--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...the reason for [this age's] anxiety…" description: "\"...the reason for [this age's] anxiety and unrest is because in one direction, 'truth' increases in scope and quantity - via science and technology - w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/soren-kierkegaard-578_age_the-reason-for-this-age-s-anxiety-and-un_858865.jpg" --- # ...the reason for \[this age's\] anxiety and unrest is… ![“...the reason for [this age's] anxiety and unrest is because in one direction, 'truth' increases in scope and quantity - via science and technology - while in the other, certainty and confidence steadily decline. Our age is a master in developing truths while being wholly indifferent to certitude…” quote by Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/soren-kierkegaard-578_age_the-reason-for-this-age-s-anxiety-and-un_858865.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/soren-kierkegaard-578_age_the-reason-for-this-age-s-anxiety-and-un_858865.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/soren-kierkegaard-578_age_the-reason-for-this-age-s-anxiety-and-un_858865.jpg) > “...the reason for \[this age's\] anxiety and unrest is because in one direction, 'truth' increases in scope and quantity - via science and technology - while in the other, certainty and confidence steadily decline. Our age is a master in developing truths while being wholly indifferent to certitude. It lacks confidence in the good.” [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. Modernity expands knowledge but erodes confidence, creating anxiety as truth grows while certainty shrinks. **In simple terms:** More knowledge, less confidence leads to anxiety. Key Takeaway Balance pursuit of truth with cultivating confidence. Themes philosophy anxiety modernity truth confidence Mood reflective critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - academic research - personal decision making - public discourse Key Concepts epistemology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How can we foster confidence amid expanding knowledge? - What role does faith play in modern anxiety? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on facts can neglect emotional stability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Anxiety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxiety/) [Certainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) [Decline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decline/) [Orthodox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orthodox/) [Orthodox christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orthodox-christian/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science and technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-and-technology/) [Scope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scope/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Unrest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unrest/) ## Related quotes > [Summers was simply a master explainer, able to deftly boil down the complexities of economic and financial, and to put them in terms the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-suskind/summers-was-simply-a-master-explainer-able-to-deftly-boil-down-the/) [Ron Suskind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-suskind/) > [“It occurred to her then that there was a reason age stripped you of all the things you enjoyed or took for granted. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mchugh/it-occurred-to-her-then-that-there-was-a-reason-age-stripped-you-of/) [Laura McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mchugh/) > [The reason for my age being messed up in the records is that when I first appeared for the under-14 trials, I myself really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shahid-afridi/the-reason-for-my-age-being-messed-up-in-the-records-is-that-when-i/) [Shahid Afridi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shahid-afridi/) > [“We've had the goddam Ages of Faith, we've had the goddam Age of Reason. This is the Age of Publicity”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gaddis/we-ve-had-the-goddam-ages-of-faith-we-ve-had-the-goddam-age-of-reason/) [William Gaddis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gaddis/) > [Our Age of Anxiety is, in great part, the result of trying to do today's job with yesterday's tools and yesterday's concepts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/our-age-of-anxiety-is-in-great-part-the-result-of-trying-to-do-today-2/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Our Age of Anxiety is, in great part, the result of trying to do today's jobs with yesterday's tools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/our-age-of-anxiety-is-in-great-part-the-result-of-trying-to-do-today/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [As a student of American culture, I am willing to argue that the Twist is a valid manifestation of the Age of Anxiety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-fishwick/as-a-student-of-american-culture-i-am-willing-to-argue-that-the-twist/) Marshall Fishwick > [Now is the age of anxiety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/now-is-the-age-of-anxiety/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [This is, i think, very much the Age of Anxiety, the age of the neurosis, because along with so much that weighs on our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-kronenberger/this-is-i-think-very-much-the-age-of-anxiety-the-age-of-the-neurosis/) [Louis Kronenberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-kronenberger/) > [“Innumerable confusions and a profound feeling of despair invariably emerge in periods of great technological and cultural transitions. Our "Age of Anxiety" is, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/innumerable-confusions-and-a-profound-feeling-of-despair-invariably/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [One of the few blessings of living in an age of anxiety is that we are forced to become aware of ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/one-of-the-few-blessings-of-living-in-an-age-of-anxiety-is-that-we/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [“Accept and express your underlying certitude, and it shall be worldwide sagacity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogwo-david-emenike/accept-and-express-your-underlying-certitude-and-it-shall-be/) [Ogwo David Emenike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogwo-david-emenike/) > [I can say with unwavering certitude that I have never started a pint of Ben 'n Jerry's ice cream that I didn't finish in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregor-collins/i-can-say-with-unwavering-certitude-that-i-have-never-started-a-pint/) [Gregor Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregor-collins/) > [What makes friendship indissolute and what doubles its charms is a feeling we find lacking in love: I mean certitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/what-makes-friendship-indissolute-and-what-doubles-its-charms-is-a/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [From men motivated by moral certitude, history teaches, no lasting good ever comes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/from-men-motivated-by-moral-certitude-history-teaches-no-lasting-good/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) ## 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. 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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 Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. 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That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "...the reason for [this age's] anxiety and unrest is because in one direction, 'truth' increases in scope and quantity - via science and technology - while in the other, certainty and confidence steadily decline. Our age is a master in developing truths while being wholly indifferent to certitude. 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