10 quotes
Man is the only animal for whom his own existence is a problem which he has to solve and from which he cannot escape.
Man for Himself (1947)
The quest for certainty blocks the search for meaning. Uncertainty is the very condition to impel man to unfold his powers.
Man for Himself (1947)
Only the person who has faith in himself is able to be faithful to others.
Man for Himself (1947)
Care and responsibility are constituent elements of love, but without respect for and knowledge of the beloved person, love deteriorates into domination and possessiveness.
Man for Himself (1947)
Selfishness and self-love, far from being identical, are actually opposites.
Man for Himself (1947)
To die is poignantly bitter, but the idea of having to die without having lived is unbearable.
Man for Himself (1947)
Man’s main task in life is to give birth to himself, to become what he potentially is. The most important product of his effort is his own personality.
Man for Himself (1947)
The confusion between temperament and character has had serious consequences for ethical theory. Preferences with regard to differences in temperament are mere matters of subjective taste. But differences in character are ethically of the most fundamental importance.
Man for Himself (1947)
Man's life cannot "be lived" by repeating the pattern of his species; he must live. Man is the only animal that can be bored, that can be discontented, that can feel evicted from paradise. Man is the only animal for whom his own existence is a problem which he has to solve and from which he cannot escape. He cannot go back to the prehuman state of harmony with nature; he must proceed to develop his reason until he becomes the master of nature, and of himself.
Man for Himself (1947)
Happiness is the indication that man has found the answer to the problem of human existence: the productive realization of his potentialities and thus, simultaneously, being one with the world and preserving the integrity of his self. In spending his energy productively he increases his powers, he "burns without being consumed.“
Man for Himself (1947)