Life Quotes

"Every moment is a choice between authenticity and conformity."

"I can only answer the question 'What am I to do?' if I can answer the prior question 'Of what story or stories do I find myself a part?'"

"The unity of human life is the unity of a narrative quest."

"The self is not something which is just given to us; we have to construct it."

"The narrative I live by does not emerge from my private choices alone."

"To understand my life I must understand it as part of a larger narrative."

"I do not choose the social context within which I must make my choices."

"We understand our lives as moving toward or away from a telos."

"A narrative is a form of understanding and interpretation, not mere chronicle."

"The narrative unity of a human life is only achieved through struggle and development."

"Life has no inherent meaning; we must create our own."

"All life is problem solving."

"The irony of life is that our greatest strengths are often our greatest weaknesses."

"To live well is to live according to our nature and reason."

"We construct our identity through our choices and actions."

"The meaning of life is what we make of it."

"I can only answer the question 'What am I to do?' if I can answer the prior question 'Of what story or stories do I find myself a part?'"

"The narrative unity of human life means that each episode of our lives has meaning within the whole."

"Human beings, as narrative creatures, construct their identities through the stories they tell about themselves."

"Modern individuals often lack the narratives necessary to understand their own lives as unified wholes."

"To be human is to be capable of being narrative beings shaped by the narratives in which we find ourselves."

"The unity of a human life is the unity of a narrative which moves toward some goal."

"To lack a narrative understanding of one's own life is to be deprived of a basic human capacity."

"We are narrative creatures whose identities are constructed through the stories we tell and live."

"All life is problem solving."

"Suffering is endemic to life; it is not a sign that something has gone wrong."

"Pleasure is not the purpose of life; growth is."

"We are the sum of our choices, not our circumstances."

"The meaning of life cannot be expressed; it can only be shown through living."

"Dwelling is the manner in which mortals are on the earth."