---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What every genuine philosopher (every…"
description: "\"What every genuine philosopher (every genuine man, in fact) craves most is praise although the philosophers generally call it recognition!\" — William J..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/070/william-james-228_genuine_what-every-genuine-philosopher-every-gen_2901705.png"
---

#  What every genuine philosopher (every genuine man, in…

![“What every genuine philosopher (every genuine man, in fact) craves most is praise although the philosophers generally call it recognition!” quote by William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/070/william-james-228_genuine_what-every-genuine-philosopher-every-gen_2901705.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/070/william-james-228_genuine_what-every-genuine-philosopher-every-gen_2901705.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/070/william-james-228_genuine_what-every-genuine-philosopher-every-gen_2901705.png)

> “What every genuine philosopher (every genuine man, in fact) craves most is praise although the philosophers generally call it recognition!”

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Philosophers crave recognition, equating it with validation despite intellectual humility.

**In simple terms:** Even thinkers seek acknowledgment.

Key Takeaway

Balance desire for praise with intrinsic motivation.

Themes

philosophy ego recognition validation

Mood

thoughtful critical

Type

philosophical psychological

When to use this quote

- academia
- career
- art
- social media
- leadership

Key Concepts

human motivation self‑esteem social status

Questions to Reflect On

- Why do we seek external validation?
- How can one stay humble while pursuing acknowledgment?

A Different Perspective

Excessive praise may distort authenticity.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Craves Praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/craves-praise-4129431/) [Genuine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genuine/) [Genuine Philosopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genuine-philosopher-2112713/) [Philosopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosopher/) [Philosopher Genuine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosopher-genuine-4129430/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praise/) [Praise Philosophers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praise-philosophers-4129429/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Recognition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recognition/)

## Related quotes

> [Philosophy is a purely personal matter. A genuine philosopher's credo is the outcome of a single complex personality; it cannot be transferred. No two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/havelock-ellis/philosophy-is-a-purely-personal-matter-a-genuine-philosopher-s-credo/)

[Havelock Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/havelock-ellis/)

> [“Wisdom—seems to the rabble a kind of escape, a means and a trick for getting well out of a wicked game. But the genuine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/wisdom-seems-to-the-rabble-a-kind-of-escape-a-means-and-a-trick-for/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [It is true that I got recognition. But however good the comedies are, nobody will accept a good comedy director as a good director.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyadarshan/it-is-true-that-i-got-recognition-but-however-good-the-comedies-are/)

[Priyadarshan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyadarshan/)

> [I mean a real police state just to get a token recognition of a law. It take, it took, I think, 15,000 troops and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/i-mean-a-real-police-state-just-to-get-a-token-recognition-of-a-law/)

[Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/)

> [If you talk about change but don't change the reward and recognition system, nothing changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-allaire/if-you-talk-about-change-but-don-t-change-the-reward-and-recognition/)

[Paul Allaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-allaire/)

> [There is an enemy. There is an intelligent, active, malign force working against us. Step one is to recognize this. This recognition alone is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/there-is-an-enemy-there-is-an-intelligent-active-malign-force-working/)

[Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/)

> [If we pick recognition over influence we'll be known for all the wrong stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-goff/if-we-pick-recognition-over-influence-we-ll-be-known-for-all-the/)

[Bob Goff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-goff/)

> [I have a fine level of recognition in the business and among the acting community now, so I consider myself one of the lucky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-seymour-hoffman/i-have-a-fine-level-of-recognition-in-the-business-and-among-the/)

[Philip Seymour Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-seymour-hoffman/)

> [We have reached the point where we can lose a game or two and not drop out of sight in the rankings. I've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lavell-edwards/we-have-reached-the-point-where-we-can-lose-a-game-or-two-and-not/)

[LaVell Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lavell-edwards/)

> [“An applause is not just the recognition of good performance, but its proof of being different than the crowd.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/an-applause-is-not-just-the-recognition-of-good-performance-but-its/)

[Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/)

> [It is easy to speak words of love, or to meditate lovingly upon those people with whom you are in harmony. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ponder/it-is-easy-to-speak-words-of-love-or-to-meditate-lovingly-upon-those/)

[Catherine Ponder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ponder/)

> [The queen of virtues is the recognition of one's own flaws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/the-queen-of-virtues-is-the-recognition-of-one-s-own-flaws/)

[Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/)

> [If I have a system it is limited to a recognition of what Kierkegaard called 'the infinite qualitative distinction' between time and eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-barth/if-i-have-a-system-it-is-limited-to-a-recognition-of-what-kierkegaard/)

[Karl Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-barth/)

> [While the 1963 Birmingham church bombing is the most historic, there also was a series of church burnings in the 1990s. Recognition of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthea-butler/while-the-1963-birmingham-church-bombing-is-the-most-historic-there/)

[Anthea Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthea-butler/)

> [I became a bit of a teacher's pet, and it became known in the school by both faculty and students that I really excelled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/i-became-a-bit-of-a-teacher-s-pet-and-it-became-known-in-the-school/)

[Paul Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-smith/)

## More by William James

> [Effort is the one strictly undervalued and original contribution we make to this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/effort-is-the-one-strictly-undervalued-and-original-contribution-we/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [In the dim background of our mind we know meanwhile what we ought to be doing: getting up, dressing ourselves, answering the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-the-dim-background-of-our-mind-we-know-meanwhile-what-we-ought-to/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [“Our minds thus grow in spots; and like grease-spots, the spots spread. But we let them spread as little as possible: we keep unaltered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/our-minds-thus-grow-in-spots-and-like-grease-spots-the-spots-spread/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [Circumstance does not make me, it reveals me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/circumstance-does-not-make-me-it-reveals-me/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> ['Facts' are the bounds of human knowledge, set for it, not by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/facts-are-the-bounds-of-human-knowledge-set-for-it-not-by-it/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [Woe to him whose beliefs play fast and loose with the order which realities follow in his experience; they will lead him nowhere or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/woe-to-him-whose-beliefs-play-fast-and-loose-with-the-order-which/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [We never fully grasp the import of any true statement until we have a clear notion of what the opposite untrue statement would be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-never-fully-grasp-the-import-of-any-true-statement-until-we-have-a/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [It is your friends who make your world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-your-friends-who-make-your-world/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [Human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/human-beings-can-alter-their-lives-by-altering-their-attitudes-of-mind/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [Most people, probably, are in doubt about certain matters ascribed to their past. They may have seen them, may have said them, done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/most-people-probably-are-in-doubt-about-certain-matters-ascribed-to/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [“How soon, indeed, are human things forgotten! As we meet here this morning, the Southern sun is shining on their place of burial, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/how-soon-indeed-are-human-things-forgotten-as-we-meet-here-this/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [There can be no difference anywhere that does not make a difference somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/there-can-be-no-difference-anywhere-that-does-not-make-a-difference/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [It is wrong always, everywhere, and for everyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-wrong-always-everywhere-and-for-everyone-to-believe-anything/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

[Explore all 854 William James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

## More Genuine quotes

> [There are different kinds of fire; there is false fire. No one knows this better than we do, but we are not such fools…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-booth/there-are-different-kinds-of-fire-there-is-false-fire-no-one-knows/)

[William Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-booth/)

> [When somebody comes across as authentic and genuine and sweet, people just want to spend time with that person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-holmes/when-somebody-comes-across-as-authentic-and-genuine-and-sweet-people/)

[Pete Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-holmes/)

> [She still felt shell-shocked by all of it, numb. Beneath the numbness, though, was a raw and terrible anger that was unlike anything she'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/she-still-felt-shell-shocked-by-all-of-it-numb-beneath-the-numbness/)

[Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/)

> [“Genuine listening means suspending memory, desire, and judgment — and, for a moment at least, existing for the other person. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-p-nichols/genuine-listening-means-suspending-memory-desire-and-judgment-and-for/)

[Michael P Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-p-nichols/)

> [Every genuine expression of love grows out of a consistent and total surrender to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/every-genuine-expression-of-love-grows-out-of-a-consistent-and-total/)

[Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/)

> [I think when you look around this league, so much is scripted. And not scripted in a sense that the league is scripted, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/draymond-green/i-think-when-you-look-around-this-league-so-much-is-scripted-and-not/)

[Draymond Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/draymond-green/)

> [For me, it's very easy to write a horror movie that's just a succession of scary sequences, but it's hard to find horror movies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ehren-kruger/for-me-it-s-very-easy-to-write-a-horror-movie-that-s-just-a/)

[Ehren Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ehren-kruger/)

> [Communism... is the genuine resolution of the antagonism between man and nature and between man and man; it is the true resolution of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/communism-is-the-genuine-resolution-of-the-antagonism-between-man-and/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

> [I look upon all four Gospels as thoroughly genuine, for there shines forth from them the reflected splendor of a sublimity proceeding from Jesus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-look-upon-all-four-gospels-as-thoroughly-genuine-for-there-shines/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [Every philosophy is complete in itself and, like a genuine work of art, contains the totality. Just as the works of Apelles and Sophocles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/every-philosophy-is-complete-in-itself-and-like-a-genuine-work-of-art/)

[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/)

> [There is no one force, no group, and no class that is the preserver of liberty. Liberty is preserved by those who are against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-burnham/there-is-no-one-force-no-group-and-no-class-that-is-the-preserver-of/)

[James Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-burnham/)

> [“I once knew a man who was heir to the throne of a great kingdom, he lived as a ranger and fought his destiny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/i-once-knew-a-man-who-was-heir-to-the-throne-of-a-great-kingdom-he/)

[C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/)

> [Curiosity is a raw and genuine sign from deep inside our tangled psyches, and we'd do well to follow the direction it points us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/po-bronson/curiosity-is-a-raw-and-genuine-sign-from-deep-inside-our-tangled/)

[Po Bronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/po-bronson/)

> [The difference between genuine poetry and the poetry of Dryden, Pope, and all their school, is briefly this: their poetry is conceived and composed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/the-difference-between-genuine-poetry-and-the-poetry-of-dryden-pope/)

[Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/)

> [It isn't until you begin to fight in your own cause that you become really committed to winning and become a genuine ally of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-morgan/it-isn-t-until-you-begin-to-fight-in-your-own-cause-that-you-become/)

[Robin Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-morgan/)

[Browse all 2,007 Genuine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genuine/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "What every genuine philosopher (every genuine man, in fact) craves most is praise although the philosophers generally call it recognition!",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "William James"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/what-every-genuine-philosopher-every-genuine-man-in-fact-craves-most/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Genuine"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/what-every-genuine-philosopher-every-genuine-man-in-fact-craves-most/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/070/william-james-228_genuine_what-every-genuine-philosopher-every-gen_2901705.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/070/william-james-228_genuine_what-every-genuine-philosopher-every-gen_2901705.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/070/william-james-228_genuine_what-every-genuine-philosopher-every-gen_2901705.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“What every genuine philosopher (every genuine man, in fact) craves most is praise although the philosophers…” — William James",
                "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": "William James",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "What every genuine philosopher (every genuine...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/what-every-genuine-philosopher-every-genuine-man-in-fact-craves-most/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/what-every-genuine-philosopher-every-genuine-man-in-fact-craves-most/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
