--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What could be more fundamental to our…" description: "\"“What could be more fundamental to our sense of meaning and purpose than a conception of whether the strivings of the human race over long stretches of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e0/steven-pinker-526_cosmopolitan_what-could-be-more-fundamental-to-our-se_460847.jpg" --- # What could be more fundamental to our sense of meaning and… ![“What could be more fundamental to our sense of meaning and purpose than a conception of whether the strivings of the human race over long stretches of time have left us better or worse off? How, in particular, are we to make sense of modernity—of the erosion of family, tribe, tradition, and…” quote by Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e0/steven-pinker-526_cosmopolitan_what-could-be-more-fundamental-to-our-se_460847.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e0/steven-pinker-526_cosmopolitan_what-could-be-more-fundamental-to-our-se_460847.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e0/steven-pinker-526_cosmopolitan_what-could-be-more-fundamental-to-our-se_460847.jpg) > ““What could be more fundamental to our sense of meaning and purpose than a conception of whether the strivings of the human race over long stretches of time have left us better or worse off? How, in particular, are we to make sense of modernity—of the erosion of family, tribe, tradition, and religion by the forces of individualism, cosmopolitanism, reason, and science?”” [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote questions how we evaluate progress and meaning by comparing humanity’s long‑term outcomes, especially as modern forces reshape traditional structures. **In simple terms:** We judge purpose by whether humanity is better or worse, despite changing societies. Key Takeaway Consider both benefits and costs of modern change. Themes progress meaning modernity tradition individualism Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical critical inquisitive When to use this quote - policy analysis - education reform - community building - personal reflection Key Concepts philosophy sociology ethics Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance tradition with progress? - What metrics truly reflect human flourishing? A Different Perspective It may overlook positive aspects of individualism and scientific advancement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Human race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-race/) [Individualism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individualism/) [Modernity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modernity/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition/) [Tribe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tribe/) ## Related quotes > [“Walter Mignolo terms and articulates \_critical cosmopolitanism, juxtaposing it with globalization, which is a process of "the homogeneity of the planet from above––economically, politically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/namsoon-kang/walter-mignolo-terms-and-articulates-critical-cosmopolitanism/) [Namsoon Kang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/namsoon-kang/) > [“and here is where unsentimental history and statistical literacy can change our view of modernity, for they show that nostalgia for a peaceable past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/and-here-is-where-unsentimental-history-and-statistical-literacy-can/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [A hostility to modernity is shared by ideologies that have nothing else in common - a nostalgia for moral clarity, small-town intimacy, family values,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/a-hostility-to-modernity-is-shared-by-ideologies-that-have-nothing/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [I go for cosmopolitan cities, and I like to be in the middle of everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-urie/i-go-for-cosmopolitan-cities-and-i-like-to-be-in-the-middle-of/) [Michael Urie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-urie/) > [“Who are theologians? What kind of self-identity could or should a theologian claim? Should a theologian be a defender or transmitter of Christian \_tradition\_?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/namsoon-kang/who-are-theologians-what-kind-of-self-identity-could-or-should-a/) [Namsoon Kang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/namsoon-kang/) > [“the overall theme of theology can be twofold: the search for meaning and the responsibility one has to the others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/namsoon-kang/the-overall-theme-of-theology-can-be-twofold-the-search-for-meaning/) [Namsoon Kang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/namsoon-kang/) > [I wanted a literate, socially intricate, and cosmopolitan world - something I could have fun destroying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/i-wanted-a-literate-socially-intricate-and-cosmopolitan-world/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [All good men are international. Nearly all bad men are cosmopolitan. If we are to be international we must be national.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/all-good-men-are-international-nearly-all-bad-men-are-cosmopolitan-if/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [My parents are very modern. My father is a cosmopolitan person. He always supported the fact that I will be an actress. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kareena-kapoor-khan/my-parents-are-very-modern-my-father-is-a-cosmopolitan-person-he/) [Kareena Kapoor Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kareena-kapoor-khan/) > [New York is at once cosmopolitan and parochial, a compendium of sentimental certainties. It is in fact the most sentimental of the world's great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gregory-dunne/new-york-is-at-once-cosmopolitan-and-parochial-a-compendium-of/) [John Gregory Dunne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gregory-dunne/) > [For those who struggle with anti-pagan prejudices and stereotypes, Humanist Paganism might be a powerful educational tool. It can show that a pagan can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/for-those-who-struggle-with-anti-pagan-prejudices-and-stereotypes/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) > [I love downtown Seattle. It's a city that has all of the outdoor activities and is still a very cosmopolitan city.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-lemond/i-love-downtown-seattle-it-s-a-city-that-has-all-of-the-outdoor/) [Greg LeMond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-lemond/) > [“I believe theology should be about one's way of life, a kind of gaze into onesself and others, and a mode of one's profound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/namsoon-kang/i-believe-theology-should-be-about-one-s-way-of-life-a-kind-of-gaze/) [Namsoon Kang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/namsoon-kang/) > [“Cosmopolitan theology affirms and radicalizes the belief that the Divine creates each and every human being as equal to every one else as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/namsoon-kang/cosmopolitan-theology-affirms-and-radicalizes-the-belief-that-the/) [Namsoon Kang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/namsoon-kang/) > [“I want to affirm that thinking and living, knowing and doing, theory and practice intersect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/namsoon-kang/i-want-to-affirm-that-thinking-and-living-knowing-and-doing-theory/) [Namsoon Kang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/namsoon-kang/) ## More by Steven Pinker > [Forcing modern speakers of English to not - whoops, not to split an infinitive because it isn't done in Latin makes about as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/forcing-modern-speakers-of-english-to-not-whoops-not-to-split-an/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Consistent style prevents presentation from getting in the way of content.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/consistent-style-prevents-presentation-from-getting-in-the-way-of/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [The supposedly immaterial soul, we now know, can be bisected with a knife, altered by chemicals, started or stopped by electricity, and extinguished by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-supposedly-immaterial-soul-we-now-know-can-be-bisected-with-a/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [I've never argued that humans are massively hot-wired. What I was trying to point out was that you can't understand how we learn unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/i-ve-never-argued-that-humans-are-massively-hot-wired-what-i-was/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [As many political writers have pointed out, commitment to political equality is not an empirical claim that people are clones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/as-many-political-writers-have-pointed-out-commitment-to-political/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Since violence is largely a male pastime, cultures that empower women tend to move away from the glorification of violence and are less likely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/since-violence-is-largely-a-male-pastime-cultures-that-empower-women/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [When it comes to explaining human thought and behavior, the possibility that heredity plays any role at all still has the power to shock.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/when-it-comes-to-explaining-human-thought-and-behavior-the/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Morality is not just any old topic in psychology but close to our conception of the meaning of life. Moral goodness is what gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/morality-is-not-just-any-old-topic-in-psychology-but-close-to-our/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [“The biblical story of the binding of Isaac shows that human sacrifice was far from unthinkable in the 1st millennium BCE. The Israelites boasted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-biblical-story-of-the-binding-of-isaac-shows-that-human-sacrifice/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Part of the bargain of being alive is that one takes a chance at dying a premature or painful death, be it from violence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/part-of-the-bargain-of-being-alive-is-that-one-takes-a-chance-at/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [In fact, without a specification of a creature's goals, the very idea of intelligence is meaningless. A toadstool could be given a genius award…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/in-fact-without-a-specification-of-a-creature-s-goals-the-very-idea/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [“The obvious cure for the tragic shortcomings of human intuition in a high-tech world is education. And this offers priorities for educational policy: to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-obvious-cure-for-the-tragic-shortcomings-of-human-intuition-in-a/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [If you look in general at people who live in anarchy, they have quite high rates of death from either homicide or warfare or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/if-you-look-in-general-at-people-who-live-in-anarchy-they-have-quite/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [“In some eras, self-control defines the paragon of a decent person: a grown-up, a person of dignity, a lady or a gentleman, a mensch.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/in-some-eras-self-control-defines-the-paragon-of-a-decent-person-a/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Knowledge is a continuous fabric, in which ideas are connected to other ideas. Reason-free zones, in which people can assert arbitrary beliefs safe from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/knowledge-is-a-continuous-fabric-in-which-ideas-are-connected-to/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Explore all 495 Steven Pinker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) ## More Cosmopolitan quotes > [“I want to affirm that thinking and living, knowing and doing, theory and practice intersect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/namsoon-kang/i-want-to-affirm-that-thinking-and-living-knowing-and-doing-theory/) [Namsoon Kang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/namsoon-kang/) > [“Cosmopolitan theology affirms and radicalizes the belief that the Divine creates each and every human being as equal to every one else as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/namsoon-kang/cosmopolitan-theology-affirms-and-radicalizes-the-belief-that-the/) [Namsoon Kang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/namsoon-kang/) > [“I believe theology should be about one's way of life, a kind of gaze into onesself and others, and a mode of one's profound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/namsoon-kang/i-believe-theology-should-be-about-one-s-way-of-life-a-kind-of-gaze/) [Namsoon Kang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/namsoon-kang/) > [I love downtown Seattle. It's a city that has all of the outdoor activities and is still a very cosmopolitan city.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-lemond/i-love-downtown-seattle-it-s-a-city-that-has-all-of-the-outdoor/) [Greg LeMond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-lemond/) > [For those who struggle with anti-pagan prejudices and stereotypes, Humanist Paganism might be a powerful educational tool. It can show that a pagan can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/for-those-who-struggle-with-anti-pagan-prejudices-and-stereotypes/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) > [New York is at once cosmopolitan and parochial, a compendium of sentimental certainties. It is in fact the most sentimental of the world's great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gregory-dunne/new-york-is-at-once-cosmopolitan-and-parochial-a-compendium-of/) [John Gregory Dunne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gregory-dunne/) > [My parents are very modern. My father is a cosmopolitan person. He always supported the fact that I will be an actress. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kareena-kapoor-khan/my-parents-are-very-modern-my-father-is-a-cosmopolitan-person-he/) [Kareena Kapoor Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kareena-kapoor-khan/) > [All good men are international. Nearly all bad men are cosmopolitan. If we are to be international we must be national.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/all-good-men-are-international-nearly-all-bad-men-are-cosmopolitan-if/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [I wanted a literate, socially intricate, and cosmopolitan world - something I could have fun destroying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/i-wanted-a-literate-socially-intricate-and-cosmopolitan-world/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [“the overall theme of theology can be twofold: the search for meaning and the responsibility one has to the others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/namsoon-kang/the-overall-theme-of-theology-can-be-twofold-the-search-for-meaning/) [Namsoon Kang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/namsoon-kang/) > [“Who are theologians? What kind of self-identity could or should a theologian claim? Should a theologian be a defender or transmitter of Christian \_tradition\_?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/namsoon-kang/who-are-theologians-what-kind-of-self-identity-could-or-should-a/) [Namsoon Kang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/namsoon-kang/) > [I go for cosmopolitan cities, and I like to be in the middle of everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-urie/i-go-for-cosmopolitan-cities-and-i-like-to-be-in-the-middle-of/) [Michael Urie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-urie/) > [“Roosevelt loved the subtleties of human relations...He was sensitive to nuances in a way that Harry Truman never was and never would be. Truman,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/roosevelt-loved-the-subtleties-of-human-relations-he-was-sensitive-to/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [I come from rather an international, or in other words, a cosmopolitan background.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-blake/i-come-from-rather-an-international-or-in-other-words-a-cosmopolitan/) [George Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-blake/) > [“Cosmopolitanism emphasizes and is grounded in a \_singular relationality between and among people”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/namsoon-kang/cosmopolitanism-emphasizes-and-is-grounded-in-a-singular/) [Namsoon Kang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/namsoon-kang/) Browse all 110 Cosmopolitan quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What could be more fundamental to our sense of meaning and purpose than a conception of whether the strivings of the human race over long stretches of time have left us better or worse off? 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