Without a global revolution in the sphere of human consciousness a more humane society will not emerge.
Vaclav HavelRead
Isn't it the moment of most profound doubt that gives birth to new certainties? Perhaps hopelessness is the very soil that nourishes human hope; perhaps one could never find sense in life without first experiencing its absurdity.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Profound doubt can lead to new understandings and hope arises from hopelessness.
This quote by Vaclav Havel suggests that moments of deep uncertainty and doubt are often the catalysts for discovering new truths and certainties in life. It highlights the paradoxical nature of human experience, where feelings of hopelessness can, ultimately, be the foundation for cultivating hope and finding meaning, indicating that understanding life's complexities may require grappling with its absurdities.
Themes
DoubtHopeMeaningAbsurdityLife
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about overcoming obstacles.
More from Vaclav Havel
All quotes →Ownership is not a vice, not something to be ashamed of, but rather a commitment, and an instrument by which the general good can be served.
Vaclav HavelRead
In my opinion, theater shouldn't give advice to citizens.
Vaclav HavelRead
Sometimes I wonder if suicides aren't in fact sad guardians of the meaning of life.
Vaclav HavelRead
The exercise of power is determined by thousands of interactions between the world of the powerful and that of the powerless, all the more so because these worlds are never divided by a sharp line: everyone has a small part of himself in both.
Vaclav HavelRead
Human rights, human freedoms... and human dignity have their deepest roots somewhere outside the perceptible world... while the state is a human creation, human beings are the creation of God.
Vaclav HavelRead
Similar quotes
Seeking out causes is a pastime of the mind. There is no duality of cause and effect. Everything is its own cause.
Sri Nisargadatta MaharajRead
After reading all that has been written, and after thinking all that can be thought, on the topics of God and the soul, the man who has a right to say that he thinks at all, will find himself face to face with the conclusion that, on these topics, the most profound thought is that which can be the least easily distinguished from the most superficial sentiment.
Edgar Allan PoeRead
The character of God is today, and always will be, exactly what it was in Bible times.
J. I. PackerRead
Every thought is an afterthought.
Hannah ArendtRead
Little fish risking everything for a piece of godhood...and not knowing heaven from hell, even when they find it.
Vernor VingeRead
All things are in a state of flux.
HeraclitusRead