--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Philosophy would do well to desist from…" description: "\"Philosophy would do well to desist from issuing any further injunctions about the need to re-establish the meaningfulness of existence, the purposefuln..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/ray-brassier-32789_esteem_philosophy-would-do-well-to-desist-from_2769727.jpg" --- # Philosophy would do well to desist from issuing any… ![“Philosophy would do well to desist from issuing any further injunctions about the need to re-establish the meaningfulness of existence, the purposefulness of life, or mend the shattered concord between man and nature. It should strive to be more than a sop to the pathetic twinge of human…” quote by Ray Brassier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/ray-brassier-32789_esteem_philosophy-would-do-well-to-desist-from_2769727.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/ray-brassier-32789_esteem_philosophy-would-do-well-to-desist-from_2769727.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/ray-brassier-32789_esteem_philosophy-would-do-well-to-desist-from_2769727.jpg) > “Philosophy would do well to desist from issuing any further injunctions about the need to re-establish the meaningfulness of existence, the purposefulness of life, or mend the shattered concord between man and nature. It should strive to be more than a sop to the pathetic twinge of human self-esteem. Nihilism is not an existential quandary but a speculative opportunity.” [Ray Brassier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-brassier/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Philosophy should move beyond comforting narratives and view nihilism as a chance for speculative growth. **In simple terms:** Nihilism can be an opportunity, not a dead end. Key Takeaway Embrace speculative opportunity. Themes philosophy nihilism meaning human nature Mood reflective provocative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - academic discourse - personal reflection - cultural critique - artistic creation Key Concepts existentialism critical theory Questions to Reflect On - Can nihilism inspire creativity? - What risks arise from embracing uncertainty? A Different Perspective Some may view nihilism as purely negative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/esteem/) [Esteem Nihilism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/esteem-nihilism-3233232/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Existence Purposefulness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence-purposefulness-3233233/) [Existential](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existential/) [Existential Quandary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existential-quandary-3233231/) [Existentialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existentialism/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Man and nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-and-nature/) [Meaningfulness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaningfulness/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Nihilism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nihilism/) [Nihilism Existential](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nihilism-existential-2118489/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) [Pathetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pathetic/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Purposefulness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purposefulness/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-esteem/) [Shattered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shattered/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Strive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strive/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [“Nihilism is not an existential quandary but a speculative opportunity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-brassier/nihilism-is-not-an-existential-quandary-but-a-speculative-opportunity/) [Ray Brassier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-brassier/) > [The born-again Christian sees life not as a blurred , confused, meaningless mass, but as something planned and purposeful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/the-born-again-christian-sees-life-not-as-a-blurred-confused/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [Have the backbone to go after what you want in life. 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And I'm much more interested in the social conditions that foster commitment to ideals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-m-much-more-interested-in-developing-human-character-in-society-and/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [Christmas can be the end of emptiness and waywardness; The beginning of happiness and purposefulness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-arthur-ward/christmas-can-be-the-end-of-emptiness-and-waywardness-the-beginning/) [William Arthur Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-arthur-ward/) > [Perhaps basketball and poetry have just a few things in common, but the most important is the possibility of transcendence. The opposite is labor.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dunn/perhaps-basketball-and-poetry-have-just-a-few-things-in-common-but/) [Stephen Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dunn/) > [“Common man's patience will bring him more happiness than common man's power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/common-man-s-patience-will-bring-him-more-happiness-than-common-man-s/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [At the core of life is a hard purposefulness, a determination to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-thurman/at-the-core-of-life-is-a-hard-purposefulness-a-determination-to-live/) [Howard Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-thurman/) > [There are many ways in which people are made aware of their power to believe in the supremacy of Divine guidance and power: through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-boris-chain/there-are-many-ways-in-which-people-are-made-aware-of-their-power-to/) [Ernst Boris Chain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-boris-chain/) ## More by Ray Brassier > [If nothing matters, then even the thought that nothing matters doesn't matter. 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Given an unjust society, from the vantage of what counts as the public good, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-brassier/philosophers-should-resist-the-temptation-to-be-publicly-virtuous/) [Ray Brassier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-brassier/) > [Sellars's "myth of Jones" is deployed against what Sellars calls "the myth of the categorial Given": the idea that to be aware of something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-brassier/sellars-s-myth-of-jones-is-deployed-against-what-sellars-calls-the/) [Ray Brassier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-brassier/) > [Consciousness is not the ineluctable starting point for self-understanding because there is a difference between being conscious and understanding oneself as a conscious being.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-brassier/consciousness-is-not-the-ineluctable-starting-point-for-self/) [Ray Brassier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-brassier/) > [“Nihilism is not an existential quandary but a speculative opportunity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-brassier/nihilism-is-not-an-existential-quandary-but-a-speculative-opportunity/) [Ray Brassier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-brassier/) > [I am a nihilist because I still believe in truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-brassier/i-am-a-nihilist-because-i-still-believe-in-truth/) [Ray Brassier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-brassier/) > [I was trying to develop a notion of "non-dialectical negativity" as part of a concept of extinction that would transform the understanding of death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-brassier/i-was-trying-to-develop-a-notion-of-non-dialectical-negativity-as/) [Ray Brassier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-brassier/) > [Like many, I suspect, I found the difficulty of analytic philosophy unglamorous and therefore less appealing. This is regrettably superficial but superficiality is characteristic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-brassier/like-many-i-suspect-i-found-the-difficulty-of-analytic-philosophy/) [Ray Brassier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-brassier/) [Explore all 15 Ray Brassier quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-brassier/) ## More Esteem quotes > [Her dignity consists in being unknown to the world; her glory is in the esteem of her husband; her pleasures in the happiness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/her-dignity-consists-in-being-unknown-to-the-world-her-glory-is-in/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [Nothing is better for self-esteem than survival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-gellhorn/nothing-is-better-for-self-esteem-than-survival/) [Martha Gellhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-gellhorn/) > [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [So I went to a club the other day, which is timely because my self esteem had been hovering right around 'normal' and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-birbiglia/so-i-went-to-a-club-the-other-day-which-is-timely-because-my-self/) [Mike Birbiglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-birbiglia/) > [You would not exist if you did not have something to bring to the table of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-hancock/you-would-not-exist-if-you-did-not-have-something-to-bring-to-the/) [Herbie Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-hancock/) > [To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular belief, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/to-preserve-an-unclouded-capacity-for-the-enjoyment-of-life-is-an/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [If you go to any nunnery and ask them what the main obstacle is, they'll always say low self-esteem and lack of confidence. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/if-you-go-to-any-nunnery-and-ask-them-what-the-main-obstacle-is-they/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [Don't worry so much about your self-esteem. Worry more about your character. Integrity is its own reward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/don-t-worry-so-much-about-your-self-esteem-worry-more-about-your/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [Spina bifida affects every single aspect of your life, from your child's self-esteem to your ability to sleep at night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-ari-parker/spina-bifida-affects-every-single-aspect-of-your-life-from-your-child/) [Nicole Ari Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-ari-parker/) > [You never exist quite so much as when you are not thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/you-never-exist-quite-so-much-as-when-you-are-not-thinking/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Never let the opinion of another affect your opinion of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-mummert/never-let-the-opinion-of-another-affect-your-opinion-of-yourself/) [Teresa Mummert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-mummert/) > [You'd be surprised how addicting high self-esteem is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergie/you-d-be-surprised-how-addicting-high-self-esteem-is/) [Fergie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergie/) > [The only thing I pay attention to with free throws is what a guy does in the final four minutes of a game. 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Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) [Browse all 1,681 Esteem quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/esteem/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Philosophy would do well to desist from issuing any further injunctions about the need to re-establish the meaningfulness of existence, the purposefulness of life, or mend the shattered concord between man and nature. It should strive to be more than a sop to the pathetic twinge of human self-esteem. 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