--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The universe has become not only…" description: "\"The universe has become not only conscious and aware of itself but capable in some respects of choosing its path into the future--though all three, the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/618/thomas-nagel-9440_acting_the-universe-has-become-not-only-conscio_2474602.jpg" --- # The universe has become not only conscious and aware of… ![“The universe has become not only conscious and aware of itself but capable in some respects of choosing its path into the future--though all three, the consciousness, the knowledge, and the choice, are dispersed over a vast crowd of beings, acting both individually and collectively.” quote by Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/618/thomas-nagel-9440_acting_the-universe-has-become-not-only-conscio_2474602.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/618/thomas-nagel-9440_acting_the-universe-has-become-not-only-conscio_2474602.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/618/thomas-nagel-9440_acting_the-universe-has-become-not-only-conscio_2474602.jpg) > “The universe has become not only conscious and aware of itself but capable in some respects of choosing its path into the future--though all three, the consciousness, the knowledge, and the choice, are dispersed over a vast crowd of beings, acting both individually and collectively.” [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Consciousness is a collective, distributed phenomenon that can influence future outcomes. **In simple terms:** We all share a distributed mind shaping destiny. Key Takeaway Recognize shared responsibility for the future. Themes philosophy consciousness collectivism Mood reflective thought‑provoking Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - environmental policy - global governance - AI ethics Key Concepts metaphysics agency future studies Questions to Reflect On - What role do you play in shaping collective future? - How can dispersed consciousness be coordinated? A Different Perspective Collective decisions can be hindered by individual conflicts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acting/) [Capable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capable/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Conscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscious/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Consciousness Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness-knowledge-797188/) [Crowds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crowds/) [Future Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-consciousness-797187/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Three](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) [Universe Conscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe-conscious-797186/) ## Related quotes > [You are not IN the universe, you ARE the universe, an intrinsic part of it. 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It is the process of 'reminding' ourselves that the answers are already 'within our consciousness'.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-allen/enlightenment-is-not-the-process-of-learning-new-information-it-is/) [Eric Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-allen/) > [Self-consciousness is not knowledge but a story one tells about oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/self-consciousness-is-not-knowledge-but-a-story-one-tells-about/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [The impossibility of conceiving that this grand and wondrous universe, with our conscious selves, arose through chance, seems to me the chief argument for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-impossibility-of-conceiving-that-this-grand-and-wondrous-universe/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [In a lot of areas of my life, particularly in my teenage years, I began to think about the world, and to think about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-erving/in-a-lot-of-areas-of-my-life-particularly-in-my-teenage-years-i-began/) [Julius Erving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-erving/) > [Man is the universe becoming conscious of itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-iles/man-is-the-universe-becoming-conscious-of-itself/) [Greg Iles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-iles/) > [Through our eyes, the universe is perceiving itself. Through our ears, the universe is listening to its harmonies. We are the witnesses through which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/through-our-eyes-the-universe-is-perceiving-itself-through-our-ears/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think a lot of young kids at school are very conscious of trying to keep credibility in case they kind of stand out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominic-monaghan/i-think-a-lot-of-young-kids-at-school-are-very-conscious-of-trying-to/) [Dominic Monaghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominic-monaghan/) > [Further conceive, I beg, that a stone, while continuing in motion, should be capable of thinking and knowing, that it is endeavoring, as far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/further-conceive-i-beg-that-a-stone-while-continuing-in-motion-should/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. 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Belong to the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/never-belong-to-a-crowd-never-belong-to-a-nation-never-belong-to-a/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Your aunt and uncle will be proud, though, won't they?" said Hermione as they got off the train and joined the crowd thronging toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-aunt-and-uncle-will-be-proud-though-won-t-they-said-hermione-as/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) ## More by Thomas Nagel > [every subjective phenomenon is essentially connected with a single point of view, and it seems inevitable that an objective, physical theory will abandon that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/every-subjective-phenomenon-is-essentially-connected-with-a-single/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [Reason is universal because no attempted challenge to its results can avoid appealing to reason in the end-by claiming, for example, that what was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/reason-is-universal-because-no-attempted-challenge-to-its-results-can/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [“A comprehensively reductive conception is favored by the belief that the propensity for the development of organisms with a subjective view must have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/a-comprehensively-reductive-conception-is-favored-by-the-belief-that/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [A theory of motivation is defective if it renders intelligible behaviour which is not intelligible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/a-theory-of-motivation-is-defective-if-it-renders-intelligible/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [It isn't just that I don't believe in God, and naturally, hope there is no God. 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L. Austin said about ordinary language, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/common-sense-doesn-t-have-the-last-word-in-ethics-or-anywhere-else/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [“I am drawn to a fourth alternative, natural teleology, or teleological bias, as an account of the existence of the biological possibilities on which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/i-am-drawn-to-a-fourth-alternative-natural-teleology-or-teleological/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [“The existence of consciousness is both one of the most familiar and one of the most astounding things about the world. No conception of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/the-existence-of-consciousness-is-both-one-of-the-most-familiar-and/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [“Are there any alternatives? Well, there is the hypothesis that this universe is not unique, but that all possible universes exist, and we find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/are-there-any-alternatives-well-there-is-the-hypothesis-that-this/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [If we tried to rely entirely on reason, and pressed it hard, our lives and beliefs would collapse - a form of madness that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/if-we-tried-to-rely-entirely-on-reason-and-pressed-it-hard-our-lives/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [Eventually, I believe, current attempts to understand the mind by analogy with man-made computers that can perform superbly some of the same external tasks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/eventually-i-believe-current-attempts-to-understand-the-mind-by/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) [Explore all 72 Thomas Nagel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) ## More Acting quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. 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Sometimes it takes longer than what you can give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-sean/acting-is-a-grind-just-like-music-is-a-grind-sometimes-it-takes/) [Big Sean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-sean/) > [It was only when I started making short films in college and I was looking for girls to play the me-ish parts that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/it-was-only-when-i-started-making-short-films-in-college-and-i-was/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [Writing is something I took up rather than anything I had an inclination toward. I like acting -delivering someone else's message - but writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/writing-is-something-i-took-up-rather-than-anything-i-had-an/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [Actors don't hate acting. Most people don't hate acting! Whether you're a child mucking around with your friends or a grown up being paid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-hewson/actors-don-t-hate-acting-most-people-don-t-hate-acting-whether-you-re/) [Liv Hewson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-hewson/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [Once I committed to acting, this has been it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-hudson/once-i-committed-to-acting-this-has-been-it/) [Ernie Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-hudson/) > [It definitely helps to have the acting experience going into singing, because when you're singing, you have to portray the emotion you were feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-newman/it-definitely-helps-to-have-the-acting-experience-going-into-singing/) [Ryan Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-newman/) > [The show was number one in the ratings, Gordon Russell was our head writer, the story lines were magnificent and the acting most exciting.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-storm/the-show-was-number-one-in-the-ratings-gordon-russell-was-our-head/) [Michael Storm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-storm/) > [I've done so many other projects where you're in a room with a reader and you're acting your lines out: 'We have to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/i-ve-done-so-many-other-projects-where-you-re-in-a-room-with-a-reader/) [Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/) > [I do not believe in public shaming. 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