--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our dominant idea about the mind fail to…" description: "\"“Our dominant idea about the mind fail to recognise the conflict between the two sides of the mind — the mind as machine and the mind as anti-machine, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8b/roberto-mangabeira-unger-45804_machine_our-dominant-idea-about-the-mind-fail-to_9884.jpg" --- # Our dominant idea about the mind fail to recognise the… ![“Our dominant idea about the mind fail to recognise the conflict between the two sides of the mind — the mind as machine and the mind as anti-machine, delighting in its powers of combination and transgression. They fail as well to appreciate the extend to which the relative presence of these two…” quote by Roberto Mangabeira Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8b/roberto-mangabeira-unger-45804_machine_our-dominant-idea-about-the-mind-fail-to_9884.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8b/roberto-mangabeira-unger-45804_machine_our-dominant-idea-about-the-mind-fail-to_9884.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8b/roberto-mangabeira-unger-45804_machine_our-dominant-idea-about-the-mind-fail-to_9884.jpg) > ““Our dominant idea about the mind fail to recognise the conflict between the two sides of the mind — the mind as machine and the mind as anti-machine, delighting in its powers of combination and transgression. They fail as well to appreciate the extend to which the relative presence of these two sides of the mind is influenced by the organisation of society and of the culture, with the result that the history of politics is internal to the history of the mind. In these as in many other respects, our beliefs about ourselves resist acknowledging the relation between our context-shaped and our context-transcending identities and powers.”” [Roberto Mangabeira Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-mangabeira-unger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The mind contains opposing forces—mechanical rationality and rebellious creativity—shaped by societal structures, making political history a reflection of internal mental dynamics. **In simple terms:** Mind is dual, socially conditioned Key Takeaway Mind's conflict drives history Themes dualism social influence political psychology identity transgression Mood reflective critical introspective Type philosophical political psychological When to use this quote - political analysis - cultural criticism - personal identity work - organizational design Key Concepts mind as machine mind as anti‑machine culture shaping cognition Practical Applications - sociopolitical theory - psychological counseling Questions to Reflect On - How do societal norms amplify one mental side over the other? - Can recognizing this duality change political engagement? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beliefs Resist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beliefs-resist-358908/) [Dominant Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dominant-idea-358906/) [History Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-mind-358905/) [Machine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machine/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mind Influenced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-influenced-358907/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Sides Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sides-mind-358909/) [Two sides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two-sides/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [It's really grinding to always play out of both sides of your mind and always be thinking what will offend people. 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S. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-w-s-anderson/) > [Get on up, stay on the scene, get on up, like a sex machine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-brown/get-on-up-stay-on-the-scene-get-on-up-like-a-sex-machine/) [James Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-brown/) [Browse all 873 Machine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machine/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Our dominant idea about the mind fail to recognise the conflict between the two sides of the mind — the mind as machine and the mind as anti-machine, delighting in its powers of combination and transgression. They fail as well to appreciate the extend to which the relative presence of these two sides of the mind is influenced by the organisation of society and of the culture, with the result that the history of politics is internal to the history of the mind. 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