood introspective analytical Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - self‑reflection - therapy - creative writing Key Concepts cognitive science existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What core beliefs define you? - How do you reconcile conflicting aspects? A Different Perspective Self‑models can be fragmented or contradictory. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) ## Related quotes > [“Tell me what you think of yourself, show me your estimate of your possibilities, and I will predict your future. Your vision of yourself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/tell-me-what-you-think-of-yourself-show-me-your-estimate-of-your/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul. 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You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-dominique/there-is-no-success-in-finding-the-soul-of-a-person-by-the-footprints/) Allen Dominique > [“I recalled how the old bookseller had always told me that books have a soul, the soul of the person who wrote them and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-recalled-how-the-old-bookseller-had-always-told-me-that-books-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The great soul is the person who has taken on the task of change. If he or she is able to transcend fear, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-zukav/the-great-soul-is-the-person-who-has-taken-on-the-task-of-change-if/) [Gary Zukav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-zukav/) > [As I got older, the universe talked to me, life happened, and I just came to the reconciliation that Dope Soul is who I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-oubre-jr/as-i-got-older-the-universe-talked-to-me-life-happened-and-i-just/) [Kelly Oubre, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-oubre-jr/) > [“A person whom works exclusively for money places a price tag on his or her soul. A person whom labors to attain fame seeks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/a-person-whom-works-exclusively-for-money-places-a-price-tag-on-his/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [“...a butterfly is like the soul of a person, it dries out in captivity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-van-niekerk/a-butterfly-is-like-the-soul-of-a-person-it-dries-out-in-captivity/) [Marlene Van Niekerk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-van-niekerk/) > [“Every book, every volume that you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/every-book-every-volume-that-you-see-here-has-a-soul-the-soul-of-the/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [Gaga came to me, and I just could not find a soul. I come from church; maybe that has something to do with it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-jones/gaga-came-to-me-and-i-just-could-not-find-a-soul-i-come-from-church/) [Grace Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-jones/) > [Every book has a soul, the soul of the person who wrote it and the soul of those who read it and dream about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/every-book-has-a-soul-the-soul-of-the-person-who-wrote-it-and-the/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [Quotes! Can touch a heart, and even peirce the very soul of a person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devynald-morrison/quotes-can-touch-a-heart-and-even-peirce-the-very-soul-of-a-person/) [Devynald Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devynald-morrison/) > [“The way I see it, it's got nothing to do with all of that. It has to do with love...A person don't got a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/the-way-i-see-it-it-s-got-nothing-to-do-with-all-of-that-it-has-to-do/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) ## More by Marvin Minsky > [Theorems often tell us complex truths about the simple things, but only rarely tell us simple truths about the complex ones. To believe otherwise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/theorems-often-tell-us-complex-truths-about-the-simple-things-but/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [We wanted to solve robot problems and needed some vision, action, reasoning, planning, and so forth. We even used some structural learning, such as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/we-wanted-to-solve-robot-problems-and-needed-some-vision-action/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [We rarely recognize how wonderful it is that a person can traverse an entire lifetime without making a single really serious mistake — like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/we-rarely-recognize-how-wonderful-it-is-that-a-person-can-traverse-an/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [Each practitioner thinks there's one magic way to get a machine to be smart, and so they're all wasting their time in a sense.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/each-practitioner-thinks-there-s-one-magic-way-to-get-a-machine-to-be/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [To say that the universe exists is silly, because it says that the universe is one of the things in the universe. So there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/to-say-that-the-universe-exists-is-silly-because-it-says-that-the/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [You don't understand anything until you learn it more than one way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/you-don-t-understand-anything-until-you-learn-it-more-than-one-way/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [ A couple of hundred years from now, maybe \[science fiction writers\] Isaac Asimov and Fred Pohl will be considered the important philosophers of the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/a-couple-of-hundred-years-from-now-maybe-science-fiction-writers/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [All intelligent problem solvers are subject to the same ultimate constraints - limitations on space, time, and materials.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/all-intelligent-problem-solvers-are-subject-to-the-same-ultimate/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [“But there’s a big difference between “impossible” and “hard to imagine.” The first is about it; the second is about you!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/but-there-s-a-big-difference-between-impossible-and-hard-to-imagine/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [But the big feature of human-level intelligence is not what it does what it is works but what it does when it's stuck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/but-the-big-feature-of-human-level-intelligence-is-not-what-it-does/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [What magical trick makes us intelligent? The trick is that there is no trick. The power of intelligence stems from our vast diversity, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/what-magical-trick-makes-us-intelligent-the-trick-is-that-there-is-no/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [Everything, including that which happens in our brains, depends on these and only on these: A set of fixed, deterministic laws. A purely random…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/everything-including-that-which-happens-in-our-brains-depends-on/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [I believed in realism, as summarized by John McCarthy's comment to the effect that if we worked really hard, we'd have an intelligent system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/i-believed-in-realism-as-summarized-by-john-mccarthy-s-comment-to-the/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [By the way, it was his simulations that helped out in Jurassic Park - without them, there would have been only a few dinosaurs.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/by-the-way-it-was-his-simulations-that-helped-out-in-jurassic-park/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [If you just have a single problem to solve, then fine, go ahead and use a neural network. But if you want to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/if-you-just-have-a-single-problem-to-solve-then-fine-go-ahead-and-use/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) [Explore all 87 Marvin Minsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. 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I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [That's why I don't generally talk about endorsements because I don't believe we have to tell people who to vote for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-iii/that-s-why-i-don-t-generally-talk-about-endorsements-because-i-don-t/) [Martin Luther King III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-iii/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. 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