--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One definition of man is an intelligence…" description: "\"One definition of man is an intelligence served by organs.\" — Ralph Waldo Emerson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_definitions_one-definition-of-man-is-an-intelligence_1836289.png" --- # One definition of man is an intelligence served by organs. ![“One definition of man is an intelligence served by organs.” quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_definitions_one-definition-of-man-is-an-intelligence_1836289.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_definitions_one-definition-of-man-is-an-intelligence_1836289.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_definitions_one-definition-of-man-is-an-intelligence_1836289.png) > “One definition of man is an intelligence served by organs.” [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Man is defined by the intelligence that his body’s organs serve, highlighting the mind‑body partnership. **In simple terms:** Intelligence guides the body. Key Takeaway Align actions with intellect. Themes intelligence human nature mind-body philosophy Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - health decisions - creative work Key Concepts cognitive science existentialism ethics Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance intellect and instinct? - When does bodily intuition override rational thought? A Different Perspective Intelligence alone doesn’t guarantee wisdom. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Definition Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/definition-man-432208/) [Definitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/definitions/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Man Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-intelligence-381185/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Organs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organs/) [Served Organs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/served-organs-1889868/) ## Related quotes > [Man is a mind betrayed, not served, by his organs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmond-de-goncourt/man-is-a-mind-betrayed-not-served-by-his-organs/) [Edmond de Goncourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmond-de-goncourt/) > [Man is not an organism; he is an intelligence served by organs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-d-hamilton/man-is-not-an-organism-he-is-an-intelligence-served-by-organs/) [W. D. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-d-hamilton/) > [“He is a man of intelligence, but to act sensibly, intelligence is not enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/he-is-a-man-of-intelligence-but-to-act-sensibly-intelligence-is-not/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“I would next like to work in anthropology; for here, if I may say so, I believe I have much to contribute-indeed, I believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-dara/i-would-next-like-to-work-in-anthropology-for-here-if-i-may-say-so-i/) [Evan Dara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-dara/) > [“My definition of man is a cooking animal. The beasts have memory, judgement, and the faculties and passions of our minds in a certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/my-definition-of-man-is-a-cooking-animal-the-beasts-have-memory-2/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [My definition of a man's man is a man who knows gun safety, and we all did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/my-definition-of-a-man-s-man-is-a-man-who-knows-gun-safety-and-we-all/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Of a sane man there is only one safe definition. He is the man who can have tragedy in his heart and comedy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/of-a-sane-man-there-is-only-one-safe-definition-he-is-the-man-who-can/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [My definition of Man is, a Cooking Animal. The beasts have memory, judgement, and all the faculties and passions of our mind, in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/my-definition-of-man-is-a-cooking-animal-the-beasts-have-memory/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [“Victims?" "Whatever you call people who are made to suffer without being given the choice." "That sounds like an excellent definition of man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles-the-magus/victims-whatever-you-call-people-who-are-made-to-suffer-without-being/) [John Fowles The Magus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles-the-magus/) > [Gentlemen, let us suppose that man is not stupid. (Indeed one cannot refuse to suppose that, if only from the one consideration, that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/gentlemen-let-us-suppose-that-man-is-not-stupid-indeed-one-cannot/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [“I believe that the best definition of man is the ungrateful biped.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/i-believe-that-the-best-definition-of-man-is-the-ungrateful-biped/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“I even think the best definition of man is: a being that goes on two legs and is ungrateful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/i-even-think-the-best-definition-of-man-is-a-being-that-goes-on-two/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“Man does not exist prior to language, either as a species or as an individual. We never encounter a state where man is separated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/man-does-not-exist-prior-to-language-either-as-a-species-or-as-an/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [Biggest man law - be a man. Simple: be a man, definition of being a man is being a man. And don't let your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-griffin/biggest-man-law-be-a-man-simple-be-a-man-definition-of-being-a-man-is/) [Eddie Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-griffin/) > [Being The Only Boy, Definition Of A Man, All The Money Is The World Still Not A Big Enough Advance, All The Money Is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-ross/being-the-only-boy-definition-of-a-man-all-the-money-is-the-world/) [Rick Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-ross/) ## More by Ralph Waldo Emerson > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Consideration is the soil in which wisdom may be expected to grow, and strength be given to every up-springing plant of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/consideration-is-the-soil-in-which-wisdom-may-be-expected-to-grow-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“There is then creative reading as well as creative writing. When the mind is braced by labor and invention, the page of whatever book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-is-then-creative-reading-as-well-as-creative-writing-when-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The order of things consents to virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-order-of-things-consents-to-virtue/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Life only avails, not the having lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/life-only-avails-not-the-having-lived/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A child reminds us that playtime is an essential part of our daily routine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-child-reminds-us-that-playtime-is-an-essential-part-of-our-daily/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [No man can be criticised but by a greater than he. Do not, then, read the reviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-man-can-be-criticised-but-by-a-greater-than-he-do-not-then-read/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I am; therefore, I had nothing better to do than to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-am-therefore-i-had-nothing-better-to-do-than-to-think/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In a library we are surrounded by many hundreds of dear friends, but they are imprisoned by an enchanter in these paper and leathern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/in-a-library-we-are-surrounded-by-many-hundreds-of-dear-friends-but/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Explore all 4,802 Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More Definitions quotes > [When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked "What is a hero?" ...My answer was that a hero is someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/when-the-first-superman-movie-came-out-i-was-frequently-asked-what-is/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) > [The poet reminds men of their uniqueness and it is not necessary to possess the ultimate definition of this uniqueness. 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Anything that a \[person\] postulates as being a greater totality than \[oneself\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-self-is-defined-psychologically-as-the-psychic-totality-of-the/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Before I had kids, I thought you should never lie to a kid. But now I've had them, I realize you almost lie to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-donoghue/before-i-had-kids-i-thought-you-should-never-lie-to-a-kid-but-now-i/) [Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) > [my definition of the ideal man is 'that particular man with whom a woman happens to be in love at that particular time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-boothe-luce/my-definition-of-the-ideal-man-is-that-particular-man-with-whom-a/) [Clare Boothe Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-boothe-luce/) > [He emphasised basic truths: you are not dying yet, you have to live your life until you are. Underpinning them was the belief that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/he-emphasised-basic-truths-you-are-not-dying-yet-you-have-to-live/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [My briefest ever definition of science fiction is 'Hubris clobbered by Nemesis.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-aldiss/my-briefest-ever-definition-of-science-fiction-is-hubris-clobbered-by/) [Brian Aldiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-aldiss/) > [Was man made stupid to see his own stupidity? Is God by definition indifferent, beyond us all? Is the eternal truth man's fighting soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-eberhart/was-man-made-stupid-to-see-his-own-stupidity-is-god-by-definition/) [Richard Eberhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-eberhart/) > [Science manipulates things and gives up living in them. It makes its own limited models of things; operating upon these indices or variables to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/science-manipulates-things-and-gives-up-living-in-them-it-makes-its/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, selfappointed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/the-accumulation-of-all-powers-legislative-executive-and-judiciary-in/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [“I'm going to use them to track him down and thwart him." "Thwart?" Sarissa asked. "Thwart." I said. "To prevent someone from accomplishing something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/i-m-going-to-use-them-to-track-him-down-and-thwart-him-thwart-sarissa/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [A design may be called organic when there is an harmonious organization of the parts within the whole, according to structure, material, and purpose.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliot-noyes/a-design-may-be-called-organic-when-there-is-an-harmonious/) [Eliot Noyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliot-noyes/) > [Of Rhetoric various definitions have been given by different writers; who, however, seem not so much to have disagreed in their conceptions of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/of-rhetoric-various-definitions-have-been-given-by-different-writers/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) [Browse all 2,047 Definitions quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/definitions/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One definition of man is an intelligence served by organs.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/one-definition-of-man-is-an-intelligence-served-by-organs/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Definitions" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/one-definition-of-man-is-an-intelligence-served-by-organs/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_definitions_one-definition-of-man-is-an-intelligence_1836289.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_definitions_one-definition-of-man-is-an-intelligence_1836289.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_definitions_one-definition-of-man-is-an-intelligence_1836289.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One definition of man is an intelligence served by organs.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson", "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": "Ralph Waldo Emerson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One definition of man is an...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/one-definition-of-man-is-an-intelligence-served-by-organs/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/one-definition-of-man-is-an-intelligence-served-by-organs/#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 } } ] } ```