--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Those who realize their folly are not…" description: "\"Those who realize their folly are not true fools.\" — Zhuangzi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/589/zhuangzi-1341_fools_those-who-realize-their-folly-are-not-tr_1511938.jpg" --- # Those who realize their folly are not true fools. ![“Those who realize their folly are not true fools.” quote by Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/589/zhuangzi-1341_fools_those-who-realize-their-folly-are-not-tr_1511938.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/589/zhuangzi-1341_fools_those-who-realize-their-folly-are-not-tr_1511938.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/589/zhuangzi-1341_fools_those-who-realize-their-folly-are-not-tr_1511938.jpg) > “Those who realize their folly are not true fools.” [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Recognizing one’s own mistakes prevents true foolishness; true fools ignore self‑awareness. **In simple terms:** Knowing your folly avoids being a real fool. Key Takeaway Cultivate self‑awareness. Themes wisdom self‑knowledge humility philosophy Mood thoughtful calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career - personal growth - leadership - conflict resolution Key Concepts self‑reflection critical thinking ego awareness Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate folly from healthy doubt? - What practices sharpen self‑awareness? A Different Perspective May be misinterpreted as self‑criticism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Folly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folly/) [Fools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fools/) ## Related quotes > [Those who realise their folly are not true fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/those-who-realise-their-folly-are-not-true-fools/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [“I had decided against religion a couple of years back. 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The fool are fools only because they think they can understand love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-wise-are-wise-only-because-they-love-the-fool-are-fools-only/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Fools learn from experience. I prefer to learn from the experience of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/fools-learn-from-experience-i-prefer-to-learn-from-the-experience-of/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [“stultorum infnitus est numerus (the number of fools is infinite)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ecclesiastes/stultorum-infnitus-est-numerus-the-number-of-fools-is-infinite/) [Ecclesiastes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ecclesiastes/) > [“What would have been the fate of sages if there were no fools?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogwo-david-emenike/what-would-have-been-the-fate-of-sages-if-there-were-no-fools/) [Ogwo David Emenike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogwo-david-emenike/) > [The majority is never right. Never, I tell you! That's one of these lies in society that no free and intelligent man can help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/the-majority-is-never-right-never-i-tell-you-that-s-one-of-these-lies/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [Prefer to be defeated in the presence of the wise than to excel among fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prefer-to-be-defeated-in-the-presence-of-the-wise-than-to-excel-among/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every man must wear out at least one pair of fools shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-derr-biggers/every-man-must-wear-out-at-least-one-pair-of-fools-shoes/) [Earl Derr Biggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-derr-biggers/) > [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/) ## More by Zhuangzi > [Sorrow and happiness are the heresies of virtue; joy and anger lead astray from TAO; love and hate cause loss of virtue. The heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/sorrow-and-happiness-are-the-heresies-of-virtue-joy-and-anger-lead/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [The enlightened attention rejects nothing nor welcomes anything-like a mirror it responds equally to all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/the-enlightened-attention-rejects-nothing-nor-welcomes-anything-like/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [If a man is crossing the river and an empty boat collides with his skiff, even though he is a bad tempered man he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/if-a-man-is-crossing-the-river-and-an-empty-boat-collides-with-his/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [Calculate what man knows and it cannot compare to what he doesn't know. Calculate the time he is alive and it cannot compare to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/calculate-what-man-knows-and-it-cannot-compare-to-what-he-doesn-t/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [Heaven cannot but be high. Earth cannot but be broad. The sun and moon cannot but revolve. All creation cannot but flourish. To do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/heaven-cannot-but-be-high-earth-cannot-but-be-broad-the-sun-and-moon/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [If you wish to care for your body, first of all take care of material things, though even when you have all the things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/if-you-wish-to-care-for-your-body-first-of-all-take-care-of-material/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [As regards the quietude of the sage, he is not quiet because quietness is said to be good. He is quiet because the multitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/as-regards-the-quietude-of-the-sage-he-is-not-quiet-because-quietness/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [All existing things are really one. We regard those that are beautiful and rare as valuable, and those that are ugly as foul and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/all-existing-things-are-really-one-we-regard-those-that-are-beautiful/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [Now, when ordinary people attempt to find happiness, I am not sure whether the happiness is really happiness or not. I study what ordinary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/now-when-ordinary-people-attempt-to-find-happiness-i-am-not-sure/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [Words exist because of meaning; once you’ve gotten the meaning, you can forget the words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/words-exist-because-of-meaning-once-you-ve-gotten-the-meaning-you-can/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [Easy is right. Begin right and you are easy. Continue easy and you are right. The right way to go easy is to forget…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/easy-is-right-begin-right-and-you-are-easy-continue-easy-and-you-are/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [Hence it demands the emptiness of all the faculties. And when the faculties are empty, then the whole being listens. There is then a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/hence-it-demands-the-emptiness-of-all-the-faculties-and-when-the/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [Everything has what is innate,everything has what is necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/everything-has-what-is-innate-everything-has-what-is-necessary/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [Where can I find a man who has forgotten words, so I can have a few words with him?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/where-can-i-find-a-man-who-has-forgotten-words-so-i-can-have-a-few/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [Standards are different for all things, so the standard set by man is by no means the only 'certain' standard. If you mistake what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/standards-are-different-for-all-things-so-the-standard-set-by-man-is/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) [Explore all 243 Zhuangzi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) ## More Folly quotes > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [While the people retain their virtue and vigilance, no administration, by any extreme of wickedness or folly, can very seriously injure the government in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/while-the-people-retain-their-virtue-and-vigilance-no-administration/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [How arrogant - how very far from humility - would be the self-satisfied, smug assurance that God, a tidy-up-after-us God will come and clean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/how-arrogant-how-very-far-from-humility-would-be-the-self-satisfied/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [“Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proverbs-16-22-bible-kjv/understanding-is-a-wellspring-of-life-unto-him-that-hath-it-but-the/) Proverbs 16:22 Bible KJV > [Alcohol doesn't console, it doesn't fill up anyone's psychological gaps, all it replaces is the lack of God. It doesn't comfort man. On the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/alcohol-doesn-t-console-it-doesn-t-fill-up-anyone-s-psychological/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) > [Tis easy to break an idol, very easy: to regard the self as easy to subdue is folly, folly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/tis-easy-to-break-an-idol-very-easy-to-regard-the-self-as-easy-to/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [What curious little corners of folly are to be found in even the sanest brain!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-of-romania/what-curious-little-corners-of-folly-are-to-be-found-in-even-the/) [Marie of Romania](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-of-romania/) > [Unnecessary hustle is one of the American follies. We hustle at both work and play, and consequently enjoy neither to the utmost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-feather/unnecessary-hustle-is-one-of-the-american-follies-we-hustle-at-both/) [William Feather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-feather/) > [HERMIT, n. A person whose vices and follies are not sociable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/hermit-n-a-person-whose-vices-and-follies-are-not-sociable/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Democracy is the worst form of government. It is the most inefficient, the most clumsy, the most unpractical… It reduces wisdom to impotence and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-briffault/democracy-is-the-worst-form-of-government-it-is-the-most-inefficient/) [Robert Briffault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-briffault/) > [It is such a supreme folly to believe that nuclear weapons are deadly only if they're used.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/it-is-such-a-supreme-folly-to-believe-that-nuclear-weapons-are-deadly/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [One's conscience reproaches one much more stingingly for one's follies than one's crimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-jewsbury/one-s-conscience-reproaches-one-much-more-stingingly-for-one-s/) [Geraldine Jewsbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-jewsbury/) > [What folly made young people, even those in middle age, think they were immortal? How much better, their lives, if they could remember the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/what-folly-made-young-people-even-those-in-middle-age-think-they-were/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [We are more heavily taxed by our idleness, pride and folly than we are taxed by government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/we-are-more-heavily-taxed-by-our-idleness-pride-and-folly-than-we-are/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) [Browse all 1,246 Folly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folly/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Those who realize their folly are not true fools.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Zhuangzi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/those-who-realize-their-folly-are-not-true-fools/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Folly" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/those-who-realize-their-folly-are-not-true-fools/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/589/zhuangzi-1341_fools_those-who-realize-their-folly-are-not-tr_1511938.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/589/zhuangzi-1341_fools_those-who-realize-their-folly-are-not-tr_1511938.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/589/zhuangzi-1341_fools_those-who-realize-their-folly-are-not-tr_1511938.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Those who realize their folly are not true fools.” — Zhuangzi", "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": "Zhuangzi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Those who realize their folly are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/those-who-realize-their-folly-are-not-true-fools/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/those-who-realize-their-folly-are-not-true-fools/#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 } } ] } ```