Parents are usually more careful to bestow knowledge on their children rather than virtue, the art of speaking well rather than doing well; but their manners should be of the greatest concern.
R. Buckminster FullerRead
I live on Earth at present, and I don’t know what I am. I know that I am not a category. I am not a thing — a noun. I seem to be a verb, an evolutionary process – an integral function of the universe.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the idea of being a dynamic process rather than a fixed entity, highlighting the interconnectedness of life and the universe.
R. Buckminster Fuller suggests that human existence transcends static definitions and categories. He proposes that rather than viewing ourselves as objects or nouns, we should understand our identity as a verb—an ongoing process of evolution and interaction, fully integrated within the cosmos. This perspective encourages us to embrace change and flow with life rather than confine ourselves to rigid identities.
Themes
ExistenceIdentityEvolutionProcessUniverse
In practice
Example use cases
During a philosophy discussion about the nature of existence.
More from R. Buckminster Fuller
All quotes →There is no such thing as genius, some children are just less damaged than others.
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Only the free-wheeling artist-explorer, non-academic, scientist-philosopher, mechanic, economist-poet who has never waited for patron-starting and accrediting of his co-ordinate capabilities holds the prime initiative today.
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The end move in politics is always to pick up a gun.
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I have spent most of my life unlearning things that were proved not to be true
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The earth is like a spaceship that didn't come with an operating manual.
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