--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Human consciousness at present is a sort…" description: "\"“Human consciousness at present is a sort of battlefield. And you know what Tolstoy tells us about battles in War and Peace. Nobody really knows what i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63d/saul-bellow-558_consciousness_human-consciousness-at-present-is-a-sort_524388.png" --- # Human consciousness at present is a sort of battlefield… ![“Human consciousness at present is a sort of battlefield. And you know what Tolstoy tells us about battles in War and Peace. Nobody really knows what is going on during a battle...” quote by Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63d/saul-bellow-558_consciousness_human-consciousness-at-present-is-a-sort_524388.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63d/saul-bellow-558_consciousness_human-consciousness-at-present-is-a-sort_524388.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63d/saul-bellow-558_consciousness_human-consciousness-at-present-is-a-sort_524388.png) > ““Human consciousness at present is a sort of battlefield. And you know what Tolstoy tells us about battles in War and Peace. Nobody really knows what is going on during a battle...”” [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Consciousness is chaotic, like a battlefield, with unclear perceptions during conflict. **In simple terms:** Mind is chaotic during conflict. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty in thought processes. Themes consciousness conflict perception Mood introspective philosophical Type analysis literary observation When to use this quote - war zones - personal crises - mental health challenges Key Concepts philosophy psychology literary metaphor Questions to Reflect On - How do we find clarity amid mental chaos? - What strategies calm a turbulent mind? A Different Perspective Chaos can hinder clear decision‑making. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Consciousness Present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness-present-310032/) [Human consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-consciousness/) [Know Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-tolstoy-4418352/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Tolstoy Tells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tolstoy-tells-4418351/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [You know, Tolstoy, like myself, wasn't taken in by superstitions like science and medicine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-know-tolstoy-like-myself-wasn-t-taken-in-by-superstitions-like/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Enlightenment is any experience of expanding our consciousness beyond its present limits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thaddeus-golas/enlightenment-is-any-experience-of-expanding-our-consciousness-beyond/) [Thaddeus Golas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thaddeus-golas/) > [Today, something is happening to the whole structure of human consciousness. A fresh kind of life is starting. Driven by the forces of love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/today-something-is-happening-to-the-whole-structure-of-human/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [Awareness means that whatsoever is happening in the moment is happening with complete consciousness; you are present there. If you are present when anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/awareness-means-that-whatsoever-is-happening-in-the-moment-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Enlightenment is any experience of expanding our consciousness beyond its present limits. We could also say that perfect enlightenment is realizing that we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thaddeus-golas/enlightenment-is-any-experience-of-expanding-our-consciousness-beyond-2/) [Thaddeus Golas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thaddeus-golas/) > [“The fact is, that having once seen Alice Oke in the reality, it was quite impossible to remember that one could have fancied her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-lee/the-fact-is-that-having-once-seen-alice-oke-in-the-reality-it-was/) [Vernon Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-lee/) > [“Know that whatever experience ye have in the material sojourns for a purpose. Know that it is not by chance that ye are in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-cayce/know-that-whatever-experience-ye-have-in-the-material-sojourns-for-a/) [Edgar Cayce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-cayce/) > [Samsara-our conditioned existence in the perpetual cycle of habitual tendencies and nirvana - genuine freedom from such an existence- are nothing but different manifestations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/samsara-our-conditioned-existence-in-the-perpetual-cycle-of-habitual/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Consciousness will always be present, though a particular consciousness may cease. For example, the particular tactile consciousness that is present within this human body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/consciousness-will-always-be-present-though-a-particular/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [When one past thought has ceased and a future thought has not yet risen, in that gap, in between, isn't there a consciousness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sogyal-rinpoche/when-one-past-thought-has-ceased-and-a-future-thought-has-not-yet/) [Sogyal Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sogyal-rinpoche/) > [It just is nothing foreign to consciousness at all that could present itself to consciousness through the mediation of phenomena different from the liking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-husserl/it-just-is-nothing-foreign-to-consciousness-at-all-that-could-present/) [Edmund Husserl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-husserl/) > [The ultimate Consciousness is always present everywhere. It is beyond space and time, with not before or after. It is undeniable and obvious. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhinavagupta/the-ultimate-consciousness-is-always-present-everywhere-it-is-beyond/) [Abhinavagupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhinavagupta/) > [Any issue and any problem, no matter what height you look at it from, no matter how much you extend past the first fractal,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-p/any-issue-and-any-problem-no-matter-what-height-you-look-at-it-from/) [El-P](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/el-p/) > [“It is the power of questions that embolden us and keep us as expectant children, all the while developing the power of human consciousness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-sanders/it-is-the-power-of-questions-that-embolden-us-and-keep-us-as/) [Dan Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-sanders/) > [Science and technology have amplified the effects of the dysfunction of the human mind in its unawakened state to such a degree that humanity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/science-and-technology-have-amplified-the-effects-of-the-dysfunction/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) ## More by Saul Bellow > [... a fellow can't predict what he will pick up in the form of influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-fellow-can-t-predict-what-he-will-pick-up-in-the-form-of-influence/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [If I'm out of my mind, it's all right with me, thought Moses Herzog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/if-i-m-out-of-my-mind-it-s-all-right-with-me-thought-moses-herzog/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [I have begun in old age to understand just how oddly we are all put together. We are so proud of our autonomy that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-have-begun-in-old-age-to-understand-just-how-oddly-we-are-all-put/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“On Broadway it was still bright afternoon and the gassy air was almost motionless under the leaden spokes of sunlight, and sawdust footprints lay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/on-broadway-it-was-still-bright-afternoon-and-the-gassy-air-was/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There are evils that have the ability to survive identification and go on for ever... money, for instance, or war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-are-evils-that-have-the-ability-to-survive-identification-and/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Myself is thus and so, and will continue thus and so. And why fight it? My balance comes from instability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/myself-is-thus-and-so-and-will-continue-thus-and-so-and-why-fight-it/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“A strange heart. I myself can't account for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-strange-heart-i-myself-can-t-account-for-it/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [The late philosopher Morris R. Cohen of CCNY was asked by a student in the metaphysics course, Professor Cohen, how do I know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/the-late-philosopher-morris-r-cohen-of-ccny-was-asked-by-a-student-in/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“Therefore we didn't talk of genuine things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/therefore-we-didn-t-talk-of-genuine-things/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Is our species crazy? Plenty of evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/is-our-species-crazy-plenty-of-evidence/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“But now the emphasis has shifted to making it. People have surrendered their personal moral objectives to government or schools or psychologists. It’s a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/but-now-the-emphasis-has-shifted-to-making-it-people-have-surrendered/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There's a kind of emptiness at the center of life ... nothing to form your life on, or by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-s-a-kind-of-emptiness-at-the-center-of-life-nothing-to-form/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“I don't know how it all at once came to me to talk a lot, tell jokes, kick up, and suddenly have views. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-don-t-know-how-it-all-at-once-came-to-me-to-talk-a-lot-tell-jokes/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There are times when the most practical thing is to lie down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-are-times-when-the-most-practical-thing-is-to-lie-down/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“For knowledge of death makes us wish to extend our lives at the expense of others. And this is the root of the struggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/for-knowledge-of-death-makes-us-wish-to-extend-our-lives-at-the/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) [Explore all 464 Saul Bellow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) ## More Consciousness quotes > [“You're never alone if you're with your soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-armond-powell/you-re-never-alone-if-you-re-with-your-soul/) [Gerard Armond Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-armond-powell/) > [“I now argue that entry into Upper Palaeolithic caves was probably seen as virtually indistinguishable from entry into the mental vortex that leads to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-david-lewis-williams/i-now-argue-that-entry-into-upper-palaeolithic-caves-was-probably/) [James David Lewis-Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-david-lewis-williams/) > [How wonderful it would be to scatter words as they rise to consciousness, to let them lie where they fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/how-wonderful-it-would-be-to-scatter-words-as-they-rise-to/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [“People and situations always show us what we need to see and learn about ourselves, and when we take responsibility for our own feelings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-mada-dalian/people-and-situations-always-show-us-what-we-need-to-see-and-learn/) [Eliza Mada Dalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-mada-dalian/) > [With the realization of God comes all power. If the little wave knew that behind it is the great ocean, it could say, "I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/with-the-realization-of-god-comes-all-power-if-the-little-wave-knew/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [“Entropy is the normal state of consciousness—a condition that is neither useful nor enjoyable. To avoid this condition, people are naturally eager to fill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/entropy-is-the-normal-state-of-consciousness-a-condition-that-is/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [The purpose is to be in gratitude forever. Live with applied consciousness, prosperity will break through the walls, flood you with it. You do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/the-purpose-is-to-be-in-gratitude-forever-live-with-applied/) [Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/) > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [A language possesses utility only insofar as it can construct conventional boundaries. A language of no boundaries is no language at all, and thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/a-language-possesses-utility-only-insofar-as-it-can-construct/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [So many people are passive participants in their very short time of having a consciousness, and those who aren't inspire me. 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