Everything is dangerous, my dear fellow. If it wasn't so, life wouldn't be worth living.
Oscar WildeRead
Man is many things, but he is not rational.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that humans are complex and often act irrationally despite their capacity for reason.
Oscar Wilde's quote delves into the nature of humanity, emphasizing that while people possess the ability to think rationally, their actions and emotions are frequently driven by instincts, desires, and irrational impulses. It highlights the complexity of human behavior, suggesting that understanding a person requires more than just a logical analysis of their decisions and choices, as emotions and deeper motivations often play a more significant role.
Themes
Human NatureIrrationalityComplexityBehaviorPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about human behavior, one might quote Wilde to illustrate that people often act against their own logical interests.
More from Oscar Wilde
All quotes →London is too full of fogs and serious people. Whether the fogs produce the serious people, or whether the serious people produce the fogs, I don't know.
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When one has never heard a man's name in the course of one's life, it speaks volumes for him; he must be quite respectable.
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Men always want to be a woman's first love - women like to be a man's last romance.
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A truth ceases to be true when more than one person believes in it.
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His morality is all sympathy, just what morality should be
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