--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You call me the unhuman,\" it might say to…" description: "\"“You call me the unhuman,\" it might say to him, \"and so I really am—for you; but I am so only because you bring me into opposition to the human, and I ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04a/max-stirner-6556_egoistic_you-call-me-the-unhuman-it-might-say-to_740357.jpg" --- # You call me the unhuman," it might say to him, "and so I… ![“You call me the unhuman," it might say to him, "and so I really am—for you; but I am so only because you bring me into opposition to the human, and I could despise myself only so long as I let myself be hypnotized into this opposition. I was contemptible because I sought my 'better self' outside…” quote by Max Stirner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04a/max-stirner-6556_egoistic_you-call-me-the-unhuman-it-might-say-to_740357.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04a/max-stirner-6556_egoistic_you-call-me-the-unhuman-it-might-say-to_740357.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04a/max-stirner-6556_egoistic_you-call-me-the-unhuman-it-might-say-to_740357.jpg) > ““You call me the unhuman," it might say to him, "and so I really am—for you; but I am so only because you bring me into opposition to the human, and I could despise myself only so long as I let myself be hypnotized into this opposition. I was contemptible because I sought my 'better self' outside me; I was the unhuman because I dreamed of the 'human'; I resembled the pious who hunger for their 'true self' and always remain 'poor sinners'; I thought of myself only in comparison to another; enough, I was not all in all, was not—unique.\[102\] But now I cease to appear to myself as the unhuman, cease to measure myself and let myself be measured by man, cease to recognize anything above me: consequently—adieu, humane critic! I only have been the unhuman, am it now no longer, but am the unique, yes, to your loathing, the egoistic; yet not the egoistic as it lets itself be measured by the human, humane, and unselfish, but the egoistic as the—unique.”” [Max Stirner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-stirner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage explores how defining oneself against humanity creates a false identity, and that true selfhood emerges when one stops measuring oneself by external standards. **In simple terms:** Self‑definition depends on external comparison; true uniqueness comes from internal self‑acceptance. Key Takeaway Stop comparing yourself to others; embrace your own uniqueness. Themes identity self philosophy individualism ego Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical critical literary When to use this quote - personal growth - creative work - relationship dynamics - social critique Key Concepts existentialism self‑realization critical theory Questions to Reflect On - How do you define yourself beyond societal expectations? - What does true uniqueness mean to you? A Different Perspective It may overlook the need for community and shared values in shaping identity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Egoistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/egoistic/) [Individuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individuality/) [Philosophical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophical/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) ## Related quotes > [“In utopia, rule by masterminds is both necessary and necessarily primitive, for it excludes so much that is known to man and about man.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-r-levin/in-utopia-rule-by-masterminds-is-both-necessary-and-necessarily/) [Mark R. Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-r-levin/) > [I believe one must be such a big egoist that it is possible to avoid the big tendencies that cut of your head. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/odd-nerdrum/i-believe-one-must-be-such-a-big-egoist-that-it-is-possible-to-avoid/) [Odd Nerdrum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/odd-nerdrum/) > [The society is the extension of the individual. If the individual is greedy, cruel, merciless, egoistic, etc. so it will be the society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samael-aun-weor/the-society-is-the-extension-of-the-individual-if-the-individual-is/) [Samael Aun Weor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samael-aun-weor/) > [“Creative people have to be fundamentally egoistic. This may sound pompous, but it happens to be the truth. People who live their lives watching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/creative-people-have-to-be-fundamentally-egoistic-this-may-sound/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Desire is something very egoistic. If you desire something, you also have to take the consequences of that. You have to study the market…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/odd-nerdrum/desire-is-something-very-egoistic-if-you-desire-something-you-also/) [Odd Nerdrum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/odd-nerdrum/) > [I hate myself more than I hate others. I'm miserly egoistic even with hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-myself-more-than-i-hate-others-i-m-miserly-egoistic-even-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [From compassion springs humility. The ego is verily a gateway to hell. The person who is egoistic is far from being religious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-vaswani/from-compassion-springs-humility-the-ego-is-verily-a-gateway-to-hell/) [Dada Vaswani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-vaswani/) > [Aalu Was In Love Wid Bhindi. When He Proposd Bhindi (Who Was Egoistic -and- Very Proud Of Her Slim Figure) She Rjectd His Proposal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark/aalu-was-in-love-wid-bhindi-when-he-proposd-bhindi-who-was-egoistic/) [Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark/) > [Desire for approval and recognition is a healthy motive, but the desire to be acknowledged as better, stronger or more intelligent than a fellow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/desire-for-approval-and-recognition-is-a-healthy-motive-but-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I repeat again: the male mind is egoistic. You have to learn the way of the feminine, you have to become egoless, you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/i-repeat-again-the-male-mind-is-egoistic-you-have-to-learn-the-way-of/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Actually men are closer to having the ability to act egoistic when it comes to a crisis situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-ostlund/actually-men-are-closer-to-having-the-ability-to-act-egoistic-when-it/) [Ruben Ostlund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-ostlund/) > [Children are completely egoistic; they feel their needs intensely and strive ruthlessly to satisfy them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/children-are-completely-egoistic-they-feel-their-needs-intensely-and/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“A person is not a ‘doer’ in this world. When one believes that ‘I am the doer’ is when the ‘charging’ (of karma) occurs.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/a-person-is-not-a-doer-in-this-world-when-one-believes-that-i-am-the/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [When you see the divinity in others, you are Divine. When you see ego in others, you are egoistic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-ray/when-you-see-the-divinity-in-others-you-are-divine-when-you-see-ego/) [Amit Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-ray/) > [The ego can exist only if you take yourself and everything seriously. Nothing kills the ego like playfulness, like laughter. When you start taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-ego-can-exist-only-if-you-take-yourself-and-everything-seriously/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) ## More by Max Stirner > [Whoever will be free must make himself free. Freedom is no fairy gift to fall into a man's lap. What is freedom? To have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-stirner/whoever-will-be-free-must-make-himself-free-freedom-is-no-fairy-gift/) [Max Stirner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-stirner/) > [I am all and nothing; I am not a mere thought, but at the same time I am full of thoughts, a thought-world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-stirner/i-am-all-and-nothing-i-am-not-a-mere-thought-but-at-the-same-time-i/) [Max Stirner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-stirner/) > [Only the free and personal man is a good citizen (realist), and even with the lack of particular (scholarly, artistic, etc)culture, a tasteful judge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-stirner/only-the-free-and-personal-man-is-a-good-citizen-realist-and-even/) [Max Stirner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-stirner/) > [Liberty of the people is not my liberty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-stirner/liberty-of-the-people-is-not-my-liberty/) [Max Stirner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-stirner/) > [People is the name of the body, State of the spirit, of that ruling person that has hitherto suppressed me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-stirner/people-is-the-name-of-the-body-state-of-the-spirit-of-that-ruling/) [Max Stirner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-stirner/) > [Many a man renounces morals, but with great difficulty the conception, 'morality.' Morality is the 'idea' of morals, their intellectual power, their power over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-stirner/many-a-man-renounces-morals-but-with-great-difficulty-the-conception/) [Max Stirner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-stirner/) > [Freedom cannot be granted. It must be taken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-stirner/freedom-cannot-be-granted-it-must-be-taken/) [Max Stirner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-stirner/) > [For what reason then do the realists show themselves so unfriendly toward philosophy? Because they misunderstand their own calling and with all their might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-stirner/for-what-reason-then-do-the-realists-show-themselves-so-unfriendly/) [Max Stirner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-stirner/) > [Every State is a despotism, be the despot one or many.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-stirner/every-state-is-a-despotism-be-the-despot-one-or-many/) [Max Stirner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-stirner/) > [Before what is sacred, people lose all sense of power and all confidence; they occupy a powerless and humble attitude toward it. And yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-stirner/before-what-is-sacred-people-lose-all-sense-of-power-and-all/) [Max Stirner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-stirner/) > [Christianity has aimed to deliver us from a life determined by nature, from the appetites as actuating us, and so has meant that man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-stirner/christianity-has-aimed-to-deliver-us-from-a-life-determined-by-nature/) [Max Stirner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-stirner/) > [The freedom of man is, in political liberalism, freedom from persons, from personal dominion, from the master; the securing of each individual person against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-stirner/the-freedom-of-man-is-in-political-liberalism-freedom-from-persons/) [Max Stirner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-stirner/) > [Is not all the stupid chatter of most of our newspapers the babble of fools who suffer from the fixed idea of morality, legality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-stirner/is-not-all-the-stupid-chatter-of-most-of-our-newspapers-the-babble-of/) [Max Stirner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-stirner/) > [Yes, yes, children must early be made to practise piety, godliness, and propriety; a person of good breeding is one into whom 'good maxims'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-stirner/yes-yes-children-must-early-be-made-to-practise-piety-godliness-and/) [Max Stirner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-stirner/) > [We do not aspire to communal life but to a life apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-stirner/we-do-not-aspire-to-communal-life-but-to-a-life-apart/) [Max Stirner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-stirner/) [Explore all 86 Max Stirner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-stirner/) ## More Egoistic quotes > [“In utopia, rule by masterminds is both necessary and necessarily primitive, for it excludes so much that is known to man and about man.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-r-levin/in-utopia-rule-by-masterminds-is-both-necessary-and-necessarily/) [Mark R. Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-r-levin/) > [When you see the divinity in others, you are Divine. When you see ego in others, you are egoistic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-ray/when-you-see-the-divinity-in-others-you-are-divine-when-you-see-ego/) [Amit Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-ray/) > [“A person is not a ‘doer’ in this world. When one believes that ‘I am the doer’ is when the ‘charging’ (of karma) occurs.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/a-person-is-not-a-doer-in-this-world-when-one-believes-that-i-am-the/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [Children are completely egoistic; they feel their needs intensely and strive ruthlessly to satisfy them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/children-are-completely-egoistic-they-feel-their-needs-intensely-and/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Actually men are closer to having the ability to act egoistic when it comes to a crisis situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-ostlund/actually-men-are-closer-to-having-the-ability-to-act-egoistic-when-it/) [Ruben Ostlund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-ostlund/) > [I repeat again: the male mind is egoistic. You have to learn the way of the feminine, you have to become egoless, you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/i-repeat-again-the-male-mind-is-egoistic-you-have-to-learn-the-way-of/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Desire for approval and recognition is a healthy motive, but the desire to be acknowledged as better, stronger or more intelligent than a fellow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/desire-for-approval-and-recognition-is-a-healthy-motive-but-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Aalu Was In Love Wid Bhindi. When He Proposd Bhindi (Who Was Egoistic -and- Very Proud Of Her Slim Figure) She Rjectd His Proposal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark/aalu-was-in-love-wid-bhindi-when-he-proposd-bhindi-who-was-egoistic/) [Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark/) > [From compassion springs humility. The ego is verily a gateway to hell. The person who is egoistic is far from being religious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-vaswani/from-compassion-springs-humility-the-ego-is-verily-a-gateway-to-hell/) [Dada Vaswani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-vaswani/) > [I hate myself more than I hate others. I'm miserly egoistic even with hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-myself-more-than-i-hate-others-i-m-miserly-egoistic-even-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Desire is something very egoistic. If you desire something, you also have to take the consequences of that. You have to study the market…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/odd-nerdrum/desire-is-something-very-egoistic-if-you-desire-something-you-also/) [Odd Nerdrum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/odd-nerdrum/) > [“Creative people have to be fundamentally egoistic. This may sound pompous, but it happens to be the truth. People who live their lives watching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/creative-people-have-to-be-fundamentally-egoistic-this-may-sound/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [The society is the extension of the individual. If the individual is greedy, cruel, merciless, egoistic, etc. so it will be the society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samael-aun-weor/the-society-is-the-extension-of-the-individual-if-the-individual-is/) [Samael Aun Weor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samael-aun-weor/) > [I believe one must be such a big egoist that it is possible to avoid the big tendencies that cut of your head. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/odd-nerdrum/i-believe-one-must-be-such-a-big-egoist-that-it-is-possible-to-avoid/) [Odd Nerdrum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/odd-nerdrum/) > [The ego can exist only if you take yourself and everything seriously. Nothing kills the ego like playfulness, like laughter. When you start taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-ego-can-exist-only-if-you-take-yourself-and-everything-seriously/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) [Browse all 32 Egoistic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/egoistic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You call me the unhuman,\" it might say to him, \"and so I really am—for you; but I am so only because you bring me into opposition to the human, and I could despise myself only so long as I let myself be hypnotized into this opposition. I was contemptible because I sought my 'better self' outside me; I was the unhuman because I dreamed of the 'human'; I resembled the pious who hunger for their 'true self' and always remain 'poor sinners'; I thought of myself only in comparison to another; enough, I was not all in all, was not—unique.[102] But now I cease to appear to myself as the unhuman, cease to measure myself and let myself be measured by man, cease to recognize anything above me: consequently—adieu, humane critic! 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