QuoteProject
We have so exalted a notion of the human soul that we cannot bear to be despised, or even not to be esteemed by it. Man, in fact, places all his happiness in this esteem.
Blaise Pascal
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote reflects on the importance of self-esteem and how our happiness is tied to the esteem we receive from others.

Blaise Pascal emphasizes the profound impact of human perception and esteem on our sense of self-worth and happiness. He suggests that society has created such a high regard for the human soul that individuals become deeply affected by how they are perceived by others, often placing their happiness in external validation. This highlights the intricate relationship between self-esteem and social acceptance in the human experience.

Themes

EsteemHappinessSelf-WorthValidationSociety

In practice

Example use cases

During a motivational speech about self-worth, one might use this quote to illustrate the importance of how we value ourselves based on others' perceptions.

More from Blaise Pascal

Justice and power must be brought together, so that whatever is just may be powerful, and whatever is powerful may be just.
Blaise PascalRead
If we submit everything to reason our religion will be left with nothing mysterious or supernatural. If we offend the principles of reason our religion will be absurd and ridiculous . . . There are two equally dangerous extremes: to exclude reason, to admit nothing but reason.
Blaise PascalRead
Those are weaklings who know the truth and uphold it as long as it suits their purpose, and then abandon it.
Blaise PascalRead
Jesus is the God whom we can approach without pride and before whom we can humble ourselves without despair.
Blaise PascalRead
If he exalts himself, I humble him. If he humbles himself, I exalt him. And I go on contradicting him Until he understands That he is a monster that passes all understanding.
Blaise PascalRead
What use is it to us to hear it said of a man that he has thrown off the yoke that he does not believe there is a God to watch over his actions, that he reckons himself the sole master of his behavior, and that he does not intend to give an account of it to anyone but himself?
Blaise PascalRead

Similar quotes

The Iraq war was fought by one-half of one percent of us. And unless we were part of that small group or had a relative who was, we went about our lives as usual most of the time: no draft, no new taxes, no changes. Not so for the small group who fought the war and their families.
Bob SchiefferRead
If you read the 13th Amendment, it doesn't talk about narratives of racial difference. It doesn't talk about ideologies of white supremacy. It only talks about involuntary servitude and forced labor.
Bryan StevensonRead
If anything is certain, it is that I myself am not a Marxist.
Karl MarxRead
But myth is something else than an explanation of the world, of history, and of destiny. Myth expresses in terms of the world - that is, of the other world or the second world - the understanding that man has of himself in relation to the foundation and the limit of his existence. Hence to demythologize is to interpret myth, that is, to relate the objective representations of the myth to the self-understanding which is both shown and concealed in it.
Paul RicoeurRead
Money must serve, not rule! The Pope loves everyone, rich and poor alike, but he is obliged in the name of Christ to remind all that the rich must help, respect and promote the poor. I exhort you to generous solidarity and a return of economics and finance to an ethical approach which favours human beings.
Pope FrancisRead
No man should be alone when he opposes Satan. The Church and the ministry of the Word were instituted for this purpose, that hands may be joined together and one may help another.
Martin LutherRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.