--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Consciousness of myself, combined with…" description: "\"Consciousness of myself, combined with complete ignorance of everything that does not fall within my sphere of thinking, is the most telling proof of m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/931/moses-mendelssohn-24658_consciousness_consciousness-of-myself-combined-with-co_1643973.png" --- # Consciousness of myself, combined with complete ignorance… ![“Consciousness of myself, combined with complete ignorance of everything that does not fall within my sphere of thinking, is the most telling proof of my substantiality outside God, of my original existence” quote by Moses Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/931/moses-mendelssohn-24658_consciousness_consciousness-of-myself-combined-with-co_1643973.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/931/moses-mendelssohn-24658_consciousness_consciousness-of-myself-combined-with-co_1643973.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/931/moses-mendelssohn-24658_consciousness_consciousness-of-myself-combined-with-co_1643973.png) > “Consciousness of myself, combined with complete ignorance of everything that does not fall within my sphere of thinking, is the most telling proof of my substantiality outside God, of my original existence” [Moses Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-mendelssohn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highlights the paradox of self‑awareness versus ignorance of the unknown, asserting personal existence beyond divine definition. **In simple terms:** Knowing yourself shows you exist beyond God. Key Takeaway Acknowledge limits of knowledge. Themes philosophy theology existence Mood contemplative analytical Type philosophical theological When to use this quote - personal reflection - academic debate - spiritual inquiry - ethical decision‑making Key Concepts epistemology metaphysics self‑identity Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to exist outside a divine framework? - How does acknowledging ignorance shape humility? A Different Perspective The claim may overlook interdependence of self and other. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Anybody can write a three-volume novel. 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This would not,naturally, be terribly hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lia-habel/i-decided-that-my-initial-survival-strategy-would-involve-declaring/) [Lia Habel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lia-habel/) > [I really think that living is the process of going from complete certainty to complete ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dreyfuss/i-really-think-that-living-is-the-process-of-going-from-complete/) [Richard Dreyfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dreyfuss/) > [“I would have been glad to agree to let them all proceed henceforth in complete ignorance of psychology, if they would forget my opinion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/i-would-have-been-glad-to-agree-to-let-them-all-proceed-henceforth-in/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [The thing that bugs me is the average woman's complete ignorance of the functional purpose of cosmetics, which is to supplement, not conceal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/montgomery-clift/the-thing-that-bugs-me-is-the-average-woman-s-complete-ignorance-of/) [Montgomery Clift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/montgomery-clift/) > [Things are both getting better and getting worse. The madness is accelerating but an acceleration of the new consciousness is also coming in. However,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/things-are-both-getting-better-and-getting-worse-the-madness-is/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [If there's a God, I want to see Him. 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When man rejects reason as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/faith-is-the-commitment-of-one-s-consciousness-to-beliefs-for-which/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [Through all ages, great saints have remained as living proof that this non-temporary, permanent state of God consciousness can be revived in all living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/through-all-ages-great-saints-have-remained-as-living-proof-that-this/) [George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/) > [Knowledge forbidden? Suspicious, reasonless. Why should their Lord Envy them that? Can it be sin to know, Can it be death? And do they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/knowledge-forbidden-suspicious-reasonless-why-should-their-lord-envy/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [Democracies have been, and governments called, free; but the spirit of independence and the consciousness of unalienable rights, were never before transfused into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-josepha-hale/democracies-have-been-and-governments-called-free-but-the-spirit-of/) [Sarah Josepha Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-josepha-hale/) > [Never in all their history have men been able truly to conceive of the world as one: a single sphere, a globe, having the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/never-in-all-their-history-have-men-been-able-truly-to-conceive-of/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) ## More by Moses Mendelssohn > [Socrates didn't care to visit the theater, as a rule, except when the plays of Euripides (which some think, he himself had helped to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-mendelssohn/socrates-didn-t-care-to-visit-the-theater-as-a-rule-except-when-the/) [Moses Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-mendelssohn/) > [For a game it is too serious, for seriousness too much of a game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-mendelssohn/for-a-game-it-is-too-serious-for-seriousness-too-much-of-a-game/) [Moses Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-mendelssohn/) > [The principal axiom in their theory was: Everything can be proved, and everything can be disproved; and in the process, one must profit as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-mendelssohn/the-principal-axiom-in-their-theory-was-everything-can-be-proved-and/) [Moses Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-mendelssohn/) > [The state has physical power and uses it when necessary; the power of religion is love and beneficence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-mendelssohn/the-state-has-physical-power-and-uses-it-when-necessary-the-power-of/) [Moses Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-mendelssohn/) > [Revealed religion is one thing, revealed legislation, another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-mendelssohn/revealed-religion-is-one-thing-revealed-legislation-another/) [Moses Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-mendelssohn/) > [A God is thinkable, therefore a God is also actually present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-mendelssohn/a-god-is-thinkable-therefore-a-god-is-also-actually-present/) [Moses Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-mendelssohn/) > [Both state and church have as their object actions as well as convictions, the former insofar as they are based on the relations between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-mendelssohn/both-state-and-church-have-as-their-object-actions-as-well-as/) [Moses Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-mendelssohn/) > [My religion recognizes no obligation to resolve doubt other than through rational means; and it commands no mere faith in eternal truths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-mendelssohn/my-religion-recognizes-no-obligation-to-resolve-doubt-other-than/) [Moses Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-mendelssohn/) > [I am, therefore there is a God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-mendelssohn/i-am-therefore-there-is-a-god/) [Moses Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-mendelssohn/) > [I fear that, in the end, the famous debate among materialists, idealists, and dualists amounts to a merely verbal dispute that is more a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-mendelssohn/i-fear-that-in-the-end-the-famous-debate-among-materialists-idealists/) [Moses Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-mendelssohn/) > [The analysis of concepts is for the understanding nothing more than what the magnifying glass is for sight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-mendelssohn/the-analysis-of-concepts-is-for-the-understanding-nothing-more-than/) [Moses Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-mendelssohn/) > [Time is a part of eternity, and of the same piece with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-mendelssohn/time-is-a-part-of-eternity-and-of-the-same-piece-with-it/) [Moses Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-mendelssohn/) > [We would be able neither to remember nor to reflect nor to compare nor to think, indeed, we would not even be the person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-mendelssohn/we-would-be-able-neither-to-remember-nor-to-reflect-nor-to-compare/) [Moses Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-mendelssohn/) > [Instead, it appears to be a particular mark of beauty that it is considered with tranquil satisfaction; that it pleases if we also do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-mendelssohn/instead-it-appears-to-be-a-particular-mark-of-beauty-that-it-is/) [Moses Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-mendelssohn/) > [When Socrates was about 30, and his father was long dead, he was still pursuing the art of sculpture, but from necessity, and without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-mendelssohn/when-socrates-was-about-30-and-his-father-was-long-dead-he-was-still/) [Moses Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-mendelssohn/) [Explore all 23 Moses Mendelssohn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-mendelssohn/) ## More Consciousness quotes > [“You're never alone if you're with your soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-armond-powell/you-re-never-alone-if-you-re-with-your-soul/) [Gerard Armond Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-armond-powell/) > [“I now argue that entry into Upper Palaeolithic caves was probably seen as virtually indistinguishable from entry into the mental vortex that leads to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-david-lewis-williams/i-now-argue-that-entry-into-upper-palaeolithic-caves-was-probably/) [James David Lewis-Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-david-lewis-williams/) > [How wonderful it would be to scatter words as they rise to consciousness, to let them lie where they fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/how-wonderful-it-would-be-to-scatter-words-as-they-rise-to/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [“People and situations always show us what we need to see and learn about ourselves, and when we take responsibility for our own feelings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-mada-dalian/people-and-situations-always-show-us-what-we-need-to-see-and-learn/) [Eliza Mada Dalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-mada-dalian/) > [With the realization of God comes all power. 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To avoid this condition, people are naturally eager to fill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/entropy-is-the-normal-state-of-consciousness-a-condition-that-is/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [The purpose is to be in gratitude forever. Live with applied consciousness, prosperity will break through the walls, flood you with it. You do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/the-purpose-is-to-be-in-gratitude-forever-live-with-applied/) [Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/) > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. 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