--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The individual (no matter how…" description: "\"The individual (no matter how well-meaning he might be, no matter how much strength he might have, if only he would use it) does not have the passion t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a2/soren-kierkegaard-578_ambiguity_the-individual-no-matter-how-well-meanin_245529.jpg" --- # The individual (no matter how well-meaning he might be, no… ![“The individual (no matter how well-meaning he might be, no matter how much strength he might have, if only he would use it) does not have the passion to rip himself away from either the coils of Reflection or the seductive ambiguities of Reflection; nor do the surroundings and times have any…” quote by Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a2/soren-kierkegaard-578_ambiguity_the-individual-no-matter-how-well-meanin_245529.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a2/soren-kierkegaard-578_ambiguity_the-individual-no-matter-how-well-meanin_245529.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a2/soren-kierkegaard-578_ambiguity_the-individual-no-matter-how-well-meanin_245529.jpg) > “The individual (no matter how well-meaning he might be, no matter how much strength he might have, if only he would use it) does not have the passion to rip himself away from either the coils of Reflection or the seductive ambiguities of Reflection; nor do the surroundings and times have any events or passions, but rather provide a negative setting of a habit of reflection, which plays with some illusory project only to betray him in the end with a way out: it shows him that the most clever thing to do is nothing at all.” [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. Over‑reflection can trap one in indecision, making in to be the most rational choice. **In simple terms:** Too much thinking leads to inaction. Key Takeaway Act despite doubts. Themes indecision reflection existentialism Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career choices - creative projects - personal dilemmas Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - When has over‑thinking cost you? - Can some reflection be beneficial? A Different Perspective Action may lead to mistakes; reflection has value. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambiguity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambiguity/) [Clever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clever/) [Events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/events/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Most clever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/most-clever/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Reflection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reflection/) [Seductive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seductive/) [Setting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/setting/) [Surroundings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surroundings/) [Things to do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-to-do/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Happiness is not an individual matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/happiness-is-not-an-individual-matter/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [The development of faith in the Lord is an individual matter. Repentance is also an individual matter. Only as an individual can one be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-m-nelson/the-development-of-faith-in-the-lord-is-an-individual-matter/) [Russell M. Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-m-nelson/) > [Happiness is not an individual matter. When you are able to bring relief, or bring back the smile to one person, not only that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/happiness-is-not-an-individual-matter-when-you-are-able-to-bring/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [Life with God is an individual matter, and general formulas do not easily apply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/life-with-god-is-an-individual-matter-and-general-formulas-do-not/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) > [A belief is purely an individual matter, and you cannot and must not organize it. If you do, it becomes dead, crystallized; it becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-belief-is-purely-an-individual-matter-and-you-cannot-and-must-not/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [The most clever and polite are content with only seeming attentive while we perceive in their mind and eyes that at the very time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/the-most-clever-and-polite-are-content-with-only-seeming-attentive/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [When President Nixon said that the American people don't want their foreign policy dictated from the street, unfortunately, he said the most clever political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allard-k-lowenstein/when-president-nixon-said-that-the-american-people-don-t-want-their/) [Allard K. Lowenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allard-k-lowenstein/) > [Because it is a monopoly, government brings inefficiency and stagnation to most things it runs; government agencies pursue the inflation of their budgets rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-ridley/because-it-is-a-monopoly-government-brings-inefficiency-and/) [Matt Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-ridley/) > [Here we are, the most clever species ever to have lived. So how is it we can destroy the only planet we have?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/here-we-are-the-most-clever-species-ever-to-have-lived-so-how-is-it/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [“From the port of ideas, not only the most clever ones put out to sea and conquer the world but also the most stupid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/from-the-port-of-ideas-not-only-the-most-clever-ones-put-out-to-sea/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Modern times are dominated by Satan and will be more so in the future. The conflict with hell cannot be engaged by men, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximilian-kolbe/modern-times-are-dominated-by-satan-and-will-be-more-so-in-the-future/) [Maximilian Kolbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximilian-kolbe/) > [I would never believe it of you, my boy, regardless of the schemers your mother and sister turned out to be. You may not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-klassen/i-would-never-believe-it-of-you-my-boy-regardless-of-the-schemers/) [Julie Klassen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-klassen/) > [You drive me insane June. You're the scariest, most clever, bravest person I know, and sometimes I can't catch my breath because I'm trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-lu/you-drive-me-insane-june-you-re-the-scariest-most-clever-bravest/) [Marie Lu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-lu/) > [I have a fantastic husband. Here's the honeymoon part: I still think he's the funniest, wittiest, most clever man I've ever known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-jessica-parker/i-have-a-fantastic-husband-here-s-the-honeymoon-part-i-still-think-he/) [Sarah Jessica Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-jessica-parker/) > [Passion often renders the most clever man a fool, and sometimes renders the most foolish man clever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/passion-often-renders-the-most-clever-man-a-fool-and-sometimes/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) ## 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 Ambiguity quotes > [The position is clear - there is no ambiguity in Sinn Fein's position. We, along with all the other parties, have signed up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-mcguinness/the-position-is-clear-there-is-no-ambiguity-in-sinn-fein-s-position/) [Martin McGuinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-mcguinness/) > [Ambiguity is necessary in some of my stories, not in all. In those, it certainly contributes to the richness of the story. I doubt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/ambiguity-is-necessary-in-some-of-my-stories-not-in-all-in-those-it/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [During the Cold War, we lived in coded times when it wasn't easy and there were shades of grey and ambiguity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/during-the-cold-war-we-lived-in-coded-times-when-it-wasn-t-easy-and/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [You cannot grow in the integrative dance of action and contemplation without a strong tolerance for ambiguity, an ability to allow, forgive, and contain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/you-cannot-grow-in-the-integrative-dance-of-action-and-contemplation/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [I blame my grandfather 100 percent for his oldest son's death. I don't think there's any ambiguity there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-l-trump/i-blame-my-grandfather-100-percent-for-his-oldest-son-s-death-i-don-t/) [Mary L. Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-l-trump/) > [I think the relationship between social-dominance orientation in people and the extent to which they're made uncomfortable by ambiguity and novelty is really important.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sapolsky/i-think-the-relationship-between-social-dominance-orientation-in/) [Robert Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sapolsky/) > [Yet again, an ancient answer echoes across the centuries: Listen! Listen to stories! For what stories do, above all else, is hold up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-kurtz/yet-again-an-ancient-answer-echoes-across-the-centuries-listen-listen/) [Ernest Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-kurtz/) > [My path to wisdom began when I stopped pretending to know things I didn't know. When I explicitly admitted to the limits of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-max/my-path-to-wisdom-began-when-i-stopped-pretending-to-know-things-i/) [Tucker Max](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-max/) > [If there is a single tragic flaw that mars our biggest enterprises, it is conservatism - the failure to fail, and fail big, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/if-there-is-a-single-tragic-flaw-that-mars-our-biggest-enterprises-it/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [In order to be as free as I possibly can, in my own imagination, I can't take positions that are closed. Everything I've ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/in-order-to-be-as-free-as-i-possibly-can-in-my-own-imagination-i-can/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [I've always been drawn to ambiguity in pop music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-furman/i-ve-always-been-drawn-to-ambiguity-in-pop-music/) [Ezra Furman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-furman/) > [I believe that we can still have a genre of scientific books suitable for and accessible alike to professionals and interested laypeople. The concepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-believe-that-we-can-still-have-a-genre-of-scientific-books-suitable/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [I am in the utmost perplexity, yand have wished a hundred times, that if there is a A God, nature would manifest him without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/i-am-in-the-utmost-perplexity-yand-have-wished-a-hundred-times-that/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [There's a lot of ambiguity in life, and so often, our art is very neatly wrapped up at the end, when our lives never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-coon/there-s-a-lot-of-ambiguity-in-life-and-so-often-our-art-is-very/) [Carrie Coon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-coon/) > [“Man must not attempt to dispel the ambiguity of his being but, on the contrary, accept the task of realizing it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/man-must-not-attempt-to-dispel-the-ambiguity-of-his-being-but-on-the/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) [Browse all 431 Ambiguity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambiguity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The individual (no matter how well-meaning he might be, no matter how much strength he might have, if only he would use it) does not have the passion to rip himself away from either the coils of Reflection or the seductive ambiguities of Reflection; nor do the surroundings and times have any events or passions, but rather provide a negative setting of a habit of reflection, which plays with some illusory project only to betray him in the end with a way out: it shows him that the most clever thing to do is nothing at all.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Soren Kierkegaard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-individual-no-matter-how-well-meaning-he-might-be-no-matter-how/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambiguity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-individual-no-matter-how-well-meaning-he-might-be-no-matter-how/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a2/soren-kierkegaard-578_ambiguity_the-individual-no-matter-how-well-meanin_245529.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a2/soren-kierkegaard-578_ambiguity_the-individual-no-matter-how-well-meanin_245529.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a2/soren-kierkegaard-578_ambiguity_the-individual-no-matter-how-well-meanin_245529.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The individual (no matter how well-meaning he might be, no matter how much strength he might have, if only…” — Soren Kierkegaard", "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": "Soren Kierkegaard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The individual (no matter how well-meaning...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-individual-no-matter-how-well-meaning-he-might-be-no-matter-how/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-individual-no-matter-how-well-meaning-he-might-be-no-matter-how/#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 } } ] } ```