---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are unprecedented numbers of…"
description: "\"There are unprecedented numbers of movements for human rights and freedoms. But the dominant worldviews in academia, like materialism and naturalism, d..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/655/nancy-pearcey-3368_academia_there-are-unprecedented-numbers-of-movem_2647460.png"
---

#  There are unprecedented numbers of movements for human…

![“There are unprecedented numbers of movements for human rights and freedoms. But the dominant worldviews in academia, like materialism and naturalism, deny the reality of freedom, reducing humans to robots. So where does the concept of human rights come from?” quote by Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/655/nancy-pearcey-3368_academia_there-are-unprecedented-numbers-of-movem_2647460.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/655/nancy-pearcey-3368_academia_there-are-unprecedented-numbers-of-movem_2647460.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/655/nancy-pearcey-3368_academia_there-are-unprecedented-numbers-of-movem_2647460.png)

> “There are unprecedented numbers of movements for human rights and freedoms. But the dominant worldviews in academia, like materialism and naturalism, deny the reality of freedom, reducing humans to robots. So where does the concept of human rights come from?”

[Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Materialist views reduce humans to machines, challenging the basis of human rights.

**In simple terms:** Materialism conflicts with the concept of human freedom.

Key Takeaway

Recognize philosophical foundations of rights.

Themes

philosophy human rights materialism freedom

Mood

thoughtful inquisitive

Type

analytical dialogue

When to use this quote

- legal advocacy
- academic debate
- policy making
- education curricula

Key Concepts

ontology ethics political theory

Questions to Reflect On

- What arguments support rights without spiritual assumptions?
- How can diverse worldviews coexist in human rights discourse?

A Different Perspective

Rights can be defended from secular perspectives as well.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Academia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academia/) [Concepts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concepts/) [Deny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deny/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Dominant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dominant/) [Dominant Worldviews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dominant-worldviews-2322016/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Freedoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedoms/) [Human rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-rights/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Materialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/materialism/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Naturalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/naturalism/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbers/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-freedom-2322017/) [Reducing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reducing/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Rights and freedoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights-and-freedoms/) [Rights Freedoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights-freedoms-788862/) [Robots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/robots/) [Unprecedented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unprecedented/) [Worldview](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worldview/)

## Related quotes

> [Extreme poverty threatens people's right to life itself and makes impossible the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms essential to a humane way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daisaku-ikeda/extreme-poverty-threatens-people-s-right-to-life-itself-and-makes/)

[Daisaku Ikeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daisaku-ikeda/)

> [The idea of human rights and freedoms must be an integral part of any meaningful world order. Yet, I think it must be anchored…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/the-idea-of-human-rights-and-freedoms-must-be-an-integral-part-of-any/)

[Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/)

> [On the whole, it is the rights and freedoms of all citizens that are crucial in Saudi Arabia and from those the rights of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basmah-bint-saud/on-the-whole-it-is-the-rights-and-freedoms-of-all-citizens-that-are/)

[Basmah bint Saud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basmah-bint-saud/)

> [The best way to take control over a people and control them utterly is to take a little of their freedom at a time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-way-to-take-control-over-a-people-and-control-them-utterly/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The Universal Declaration of Human Rights - This great and inspiring instrument was born of an increased sense of responsibility by the international community…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/u-thant/the-universal-declaration-of-human-rights-this-great-and-inspiring/)

[U Thant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/u-thant/)

> [We must vigilantly stand on guard within our own borders for human rights and fundamental freedoms which are our proud heritage…w e cannot take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-diefenbaker/we-must-vigilantly-stand-on-guard-within-our-own-borders-for-human/)

[John Diefenbaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-diefenbaker/)

> [All freedoms provided by democracy are for those who believe in it. Can the rights and freedoms of millions of virtuous people who believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-evren/all-freedoms-provided-by-democracy-are-for-those-who-believe-in-it/)

[Kenan Evren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenan-evren/)

> [The global response to global terrorism must not endanger fundamental human rights and freedoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stjepan-mesic/the-global-response-to-global-terrorism-must-not-endanger-fundamental/)

[Stjepan Mesic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stjepan-mesic/)

> [Law matters, because it keeps us safe, because it protects our most fundamental rights and freedoms, and because it is the foundation of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-kagan/law-matters-because-it-keeps-us-safe-because-it-protects-our-most/)

[Elena Kagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-kagan/)

> [You create your reality. You will find this freedom by learning to look inward, and by realizing that you create the reality that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/you-create-your-reality-you-will-find-this-freedom-by-learning-to/)

[Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/)

> [Once you begin to understand and truly master your thoughts and feelings, that's when you see how you create your own reality. That's where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marci-shimoff/once-you-begin-to-understand-and-truly-master-your-thoughts-and/)

[Marci Shimoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marci-shimoff/)

> [Visit a typical science classroom and you will discover far more than empirical facts being taught. The dominant worldview among scientific intellectuals is evolutionary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/visit-a-typical-science-classroom-and-you-will-discover-far-more-than/)

[Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/)

> [Because a human is a someone and not a something, the source of human life must also be a Someone - not the blind,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/because-a-human-is-a-someone-and-not-a-something-the-source-of-human/)

[Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/)

> [People often say, with pride, 'I'm not interested in politics.' They might as well say, 'I'm not interested in my standard of living, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-gellhorn/people-often-say-with-pride-i-m-not-interested-in-politics-they-might/)

[Martha Gellhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-gellhorn/)

> [Government was intended to secure the rights and freedoms of the people; it wasn't intended to be all things to all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-haley/government-was-intended-to-secure-the-rights-and-freedoms-of-the/)

[Nikki Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-haley/)

## More by Nancy Pearcey

> [Pro-lifers have long been castigated for bringing private values into the public square. But actually it is the pro-abortion position that is based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/pro-lifers-have-long-been-castigated-for-bringing-private-values-into/)

[Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/)

> [“Redemption is not just about being saved \*from\* the consequences of sin, it is also about being saved \*to\* something- to resume the task…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/redemption-is-not-just-about-being-saved-from-the-consequences-of-sin/)

[Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/)

> [“Author conveys contemporary respect for Methodist preachers who rode the circuit of frontier settlements to put themselves at risk for the Gospel near the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/author-conveys-contemporary-respect-for-methodist-preachers-who-rode/)

[Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/)

> [Literary theory has become a parody of science, generating its own arcane jargon. In the process, tragically, it discourages love of literature for its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/literary-theory-has-become-a-parody-of-science-generating-its-own/)

[Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/)

> [“Many of us don't even know what it means to have a Christian perspective on our work. Oh, we know that being a Christian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/many-of-us-don-t-even-know-what-it-means-to-have-a-christian/)

[Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/)

> [“People are not relativistic when it comes to matters of science, engineering, and technology; rather, they are relativistic and pluralistic in matters of religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/people-are-not-relativistic-when-it-comes-to-matters-of-science/)

[Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/)

> [Knowing the truth has meaning only as a first step to living the truth day by day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/knowing-the-truth-has-meaning-only-as-a-first-step-to-living-the/)

[Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/)

> [The most consistent versions of materialism deny the reality of anything beyond matter - no soul, no spirit, no will, no mind. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/the-most-consistent-versions-of-materialism-deny-the-reality-of/)

[Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/)

> [During the first 13 centuries after the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, no one thought of setting up a creche to celebrate Christmas. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/during-the-first-13-centuries-after-the-birth-of-jesus-in-bethlehem/)

[Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/)

> [In many cases students are never exposed to competing ideas within their families, churches, or Christian schools, and as a result they go out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/in-many-cases-students-are-never-exposed-to-competing-ideas-within/)

[Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/)

> [“The sword of the Spirit has been muffled up and decked out with flowers and ribbons," author writes, conveying the sentiments of a Congregationist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/the-sword-of-the-spirit-has-been-muffled-up-and-decked-out-with/)

[Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/)

> [“No matter how hard people work to suppress their knowledge of God, creation itself keeps challenging them. “Human life is a continual wrestling match…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/no-matter-how-hard-people-work-to-suppress-their-knowledge-of-god/)

[Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/)

> [The loss of objectivity in moral thought does not lead to liberation. It leads to oppression. Secular ideologies preach liberty, but they practice tyranny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/the-loss-of-objectivity-in-moral-thought-does-not-lead-to-liberation/)

[Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/)

> [“Christianity explains why truth is not merely a human construction. The world is not a creation of my own mind. It is the handiwork…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/christianity-explains-why-truth-is-not-merely-a-human-construction/)

[Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/)

> [Because a human is a someone and not a something, the source of human life must also be a Someone - not the blind,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/because-a-human-is-a-someone-and-not-a-something-the-source-of-human/)

[Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/)

[Explore all 132 Nancy Pearcey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/)

## More Academia quotes

> [“Word spread quickly: The visitor wished to address the scholars. 'What can he want?' they wondered, streaming into the Royal Theater. Attendance was voluntary,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/word-spread-quickly-the-visitor-wished-to-address-the-scholars-what/)

[Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/)

> [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/)

[Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/)

> [One of the things that's great about New York is that it is not a one-industry town. It has education, academia, the service industry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-jessica-parker/one-of-the-things-that-s-great-about-new-york-is-that-it-is-not-a-one/)

[Sarah Jessica Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-jessica-parker/)

> [ “See that the mind is honest, first; the rest may follow or not as God wills. \[That\] the fundamental treason to the mind ...… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/see-that-the-mind-is-honest-first-the-rest-may-follow-or-not-as-god/)

[Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/)

> [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/)

> [Practically everybody (1) overweighs the stuff that can be numbered, because it yields to the statistical techniques they’re taught in academia, and (2) doesn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/practically-everybody-1-overweighs-the-stuff-that-can-be-numbered/)

[Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/)

> [The number one problem in academia today is not ignorant students but ignorant professors, who have substituted narrow "expertise" and "theoretical sophistication" (a preposterous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/the-number-one-problem-in-academia-today-is-not-ignorant-students-but/)

[Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/)

> [Almost all scholarly research carries practical and political implications. Better that we should spell these out ourselves than leave that task to people with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-coontz/almost-all-scholarly-research-carries-practical-and-political/)

[Stephanie Coontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-coontz/)

> [There is this tremendous body of knowledge in the world of academia where extraordinary numbers of incredibly thoughtful people have taken the time to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/there-is-this-tremendous-body-of-knowledge-in-the-world-of-academia/)

[Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/)

> [What do you call a co-worker these days? Neither teammate nor confederate will do, and partner is too legalistic. The answer brought from academia…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/what-do-you-call-a-co-worker-these-days-neither-teammate-nor/)

[William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/)

> [“Chivalry in academia is dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvain-reynard/chivalry-in-academia-is-dead/)

[Sylvain Reynard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvain-reynard/)

> [“The tunnel under the wall of intellectual snobbery is the only way back to common sense reality, but most won't find it because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-e-navarro/the-tunnel-under-the-wall-of-intellectual-snobbery-is-the-only-way/)

[D.E. Navarro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-e-navarro/)

> [Even if 80 percent of the population of a country are Christian believers, they will have almost no cultural influence if the Christians do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/even-if-80-percent-of-the-population-of-a-country-are-christian/)

[Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/)

> [“(If you'd like to see it, I've been keeping a log of department meetings ranked according to level of trauma, with a 1 indicating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-schumacher-dear-committee-members/if-you-d-like-to-see-it-i-ve-been-keeping-a-log-of-department/)

[Julie Schumacher Dear Committee Members](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-schumacher-dear-committee-members/)

[Browse all 233 Academia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academia/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "There are unprecedented numbers of movements for human rights and freedoms. But the dominant worldviews in academia, like materialism and naturalism, deny the reality of freedom, reducing humans to robots. So where does the concept of human rights come from?",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Nancy Pearcey"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/there-are-unprecedented-numbers-of-movements-for-human-rights-and/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Academia"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/there-are-unprecedented-numbers-of-movements-for-human-rights-and/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/655/nancy-pearcey-3368_academia_there-are-unprecedented-numbers-of-movem_2647460.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/655/nancy-pearcey-3368_academia_there-are-unprecedented-numbers-of-movem_2647460.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/655/nancy-pearcey-3368_academia_there-are-unprecedented-numbers-of-movem_2647460.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“There are unprecedented numbers of movements for human rights and freedoms. But the dominant worldviews in…” — Nancy Pearcey",
                "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": "Nancy Pearcey",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "There are unprecedented numbers of movements...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/there-are-unprecedented-numbers-of-movements-for-human-rights-and/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/there-are-unprecedented-numbers-of-movements-for-human-rights-and/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
