The real problems of our planet are not economic or technical, they are philosophical. The philosophy of unbridled materialism is being challenged by events.
E. F. SchumacherRead
Man's needs are infinite, and infinitude can be achieved only in the spiritual realm, never in the material.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True fulfillment comes from spiritual wealth rather than material possessions.
E. F. Schumacher emphasizes that while human desires may seem endless, genuine satisfaction and completeness can only be found in spiritual pursuits, highlighting the limitations of material wealth in addressing the deeper needs of the human soul.
Themes
SpiritualityMaterialismFulfillmentNeedsPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
During a seminar on personal development, this quote could be used to underline the importance of inner growth.
More from E. F. Schumacher
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The printing press is either the greatest blessing or the greatest curse of modern times, sometimes one forgets which it is.
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By means of trees, wildlife could be conserved, pollution decreased, and the beauty of our landscapes enhanced. This is the way, or at least one of the ways, to spiritual, moral, and cultural regeneration.
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We still have to learn how to live peacefully, not only with our fellow men but also with nature and, above all, with those Higher Powers which have made nature and have made us; for, assuredly, we have not come about by accident and certainly have not made ourselves
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The heart of the matter, as I see it, is the stark fact that world poverty is primarily a problem of two million villages, and thus a problem of two thousand million villagers.
E. F. SchumacherRead
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The ultimate purpose of religious life is to make this evolution move in a direction far more important to the destiny of the ego than the moral health of the social fabric which forms his present environment.
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The break from the supposedly culturally-narrow religious bases of knowledge in favor of supposedly trans-cultural scientific bases of knowledge served as the self-justification of a particularly pernicious form of cultural imperialism.
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