--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is also present in every human…" description: "\"“There is also present in every human being, in everyone's biography-although sometimes harrowing cases of systematic neglect, present in the matter of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c1/paul-ricoeur-16430_quote_there-is-also-present-in-every-human-bei_1365326.jpg" --- # There is also present in every human being, in everyone's… ![“There is also present in every human being, in everyone's biography-although sometimes harrowing cases of systematic neglect, present in the matter of absence, so if longing for that which never was there then too, deeply suspect, should have been.” quote by Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c1/paul-ricoeur-16430_quote_there-is-also-present-in-every-human-bei_1365326.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c1/paul-ricoeur-16430_quote_there-is-also-present-in-every-human-bei_1365326.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c1/paul-ricoeur-16430_quote_there-is-also-present-in-every-human-bei_1365326.jpg) > ““There is also present in every human being, in everyone's biography-although sometimes harrowing cases of systematic neglect, present in the matter of absence, so if longing for that which never was there then too, deeply suspect, should have been.”” [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human beings carry a deep, often hidden longing for what was never experienced, revealing a suspicion toward absence. **In simple terms:** We all feel a hidden longing for what never was. Key Takeaway Recognize and explore hidden longings. Themes longing absence identity memory psychology Mood melancholic reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal reflection - therapy - creative writing - spiritual practice - relationship counseling Key Concepts existentialism phenomenology subjectivity Questions to Reflect On - What unmet longing shapes your life? - How can you honor that longing without being trapped by it? A Different Perspective Such longing may be unproductive if it prevents acceptance of present reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absence Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence-longing-4685888/) [Human Biography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-biography-4685892/) [Longing Deeply](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing-deeply-4685890/) [Neglect Present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neglect-present-4685891/) [Systematic Neglect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/systematic-neglect-4685889/) ## Related quotes > [If it is true that there is always more than one way of construing a text, it is not true that all interpretations are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/if-it-is-true-that-there-is-always-more-than-one-way-of-construing-a/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) > [Narrative identity takes part in the story's movement, in the dialectic between order and disorder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/narrative-identity-takes-part-in-the-story-s-movement-in-the/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) > [The narrative constructs the identity of the character, what can be called his or her narrative identity, in constructing that of the story told.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/the-narrative-constructs-the-identity-of-the-character-what-can-be/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) > [Testimony should be a philosophical problem and not limited to legal or historical contexts where it refers to the account of a witness who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/testimony-should-be-a-philosophical-problem-and-not-limited-to-legal/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) > [Hope, insofar as it is hope of resurrection, is the living contradiction of what it proceeds from and what is placed under the sign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/hope-insofar-as-it-is-hope-of-resurrection-is-the-living/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) > [It is always possible to argue against an interpretation, to confront interpretations, to arbitrate between them and to seek for an agreement, even if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/it-is-always-possible-to-argue-against-an-interpretation-to-confront/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) > [There has always been a hermeneutic problem in Christianity because Christianity proceeds from a proclamation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/there-has-always-been-a-hermeneutic-problem-in-christianity-because/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) > [Wisdom finds its literary expression in wisdom literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/wisdom-finds-its-literary-expression-in-wisdom-literature/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) > [There was a wise old owl who sat in a tree The less he spoke the more he heard The more he heard the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/there-was-a-wise-old-owl-who-sat-in-a-tree-the-less-he-spoke-the-more/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) > [Man is this plural and collective unity in which the unity of destination and the differences of destinies are to be understood through each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/man-is-this-plural-and-collective-unity-in-which-the-unity-of/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) > [But myth is something else than an explanation of the world, of history, and of destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/but-myth-is-something-else-than-an-explanation-of-the-world-of-2/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) > [But myth is something else than an explanation of the world, of history, and of destiny. 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