Life Quotes

The big one. What it means, how to live it, and why it's worth the effort.

22520 quotes

C
"Human behavior cannot be predicted from a set of rules."
Clifford Geertz
C
"The study of others makes visible what in ourselves goes unseen."
Clifford Geertz
G
"Life is a conversation between order and chaos"
Gregory Bateson
A
"The individual is shaped by the society in which he lives, yet also shapes that society through his actions."
A.R. Radcliffe-Brown
A
"An individual's place in society is determined by a complex web of relationships and obligations."
A.R. Radcliffe-Brown
A
"Every person plays a role in maintaining or transforming their society."
A.R. Radcliffe-Brown
A
"A person's identity is formed through their participation in social groups and institutions."
A.R. Radcliffe-Brown
A
"Every action a person takes affects their relationships and their standing in society."
A.R. Radcliffe-Brown
A
"The roles people play in society shape their sense of self and their possibilities."
A.R. Radcliffe-Brown
A
"Life is a continuous process of adaptation and learning."
Alfred Kroeber
A
"Death gives meaning to life."
Alfred Kroeber
C
"Meaning-making is the fundamental human activity; without it, life is merely a sequence of events."
Clifford Geertz
C
"To live in a culture is to participate in an ongoing conversation about what it means to be human."
Clifford Geertz
G
"Flexibility is the hallmark of life; rigidity is the hallmark of death."
Gregory Bateson
G
"The purpose of life is the perpetuation of life."
Gregory Bateson
G
"The individual is not an isolated fragment but an integral part of the whole."
Gregory Bateson
G
"The individual contains within itself a reflection of the whole."
Gregory Bateson
M
"We are living through a period of nervous crisis."
Margaret Mead
M
"It is better to be a living dog than a dead lion."
Margaret Mead
M
"Adolescence is not primarily a sexual phenomenon. It is a social phenomenon."
Margaret Mead
M
"Life is measured not by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away."
Margaret Mead
B
"To live is to participate in culture; to understand culture is to understand what it means to live."
Bronislaw Malinowski
V
"We are all pilgrims in the journey of becoming; the path is more important than the destination."
Victor Turner
V
"Pilgrimage is a language the body speaks when words fail; it is movement as meaning."
Victor Turner
O
"Life is the struggle for meaning."
Oswald Spengler
O
"Life demands commitment."
Oswald Spengler
G
"Mind is the integrative principle of life."
Gregory Bateson
G
"Identity is the echo of a person's actions."
Gregory Bateson
A
"In every life, there is a turning point."
Arnold Toynbee
A
"In the end, it is not the years in your life that count. It is the life in your years."
Arnold Toynbee