--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It seems to be my destiny to discourse on…" description: "\"It seems to be my destiny to discourse on truth, insofar as I discover it, in such a way that all possible authority is simultaneously demolished.\" — S..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/soren-kierkegaard-578_authority_it-seems-to-be-my-destiny-to-discourse-o_222487.jpg" --- # It seems to be my destiny to discourse on truth, insofar… ![“It seems to be my destiny to discourse on truth, insofar as I discover it, in such a way that all possible authority is simultaneously demolished.” quote by Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/soren-kierkegaard-578_authority_it-seems-to-be-my-destiny-to-discourse-o_222487.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/soren-kierkegaard-578_authority_it-seems-to-be-my-destiny-to-discourse-o_222487.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/soren-kierkegaard-578_authority_it-seems-to-be-my-destiny-to-discourse-o_222487.jpg) > “It seems to be my destiny to discourse on truth, insofar as I discover it, in such a way that all possible authority is simultaneously demolished.” [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Truth pursuit requires dismantling every authority, allowing personal discovery to guide discourse. **In simple terms:** Seek truth by questioning all authority. Key Takeaway Question assumptions to find authentic truth. Themes truth authority individualism philosophy Mood reflective serious Type philosophical introspective When to use this quote - academic debate - personal journaling - ethical decision‑making - public speaking - creative writing Key Concepts existentialism critical thinking self‑discovery Questions to Reflect On - What authority do you accept without question? - How can you balance skepticism with constructive dialogue? A Different Perspective Complete rejection of authority may lead to relativism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) [Discourse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discourse/) [My destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-destiny/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [... we are obliged to produce the truth by the power that demands truth and needs it in order to function: we are constrained,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/we-are-obliged-to-produce-the-truth-by-the-power-that-demands-truth/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [Now, we are agreed, I and my destinies. The total world, Above, below, whate'er is seen or known, And all that men, and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hartley-coleridge/now-we-are-agreed-i-and-my-destinies-the-total-world-above-below/) [Hartley Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hartley-coleridge/) > [I keep trying to forget, but I must remember. And gather the scattered continents of a self, once whole. Before they plant flags and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-williams/i-keep-trying-to-forget-but-i-must-remember-and-gather-the-scattered/) [Saul Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-williams/) > [I am lucky. I did not choose this life. It chose me. It's strange like that; not picking my path, but rather easing into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mcmahon/i-am-lucky-i-did-not-choose-this-life-it-chose-me-it-s-strange-like/) [Andrew McMahon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mcmahon/) > [Destiny is consciousness of oneself, but consciousness of oneself as an enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/destiny-is-consciousness-of-oneself-but-consciousness-of-oneself-as/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Each of us chooses the tone for telling his or her own story. I would like to choose the durable clarity of a platinum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/each-of-us-chooses-the-tone-for-telling-his-or-her-own-story-i-would/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“I will persist until I succeed. I was not delivered into this world in defeat, nor does failure course in my veins. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/i-will-persist-until-i-succeed-i-was-not-delivered-into-this-world-in/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [Seems it's my destiny for love to cause me misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pink/seems-it-s-my-destiny-for-love-to-cause-me-misery/) [Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pink/) > [By the single example of this painter devoted to his art with such independence, my destiny as a painter opened out to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/by-the-single-example-of-this-painter-devoted-to-his-art-with-such/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [I now know, by an almost fatalistic conformity with the facts, that my destiny is to travel...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-now-know-by-an-almost-fatalistic-conformity-with-the-facts-that-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think that by going on the path that I am, my destiny will just come to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-derulo/i-think-that-by-going-on-the-path-that-i-am-my-destiny-will-just-come/) [Jason Derulo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-derulo/) > [My destiny is solitude, and my life is work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wagner/my-destiny-is-solitude-and-my-life-is-work/) [Richard Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wagner/) > [In the chain of my life, there were so many links, all of which tended towards bringing me to the fulfillment of my destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baroness-orczy/in-the-chain-of-my-life-there-were-so-many-links-all-of-which-tended/) [Baroness Orczy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baroness-orczy/) > [I'm not just considered a former child star. I'm not considered a black actress. I'm not considered an actress. I've done roles that were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-fields/i-m-not-just-considered-a-former-child-star-i-m-not-considered-a/) Kim Fields > [On a windswept hill by a billowing sea, my destiny sits and waits for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/on-a-windswept-hill-by-a-billowing-sea-my-destiny-sits-and-waits-for/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) ## More by Soren Kierkegaard > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Christians remind me of schoolboys who want to look up the answers to their math problems in the back of the book rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christians-remind-me-of-schoolboys-who-want-to-look-up-the-answers-to/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [People commonly travel the world over to see rivers and mountains, new stars, garish birds, freak fish, grotesque breeds of human; they fall into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/people-commonly-travel-the-world-over-to-see-rivers-and-mountains-new/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [“A strange thing happened to me in my dream. I was rapt into the Seventh Heaven. There sat all the gods assembled. As a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-strange-thing-happened-to-me-in-my-dream-i-was-rapt-into-the/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [That which is truly human no generation learns from the one before it. No generation learns from another how to love. No generation has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/that-which-is-truly-human-no-generation-learns-from-the-one-before-it/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [A man may perform astonishing feats and comprehend a vast amount of knowledge, and yet have no understanding of himself. But suffering directs a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-man-may-perform-astonishing-feats-and-comprehend-a-vast-amount-of/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Be that self which one truly is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/be-that-self-which-one-truly-is/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [I go fishing for a thousand monsters in the depths of my own self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-go-fishing-for-a-thousand-monsters-in-the-depths-of-my-own-self/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [In addition to my other numerous acquaintances, I have one more intimate confidant… My depression is the most faithful mistress I have known —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/in-addition-to-my-other-numerous-acquaintances-i-have-one-more/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [The greatest danger to Christianity is, I contend, not heresies, not heterodoxies, not atheists, not profane secularism - no, but the kind of orthodoxy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-greatest-danger-to-christianity-is-i-contend-not-heresies-not/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Future is everything that past has forgotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/future-is-everything-that-past-has-forgotten/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Without risk, faith is an impossibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/without-risk-faith-is-an-impossibility/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [I have only one confidant, and that is the silence of night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-have-only-one-confidant-and-that-is-the-silence-of-night/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [A road well begun is the battle half won. The important thing is to make a beginning and get under way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-road-well-begun-is-the-battle-half-won-the-important-thing-is-to/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [I have, I believe, the courage to doubt everything; I have, I believe, the courage to fight against everything; but I do not have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-have-i-believe-the-courage-to-doubt-everything-i-have-i-believe-the/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) [Explore all 462 Soren Kierkegaard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) ## More Authority quotes > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. 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However, even if a woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusuf-al-qaradawi/islam-never-differentiates-between-men-and-women-as-regards-political/) [Yusuf al-Qaradawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusuf-al-qaradawi/) > [I think people need to be comfortable questioning the authority of a doctor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susannah-cahalan/i-think-people-need-to-be-comfortable-questioning-the-authority-of-a/) [Susannah Cahalan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susannah-cahalan/) > [At a distance, we cannot conceive of the authority of a despot who knows all his subjects on sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/at-a-distance-we-cannot-conceive-of-the-authority-of-a-despot-who/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) > [Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/throughout-human-history-as-our-species-has-faced-the-frightening/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [“I'm of the age and immaturity level that I cannot give you my respect solely because you are older or ranked higher on an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-goros/i-m-of-the-age-and-immaturity-level-that-i-cannot-give-you-my-respect/) [Erica Goros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-goros/) > [In the end theologians are jealous of science, for they are aware that it has greater authority than do their own ways of finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/in-the-end-theologians-are-jealous-of-science-for-they-are-aware-that/) [Jerry A. 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This delay was due to a desire on the part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-execution-was-set-for-the-29th-of-march-at-nine-in-the-morning/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I started with the belief that every person who came to the laboratory was free to accept or to reject the dictates of authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-milgram/i-started-with-the-belief-that-every-person-who-came-to-the/) [Stanley Milgram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-milgram/) > [The rationale which accompanies that imposition of male authority euphemistically referred to as 'the battle of the sexes' bears a certain resemblance to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/the-rationale-which-accompanies-that-imposition-of-male-authority/) [Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/) > [“We are at the mercy of whoever wields authority over the things we either desire or detest. 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