--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Goethe's thinking was not rigid with…" description: "\"Goethe's thinking was not rigid with inflexible contours; it was a thinking in which the concepts continually metamorphose.\" — Rudolf Steiner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fab/rudolf-steiner-2619_concepts_goethe-s-thinking-was-not-rigid-with-inf_2721577.jpg" --- # Goethe's thinking was not rigid with inflexible contours… ![“Goethe's thinking was not rigid with inflexible contours; it was a thinking in which the concepts continually metamorphose.” quote by Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fab/rudolf-steiner-2619_concepts_goethe-s-thinking-was-not-rigid-with-inf_2721577.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fab/rudolf-steiner-2619_concepts_goethe-s-thinking-was-not-rigid-with-inf_2721577.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fab/rudolf-steiner-2619_concepts_goethe-s-thinking-was-not-rigid-with-inf_2721577.jpg) > “Goethe's thinking was not rigid with inflexible contours; it was a thinking in which the concepts continually metamorphose.” [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Thoughts should be fluid, allowing concepts to evolve rather than stay fixed. **In simple terms:** Ideas must change over time. Key Takeaway Embrace flexible thinking. Themes flexibility creativity philosophy Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - creative writing - problem solving - personal growth Key Concepts metamorphosis conceptual fluidity Questions to Reflect On - How do you adapt your beliefs when new information appears? - What benefits arise from fluid thinking? A Different Perspective Ideas can become too rigid without reflection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“Goethe, the great nineteenth-century thinker, reportedly summed up, “You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sinek/goethe-the-great-nineteenth-century-thinker-reportedly-summed-up-you/) [Simon Sinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sinek/) > [Ask Jeeves! Who ever used that thing? 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Roger Ekirch > [“Someone once told me people write down stories because they would like to forget, and those who read are those who would like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-zelazny/someone-once-told-me-people-write-down-stories-because-they-would/) John Zelazny > [I know very well what Goethe meant when he said that he never had a chagrin but he made a poem out of it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-know-very-well-what-goethe-meant-when-he-said-that-he-never-had-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More by Rudolf Steiner > [Each individual is a species unto him/herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/each-individual-is-a-species-unto-him-herself/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [The science of the future will be based on sympathetic vibrations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/the-science-of-the-future-will-be-based-on-sympathetic-vibrations/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [Anthroposophy is a path of knowledge, to guide the Spiritual in the human being to the Spiritual in the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/anthroposophy-is-a-path-of-knowledge-to-guide-the-spiritual-in-the/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [Just as an age was ready to receive the Copernican theory of the universe, so is our own age ready for the ideas of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/just-as-an-age-was-ready-to-receive-the-copernican-theory-of-the/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [The history of our spiritual life is a continuing search for the unity between ourselves and the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/the-history-of-our-spiritual-life-is-a-continuing-search-for-the/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [Anthroposophie is not a religion but a tool for understanding of religions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/anthroposophie-is-not-a-religion-but-a-tool-for-understanding-of/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [“I beg you to see this in the right light, and to combine it with the feeling about what happened through the Mystery of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/i-beg-you-to-see-this-in-the-right-light-and-to-combine-it-with-the/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [Most naughtiness arises because the children are bored and lack a relationship with the teacher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/most-naughtiness-arises-because-the-children-are-bored-and-lack-a/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [Receive the children in reverence, educate them in love, and send them forth in freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/receive-the-children-in-reverence-educate-them-in-love-and-send-them/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [Live through deeds of love, and let others live with tolerance for their unique intentions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/live-through-deeds-of-love-and-let-others-live-with-tolerance-for/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [I look at the bird in the cage and see the air, not only the air that is around the bird when it flies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/i-look-at-the-bird-in-the-cage-and-see-the-air-not-only-the-air-that/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [For every one step that you take in the pursuit of higher knowledge, take three steps in the perfection of your own character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/for-every-one-step-that-you-take-in-the-pursuit-of-higher-knowledge/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [We find the instrument for the Knowledge of God in ourselves But we find God everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/we-find-the-instrument-for-the-knowledge-of-god-in-ourselves-but-we/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [In so far as we think, we are the all-one being that pervades everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/in-so-far-as-we-think-we-are-the-all-one-being-that-pervades/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [All of nature begins to whisper its secrets to us through its sounds. 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To me, the party hasn't begun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mercer/i-do-like-talking-with-friends-about-big-concepts-you-know-the-stuff/) [James Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mercer/) > [You imagine that I look back on my life's work with calm satisfaction. But from nearby it looks quite different. There is not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/you-imagine-that-i-look-back-on-my-life-s-work-with-calm-satisfaction/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [For a physicist mathematics is not just a tool by means of which phenomena can be calculated, it is the main source of concepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/for-a-physicist-mathematics-is-not-just-a-tool-by-means-of-which/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [One of the most powerful concepts, one which is a sure cure for lack of confidence, is the thought that God is with you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/one-of-the-most-powerful-concepts-one-which-is-a-sure-cure-for-lack/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [All significant concepts of the modern theory of the state are secularized theological concepts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/all-significant-concepts-of-the-modern-theory-of-the-state-are/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [If you are trying to live a life in accordance with the Bible, the concept and call to justice are inescapable. We do justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/if-you-are-trying-to-live-a-life-in-accordance-with-the-bible-the/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [So many times we come to Jesus in worship and ask Him for things that He already IS and has already done... What a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-nockels/so-many-times-we-come-to-jesus-in-worship-and-ask-him-for-things-that/) Christy Nockels > [ I don't think in national categories. For me it \[policy\] is about concepts and substance. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-claude-juncker/i-don-t-think-in-national-categories-for-me-it-policy-is-about/) [Jean-Claude Juncker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-claude-juncker/) > [In the very beginning, Yelp started as a service where we really didn't think people would write reviews for fun. The whole concept of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-stoppelman/in-the-very-beginning-yelp-started-as-a-service-where-we-really-didn/) [Jeremy Stoppelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-stoppelman/) > [To pray without expectation is to misunderstand the whole concept of prayer and relationship with God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/to-pray-without-expectation-is-to-misunderstand-the-whole-concept-of/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) Browse all 2,468 Concepts quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Goethe's thinking was not rigid with inflexible contours; it was a thinking in which the concepts continually metamorphose.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rudolf Steiner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/goethe-s-thinking-was-not-rigid-with-inflexible-contours-it-was-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Concepts" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/goethe-s-thinking-was-not-rigid-with-inflexible-contours-it-was-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fab/rudolf-steiner-2619_concepts_goethe-s-thinking-was-not-rigid-with-inf_2721577.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fab/rudolf-steiner-2619_concepts_goethe-s-thinking-was-not-rigid-with-inf_2721577.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fab/rudolf-steiner-2619_concepts_goethe-s-thinking-was-not-rigid-with-inf_2721577.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Goethe's thinking was not rigid with inflexible contours; it was a thinking in which the concepts…” — Rudolf Steiner", "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": "Rudolf Steiner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Goethe's thinking was not rigid with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/goethe-s-thinking-was-not-rigid-with-inflexible-contours-it-was-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/goethe-s-thinking-was-not-rigid-with-inflexible-contours-it-was-a/#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 } } ] } ```