--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Man is not the source of all things, as…" description: "\"Man is not the source of all things, as the subjective idealists would say. Nor is he the passive observer of all things, as the objective idealists wo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f32/robert-m-pirsig-817_all-things_man-is-not-the-source-of-all-things-as-t_1035833.jpg" --- # Man is not the source of all things, as the subjective… ![“Man is not the source of all things, as the subjective idealists would say. Nor is he the passive observer of all things, as the objective idealists would say. The Quality which creates the world emerges as a relationship between man and his experience. He is a participant in the creation of all…” quote by Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f32/robert-m-pirsig-817_all-things_man-is-not-the-source-of-all-things-as-t_1035833.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f32/robert-m-pirsig-817_all-things_man-is-not-the-source-of-all-things-as-t_1035833.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f32/robert-m-pirsig-817_all-things_man-is-not-the-source-of-all-things-as-t_1035833.jpg) > “Man is not the source of all things, as the subjective idealists would say. Nor is he the passive observer of all things, as the objective idealists would say. The Quality which creates the world emerges as a relationship between man and his experience. He is a participant in the creation of all things. The measure of all things.” [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human experience actively shapes reality; we co‑create the world through our perceptions and actions. **In simple terms:** We help make reality through how we experience it. Key Takeaway Recognize your role in shaping outcomes. Themes participation perception creation philosophy Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal decision‑making - creative projects - conflict resolution - team collaboration Key Concepts subjective idealism objective idealism quality theory Questions to Reflect On - How does your perception affect the world you see? - In what ways can you become a more active creator? A Different Perspective It may overlook structural forces that limit individual influence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [All things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/all-things/) [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Idealist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealist/) [Man Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-experience-712455/) [Man Source](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-source-2391954/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Objectives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objectives/) [Observers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observers/) [Participants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/participants/) [Passive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passive/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Source](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/source/) [Subjective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjective/) [Subjective Idealists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjective-idealists-2391952/) [Things Objective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-objective-2391955/) [Things Subjective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-subjective-2391953/) [Unity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unity/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Only in very recent times has the average man been a source of savings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/only-in-very-recent-times-has-the-average-man-been-a-source-of-savings/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Each of us tends to think we see things as they are, that we are objective. But this is not the case. We see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/each-of-us-tends-to-think-we-see-things-as-they-are-that-we-are/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [All things are subjective, a person's circumstances has nothing to do with current or past events, but rather their perception of those events, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karla-thornton/all-things-are-subjective-a-person-s-circumstances-has-nothing-to-do/) [Karla Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karla-thornton/) > [Also not being afraid to stand up for what you believe in while taking into account that you could very well be wrong, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/surya-das/also-not-being-afraid-to-stand-up-for-what-you-believe-in-while/) [Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/surya-das/) > [I would say I need two things: the first one is to be objective in every statement he could make regarding any conflict around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bashar-al-assad/i-would-say-i-need-two-things-the-first-one-is-to-be-objective-in/) [Bashar al-Assad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bashar-al-assad/) > [It is every intelligent man's experience that evildoing recoils on the doer sooner or later.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/it-is-every-intelligent-man-s-experience-that-evildoing-recoils-on/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [But a man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with only an argument. ... If we can lead people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-tenney/but-a-man-with-an-experience-is-never-at-the-mercy-of-a-man-with-only/) [Tommy Tenney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-tenney/) > [The beautiful exists just as little as the true. In every case it is a question of the conditions of preservation of a certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-beautiful-exists-just-as-little-as-the-true-in-every-case-it-is-a/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“An optimist is a man who has never had much experience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-marquis/an-optimist-is-a-man-who-has-never-had-much-experience/) [Don Marquis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-marquis/) > [A man with an experience of God is never at the mercy of a man with an argument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/a-man-with-an-experience-of-god-is-never-at-the-mercy-of-a-man-with/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [Remember, young man, experience is not the best teacher. Other people's experience is the best teacher. By reading about the lives of great people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-andrews/remember-young-man-experience-is-not-the-best-teacher-other-people-s/) [Andy Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-andrews/) > [Experience is a poor guide to man, and is seldom followed. What really teaches a man is not experience, but observation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/experience-is-a-poor-guide-to-man-and-is-seldom-followed-what-really/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“Levin had been married three months. He was happy, but not at all in the way he had expected to be. At every step…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/levin-had-been-married-three-months-he-was-happy-but-not-at-all-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [On the one hand, man is a body, in the same way that this may be said of every other animal organism. On the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-berger/on-the-one-hand-man-is-a-body-in-the-same-way-that-this-may-be-said/) [Peter L. Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-berger/) > [ the ordinary man's experience is chaotic, irregular, fragmentary. \[He\] falls in love or reads Spinoza, and these two experiences have nothing to do with… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-ordinary-man-s-experience-is-chaotic-irregular-fragmentary-he/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) ## More by Robert M. Pirsig > [“And from time to time you find your “county road” takes you onto a two-rutter and then a single rutter and then into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/and-from-time-to-time-you-find-your-county-road-takes-you-onto-a-two/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [“I started to roll over for more sleep but heard a rooster crowing and then became aware we are on vacation and there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/i-started-to-roll-over-for-more-sleep-but-heard-a-rooster-crowing-and/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [The Buddha, the Godhead, resides quite as comfortably in the circuits of a digital computer or the gears of a cycle transmission as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/the-buddha-the-godhead-resides-quite-as-comfortably-in-the-circuits/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [Even though quality cannot be defined, you know what quality is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/even-though-quality-cannot-be-defined-you-know-what-quality-is/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [I suppose philosophy is historically not a woman's game, though that is changing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/i-suppose-philosophy-is-historically-not-a-woman-s-game-though-that/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [Up until my first book was published, I had all this potential, people would say, and I screwed up. After it, I could say:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/up-until-my-first-book-was-published-i-had-all-this-potential-people/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [There is a perennial classical question that asks which part of the motorcycle, which grain of sand in which pile, is the Buddha. Obviously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/there-is-a-perennial-classical-question-that-asks-which-part-of-the/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [“Of the value traps, the most widespread and pernicious is value rigidity. This is an inability to revalue what one sees because of commitment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/of-the-value-traps-the-most-widespread-and-pernicious-is-value/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [“Historically mystics have claimed that for a true understanding of reality metaphysics is too “scientific”. Metaphysics is not reality. Metaphysics is names about reality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/historically-mystics-have-claimed-that-for-a-true-understanding-of/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [“What’s emerging from the pattern of my own life is the for belief that the crisis is being caused by the inadequacy of existing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/what-s-emerging-from-the-pattern-of-my-own-life-is-the-for-belief/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [To speak of certain government and establishment institutions as 'the system' is to speak correctly . . . They are sustained by structural relationships…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/to-speak-of-certain-government-and-establishment-institutions-as-the/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [If a revolution destroys a systematic government, but the systematic patterns of thought that produced that government are left intact, then those patterns will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/if-a-revolution-destroys-a-systematic-government-but-the-systematic/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [The only Zen you can find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/the-only-zen-you-can-find-on-the-tops-of-mountains-is-the-zen-you/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [Only social patterns can control biological patterns, and the instrument of conversation between society and biology is not words. The instrument of conversation between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/only-social-patterns-can-control-biological-patterns-and-the/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [Even in the presence of others he was completely alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/even-in-the-presence-of-others-he-was-completely-alone/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) [Explore all 351 Robert M. Pirsig quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) ## More All things quotes > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [To explicate the uses of the Brain seems as difficult a task as to paint the Soul, of which it is commonly said, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-willis/to-explicate-the-uses-of-the-brain-seems-as-difficult-a-task-as-to/) [Thomas Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-willis/) > [A tree is a self: it is 'unseen shaping' more than it is leaves or bark, roots or cellulose or fruit ... What this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/a-tree-is-a-self-it-is-unseen-shaping-more-than-it-is-leaves-or-bark/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [Dear God, I trust that no matter what happens in my life, it is for my highest good. And no matter what happens in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/dear-god-i-trust-that-no-matter-what-happens-in-my-life-it-is-for-my/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [Moderation, honey, in all things but love and chocolate. That's my motto.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bretton/moderation-honey-in-all-things-but-love-and-chocolate-that-s-my-motto/) [Barbara Bretton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bretton/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) [James Nayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nayler/) > [What greater weakness can there be than not to know what is the source of one's being, of one's life, of one's senses, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/what-greater-weakness-can-there-be-than-not-to-know-what-is-the/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) > [It is more than a little ironic that "capital accumulation" once a rather tendentious Marxian view of a supposed capitalist obsession, should have become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kuttner/it-is-more-than-a-little-ironic-that-capital-accumulation-once-a/) [Robert Kuttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kuttner/) > [The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, as it pleases him, for he can do all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-lord-gives-and-the-lord-takes-away-as-it-pleases-him-for-he-can/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Time, which wears down and diminishes all things, augments and increases good deeds, because a good turn liberally offered to a reasonable man grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/time-which-wears-down-and-diminishes-all-things-augments-and/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Standing as a witness in all things means being kind in all things, being the first to say hello, being the first to smile,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-d-nadauld/standing-as-a-witness-in-all-things-means-being-kind-in-all-things/) [Margaret D. 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The universal Cause, by knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-dionysius/god-does-not-possess-a-private-knowledge-of-himself-and-a-separate/) [Pope Dionysius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-dionysius/) [Browse all 2,486 All things quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/all-things/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Man is not the source of all things, as the subjective idealists would say. Nor is he the passive observer of all things, as the objective idealists would say. The Quality which creates the world emerges as a relationship between man and his experience. He is a participant in the creation of all things. The measure of all things.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert M. 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