--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For man as an historical creature has…" description: "\"For man as an historical creature has desires of indeterminate dimensions.\" — Reinhold Niebuhr" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/reinhold-niebuhr-1881_creatures_for-man-as-an-historical-creature-has-de_1699501.png" --- # For man as an historical creature has desires of… ![“For man as an historical creature has desires of indeterminate dimensions.” quote by Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/reinhold-niebuhr-1881_creatures_for-man-as-an-historical-creature-has-de_1699501.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/reinhold-niebuhr-1881_creatures_for-man-as-an-historical-creature-has-de_1699501.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/reinhold-niebuhr-1881_creatures_for-man-as-an-historical-creature-has-de_1699501.png) > “For man as an historical creature has desires of indeterminate dimensions.” [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) ## 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 possess endless, often vague desires that cannot be fully satisfied. **In simple terms:** Desires are limitless. Key Takeaway Recognize and prioritize essential needs. Themes philosophy human nature desire Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - personal goal setting - consumerism - relationship expectations Key Concepts Existentialism theology psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate essential from excessive desires? - What limits can you set on your wants? A Different Perspective Desires may be unrealistic and cause chronic dissatisfaction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Dimensions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dimensions/) [Historical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [Man is a historical being : The realisations of the powers of human individuals living at any one time takes the cooperation of many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/man-is-a-historical-being-the-realisations-of-the-powers-of-human/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [Man is an historical animal, with a deep sense of his own past; and if he cannot integrate the past by a history explicit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-barraclough/man-is-an-historical-animal-with-a-deep-sense-of-his-own-past-and-if/) Geoffrey Barraclough > [I mean, Jesus was a white man too. He was a historical figure — that's a verifiable fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megyn-kelly/i-mean-jesus-was-a-white-man-too-he-was-a-historical-figure-that-s-a/) [Megyn Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megyn-kelly/) > [“The past is not important. The present is inconsequential. The future is indeterminate. He”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-lukyanenko/the-past-is-not-important-the-present-is-inconsequential-the-future/) [Sergei Lukyanenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-lukyanenko/) > [Science rejects the indeterminate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-bernard/science-rejects-the-indeterminate/) [Claude Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-bernard/) > [Like music my drawings transport us to the ambiguous world of the indeterminate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/odilon-redon/like-music-my-drawings-transport-us-to-the-ambiguous-world-of-the/) [Odilon Redon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/odilon-redon/) > [The material which a scientist actually has at his disposal, his laws, his experimental results, his mathematical techniques, his epistemological prejudices, his attitude towards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feyerabend/the-material-which-a-scientist-actually-has-at-his-disposal-his-laws/) [Paul Feyerabend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feyerabend/) > [But the indeterminate future is somehow one in which probability and statistics are the dominant modality for making sense of the world. Bell curves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/but-the-indeterminate-future-is-somehow-one-in-which-probability-and/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [“...you can't rationalize suffering - it's indeterminate - the real unknowable variable God substitutes in...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/you-can-t-rationalize-suffering-it-s-indeterminate-the-real/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [It is precisely through the indeterminate nature of history that resistance becomes possible and politics refuses any guarantees and remains open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/it-is-precisely-through-the-indeterminate-nature-of-history-that/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [The setting of 'Dragon Ball' has a sort of Chinese feel to it, but it's not necessarily limited to China. 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That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) ## More by Reinhold Niebuhr > [There are evidently limits to the achievements of science; and there are irresolvable contradictions both between prosperity and virtue, and between happiness and ''the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/there-are-evidently-limits-to-the-achievements-of-science-and-there/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Perhapsthemost sublimeinsights oftheJewishprophets and the Christian gospel is the knowledge that since perfection is love, the apprehension of perfection is at once the means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/perhapsthemost-sublimeinsights-ofthejewishprophets-and-the-christian/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [The essence of man is his freedom. 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