---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The self identity of Man is…"
description: "\"The self identity of Man is transcultural, and thus cannot have any single point of reference. Pluralism is not synonymous with tolerance of a variety ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/raimon-panikkar-61262_absurd_the-self-identity-of-man-is-transcultura_425531.jpg"
---

#  The self identity of Man is transcultural, and thus cannot…

![“The self identity of Man is transcultural, and thus cannot have any single point of reference. Pluralism is not synonymous with tolerance of a variety of opinions. Pluralism amounts to the recognition of the unthinkable, the absurd, and up to a limit, intolerable. Reality in itself does not need…” quote by Raimon Panikkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/raimon-panikkar-61262_absurd_the-self-identity-of-man-is-transcultura_425531.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/raimon-panikkar-61262_absurd_the-self-identity-of-man-is-transcultura_425531.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/raimon-panikkar-61262_absurd_the-self-identity-of-man-is-transcultura_425531.jpg)

> “The self identity of Man is transcultural, and thus cannot have any single point of reference. Pluralism is not synonymous with tolerance of a variety of opinions. Pluralism amounts to the recognition of the unthinkable, the absurd, and up to a limit, intolerable. Reality in itself does not need to be transparent intelligible.”

[Raimon Panikkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raimon-panikkar/)

## About This Quote

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

Human identity is multicultural, resisting single reference points; pluralism means recognizing the unthinkable and limits of tolerance.

**In simple terms:** Identity is diverse; pluralism embraces complexity.

Key Takeaway

Embrace cultural diversity and its limits.

Themes

identity pluralism culture limits

Mood

reflective serious

Type

philosophical academic

When to use this quote

- global teamwork
- intercultural dialogue
- policy making

Key Concepts

philosophy anthropology

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you navigate cultural contradictions?
- What are the limits of tolerance?

A Different Perspective

Pluralism can clash with deeply held beliefs.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Amount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amount/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Opinions Pluralism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinions-pluralism-3762471/) [Pluralism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pluralism/) [Pluralism Amounts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pluralism-amounts-3762474/) [Pluralism is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pluralism-is/) [Pluralism Synonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pluralism-synonymous-3762472/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Recognition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recognition/) [Reference Pluralism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reference-pluralism-3762473/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-identity/) [Tolerance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tolerance/) [Transparent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transparent/) [Unthinkable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unthinkable/) [Variety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/variety/)

## Related quotes

> [Church and state are, and must remain, separate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/church-and-state-are-and-must-remain-separate/)

[Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/)

> [We in the United States, above all, must remember that lesson, for we were founded as a nation of openness to people of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/we-in-the-united-states-above-all-must-remember-that-lesson-for-we/)

[Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/)

> [Canada has for many years been a beacon to the rest of the world for its commitment to pluralism and for its support for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aga-khan-iv/canada-has-for-many-years-been-a-beacon-to-the-rest-of-the-world-for/)

[Aga Khan IV](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aga-khan-iv/)

> [The secular state is the guarantee of religious pluralism. This apparent paradox, again, is the simplest and most elegant of political truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-secular-state-is-the-guarantee-of-religious-pluralism-this/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [What we pluralists have to do is to say to the people standing on the faith line, particularly the young ones, no, pluralism is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eboo-patel/what-we-pluralists-have-to-do-is-to-say-to-the-people-standing-on-the/)

[Eboo Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eboo-patel/)

> [We establish no religion in this country. We command no worship. We mandate no belief, nor will we ever. Church and state are and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/we-establish-no-religion-in-this-country-we-command-no-worship-we-2/)

[Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/)

> [We are engaged in a social, political, and cultural war. There's a lot of talk in America about pluralism. But the bottom line is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/we-are-engaged-in-a-social-political-and-cultural-war-there-s-a-lot/)

[Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/)

> [Pluralism is no longer simply an asset or a prerequisite for progress and development; it is vital to our existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aga-khan-iv/pluralism-is-no-longer-simply-an-asset-or-a-prerequisite-for-progress/)

[Aga Khan IV](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aga-khan-iv/)

> [Religion is important for humanity, but it should evolve with humanity. The first priority is to establish and develop the principle of pluralism in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/religion-is-important-for-humanity-but-it-should-evolve-with-humanity/)

[Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/)

> [America treasures the relationship we have with our many Muslim friends, and we respect the vibrant faith of Islam which inspires countless individuals to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/america-treasures-the-relationship-we-have-with-our-many-muslim/)

[George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/)

> [ When I came here \[to Malaysia\] I heard that there is a problem with the concept of pluralism whereby pluralism is understood in a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/when-i-came-here-to-malaysia-i-heard-that-there-is-a-problem-with-the/)

[Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/)

> [Pluralism is denied logically; inclusivism is denied scripturally, and that leaves us with exclusivism... you have to know that Jesus died and believe in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-geisler/pluralism-is-denied-logically-inclusivism-is-denied-scripturally-and/)

[Norman Geisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-geisler/)

> [We need the value and the beauty of democracy, and the beauty of pluralism is there's a free exchange of ideas. Nobody is right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/we-need-the-value-and-the-beauty-of-democracy-and-the-beauty-of/)

[Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/)

> [Religious pluralism is neither mere coexistence nor forced consensus. It is a form of proactive cooperation that affirms the identity of the constituent communities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eboo-patel/religious-pluralism-is-neither-mere-coexistence-nor-forced-consensus/)

[Eboo Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eboo-patel/)

> [It is very important to understand that pluralism is part of our system. We don't all think the same thing and part of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dobson/it-is-very-important-to-understand-that-pluralism-is-part-of-our/)

[James Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dobson/)

## More by Raimon Panikkar

> [ I left Europe \[for India\] as a Christian, I discovered I was a Hindu and returned as a Buddhist without ever having ceased to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raimon-panikkar/i-left-europe-for-india-as-a-christian-i-discovered-i-was-a-hindu-and/)

[Raimon Panikkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raimon-panikkar/)

> [Religion is not an experiment, it is an experience of life through which one is part of the cosmic adventure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raimon-panikkar/religion-is-not-an-experiment-it-is-an-experience-of-life-through/)

[Raimon Panikkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raimon-panikkar/)

> [God is so great that the greatness precludes existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raimon-panikkar/god-is-so-great-that-the-greatness-precludes-existence/)

[Raimon Panikkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raimon-panikkar/)

> ["thanks" in MaoriGrateful living: an alchemic operation of converting "disgraceful" things into grateful events.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raimon-panikkar/thanks-in-maorigrateful-living-an-alchemic-operation-of-converting/)

[Raimon Panikkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raimon-panikkar/)

[Explore all 5 Raimon Panikkar quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raimon-panikkar/)

## More Absurd quotes

> [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/)

[Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/)

> [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/)

[J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/)

> [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/)

[Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/)

> [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/)

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

> [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/)

[Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/)

> [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/)

[David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/)

> [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; &amp; the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/)

[Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/)

> [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/)

[Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/)

> [The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/)

[Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/)

> [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/)

[Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/)

[Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The self identity of Man is transcultural, and thus cannot have any single point of reference. Pluralism is not synonymous with tolerance of a variety of opinions. Pluralism amounts to the recognition of the unthinkable, the absurd, and up to a limit, intolerable. Reality in itself does not need to be transparent intelligible.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Raimon Panikkar"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raimon-panikkar/the-self-identity-of-man-is-transcultural-and-thus-cannot-have-any/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Absurd"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raimon-panikkar/the-self-identity-of-man-is-transcultural-and-thus-cannot-have-any/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/raimon-panikkar-61262_absurd_the-self-identity-of-man-is-transcultura_425531.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/raimon-panikkar-61262_absurd_the-self-identity-of-man-is-transcultura_425531.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/raimon-panikkar-61262_absurd_the-self-identity-of-man-is-transcultura_425531.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The self identity of Man is transcultural, and thus cannot have any single point of reference. Pluralism is…” — Raimon Panikkar",
                "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": "Raimon Panikkar",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raimon-panikkar/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The self identity of Man is...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raimon-panikkar/the-self-identity-of-man-is-transcultural-and-thus-cannot-have-any/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raimon-panikkar/the-self-identity-of-man-is-transcultural-and-thus-cannot-have-any/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
