--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The most terrible fight is not when there…" description: "\"The most terrible fight is not when there is one opinion against another, the most terrible is when two men say the same thing -- and fight about the i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/338/soren-kierkegaard-578_differences_the-most-terrible-fight-is-not-when-ther_2410890.jpg" --- # The most terrible fight is not when there is one opinion… ![“The most terrible fight is not when there is one opinion against another, the most terrible is when two men say the same thing -- and fight about the interpretation, and this interpretation involves a difference of quality.” quote by Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/338/soren-kierkegaard-578_differences_the-most-terrible-fight-is-not-when-ther_2410890.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/338/soren-kierkegaard-578_differences_the-most-terrible-fight-is-not-when-ther_2410890.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/338/soren-kierkegaard-578_differences_the-most-terrible-fight-is-not-when-ther_2410890.jpg) > “The most terrible fight is not when there is one opinion against another, the most terrible is when two men say the same thing -- and fight about the interpretation, and this interpretation involves a difference of quality.” [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. Conflict is worst when people share the same view but argue over its meaning, especially when quality is at stake. **In simple terms:** Same opinion, different interpretation causes strife. Key Takeaway Seek clarity and shared standards. Themes conflict interpretation quality Mood analytical critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - political debate - team decisions - academic discourse Key Concepts Dialectics subjectivity ethical standards Questions to Reflect On - What standards define quality in your field? - How can you align interpretations before arguing? A Different Perspective Disagreements may persist without agreed criteria. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Fight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fight/) [Interpretation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interpretation/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) ## Related quotes > [I have met fantastic men in my life and horrible women. I have also met some amazing women and terrible men. I have seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nithya-menen/i-have-met-fantastic-men-in-my-life-and-horrible-women-i-have-also/) [Nithya Menen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nithya-menen/) > [I like it when people are opinionated. I like an opinion. I like people that will fight for their opinion 'til an argument and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-odell/i-like-it-when-people-are-opinionated-i-like-an-opinion-i-like-people/) [Tom Odell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-odell/) > [I fight for myself, not for someone else's opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-macdonald/i-fight-for-myself-not-for-someone-else-s-opinion/) [Rory MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-macdonald/) > [“This time, as with every time, when the fighting starts it will be more terrible than the fight that came before. Always it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-englander/this-time-as-with-every-time-when-the-fighting-starts-it-will-be-more/) [Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) > [The whole terrible fight occured in the area of imagination. That is the precise location of our battlefield. It is there, that we experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-whole-terrible-fight-occured-in-the-area-of-imagination-that-is/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Terrible is the fight put up by the senses. Fight bravely! Conquer them you must.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/terrible-is-the-fight-put-up-by-the-senses-fight-bravely-conquer-them/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fear and prejudice put up a terrible fight when they sense change coming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-dorothea-white/fear-and-prejudice-put-up-a-terrible-fight-when-they-sense-change/) Susan Dorothea White > [Science is uncertain. Theories are subject to revision; observations are open to a variety of interpretations, and scientists quarrel amongst themselves. This is disillusioning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/science-is-uncertain-theories-are-subject-to-revision-observations/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [It is only all too easy to understand the requirements contained in God's Word ('Give all your goods to the poor.' 'If anyone strikes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/it-is-only-all-too-easy-to-understand-the-requirements-contained-in/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Americans will quarrel over how, who, or what to rescue or save, but the idea that the nation ought to be off doing it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-von-hoffman/americans-will-quarrel-over-how-who-or-what-to-rescue-or-save-but-the/) [Nicholas von Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-von-hoffman/) > [I'm Irish and always will be, but America has taught me so much. Maybe it's here in the U.S. that we find a healing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fionnula-flanagan/i-m-irish-and-always-will-be-but-america-has-taught-me-so-much-maybe/) [Fionnula Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fionnula-flanagan/) > [A man may quarrel with himself alone; that is, by controverting his better instincts and knowledge when brought face to face with temptation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/a-man-may-quarrel-with-himself-alone-that-is-by-controverting-his/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [Love-quarrels oft in pleasing concord end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/love-quarrels-oft-in-pleasing-concord-end/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [ \[attempts to save the relationship on the phone but said the wrong word while talking\] It didn't come out right, but I wasn't in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paritoshik-sharma/attempts-to-save-the-relationship-on-the-phone-but-said-the-wrong/) [Paritoshik Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paritoshik-sharma/) > [It ain't because lovers are so sensitive that they quarrel so often; it is because there is so much fun n the making up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/it-ain-t-because-lovers-are-so-sensitive-that-they-quarrel-so-often/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) ## 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 Differences quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) Jennifer Siebel Newsom > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Shortly after I turned 50, both Ted Turner and the AARP came into my life. The only difference? With AARP, there were benefits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/shortly-after-i-turned-50-both-ted-turner-and-the-aarp-came-into-my/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [The only regret I have in my career, is my managers wanted a big payday, and I wanted four or five more fights before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-cooney/the-only-regret-i-have-in-my-career-is-my-managers-wanted-a-big/) [Gerry Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-cooney/) > [There are those who open their hearts to others...who never think twice about giving of themselves. They are the wonderful warmhearted people who make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilda-radner/there-are-those-who-open-their-hearts-to-others-who-never-think-twice/) [Gilda Radner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilda-radner/) > [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [One of the most basic principles for making and keeping peace within and between nations. . . is that in political, military, moral, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/one-of-the-most-basic-principles-for-making-and-keeping-peace-within/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [When the President starts talking about something, it makes a difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-schumer/when-the-president-starts-talking-about-something-it-makes-a/) [Charles Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-schumer/) > [In a world shaped and colored more and more by politicians, the nations meet politically, and hardly any other way to settle their differences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-b-priestley/in-a-world-shaped-and-colored-more-and-more-by-politicians-the/) [J. B. Priestley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-b-priestley/) [Browse all 8,110 Differences quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The most terrible fight is not when there is one opinion against another, the most terrible is when two men say the same thing -- and fight about the interpretation, and this interpretation involves a difference of quality.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Soren Kierkegaard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-most-terrible-fight-is-not-when-there-is-one-opinion-against/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Differences" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-most-terrible-fight-is-not-when-there-is-one-opinion-against/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/338/soren-kierkegaard-578_differences_the-most-terrible-fight-is-not-when-ther_2410890.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/338/soren-kierkegaard-578_differences_the-most-terrible-fight-is-not-when-ther_2410890.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/338/soren-kierkegaard-578_differences_the-most-terrible-fight-is-not-when-ther_2410890.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The most terrible fight is not when there is one opinion against another, the most terrible is when two men…” — 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 most terrible fight is not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-most-terrible-fight-is-not-when-there-is-one-opinion-against/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-most-terrible-fight-is-not-when-there-is-one-opinion-against/#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 } } ] } ```