I am truly free only when all human beings, men and women, are equally free. The freedom of other men, far from negating or limiting my freedom, is, on the contrary, its necessary premise and confirmation.
Mikhail BakuninRead
No theory, no ready-made system, no book that has ever been written will save the world. I cleave to no system. I am a true seeker.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of personal exploration and experience over reliance on established theories or systems.
Mikhail Bakunin's quote reflects a deep philosophical stance on the pursuit of truth and knowledge. He suggests that mere adherence to existing systems, theories, or texts is insufficient for genuine understanding or for making a significant impact in the world. Instead, he identifies himself as a 'true seeker,' indicating that personal inquiry and critical examination of established beliefs are paramount for true enlightenment and change.
Themes
TruthSeekingKnowledgePhilosophyInquiry
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on the importance of self-discovery in personal growth.
More from Mikhail Bakunin
All quotes βWe must overthrow the material and moral conditions of our present-day life. . . . We must first purify our atmosphere and completely transform the milieu in which we live; for it corrupts our instinct and our will, and constricts our heart and our intelligence
Mikhail BakuninRead
The liberty of man consists solely in this, that he obeys the laws of nature because he has himself recognized them as such, and not because they have been imposed upon him externally by any foreign will whatsoever, human or divine, collective or individual.
Mikhail BakuninRead
By striving to do the impossible, man has always achieved what is possible. Those who have cautiously done no more than they believed possible have never taken a single step forward.
Mikhail BakuninRead
By striving to do the impossible, man has always achieved what is possible.
Mikhail BakuninRead
This contradiction lies here: they wish God, and they wish humanity. They persist in connecting two terms which, once separated, can come together again only to destroy each other.
Mikhail BakuninRead
Similar quotes
There is no opinion, however absurd, which men will not readily embrace as soon as they can be brought to the conviction that it is generally adopted.
Arthur SchopenhauerRead
Today the predatory state, or the predatory group of states, with power of total destruction, is no more to be tolerated than the predatory individual.
Lester B. PearsonRead
Early on I decided that fishing would be my way of looking at the world. First it taught me to look at rivers. Lately it has been teaching me how to look at people, myself included.
Thomas McguaneRead
Western liberal humanism is not something that comes naturally to us: like an appreciation of art or poetry, it has to be cultivated. Humanism is itself a religion without God-not all religions, of course, are theistic. Our ethical secular ideal has it's own disciplines of mind and heart and gives people the means of finding faith in the ultimate meaning of human life that were once provided by the more conventional religions.
Karen ArmstrongRead
Mystical references to society and its programs to help may warm the hearts of the gullible but what it really means is putting more power in the hands of bureaucrats.
Thomas SowellRead
I am speaking of the life of a man who knows that the world is not given by his fathers, but borrowed from his children; who has undertaken to cherish it and do it no damage, not because he is duty-bound, but because he loves the world and loves his children...
Wendell BerryRead