“Knowledge is employed in the service of the necessity of life and primarily in the service of the instinct of personal preservation.”

—  Miguel de Unamuno

The Tragic Sense of Life (1913), II : The Starting-Point
Context: Knowledge is employed in the service of the necessity of life and primarily in the service of the instinct of personal preservation. The necessity and this instinct have created in man the organs of knowledge and given them such capacity as they possess. Man sees, hears, touches, tastes and smells that which it is necessary for him to see, hear, touch, taste and smell in order to preserve his life. The decay or loss of any of these senses increases the risks with which his life is environed, and if it increases them less in the state of society in which we are actually living, the reason is that some see, hear, touch, taste and smell for others. A blind man, by himself and without a guide, could not live long. Society is an additional sense; it is the true common sense.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Knowledge is employed in the service of the necessity of life and primarily in the service of the instinct of personal …" by Miguel de Unamuno?
Miguel de Unamuno photo
Miguel de Unamuno 199
19th-20th century Spanish writer and philosopher 1864–1936

Related quotes

James Anthony Froude photo

“He came, bringing with Him the knowledge that God is a Being of infinite goodness; that the service required of mankind is not a service of form or ceremony, but a service of obedience.”

James Anthony Froude (1818–1894) English historian, novelist, biographer, and editor of Fraser's Magazine

Reported in Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), p. 62.

Clay Aiken photo

“Service, and the learning that goes with it, fosters citizenship, knowledge, and personal development in everyone, young and old, with disabilities and without. Our partnership with Youth Service America will bring awareness to the fact that youth with disabilities are great assets and can serve as volunteers too.”

Clay Aiken (1978) singer-songwriter, actor, record producer

—U.S. Newswire
On Charity
Source: U.S. Newswire, Youth Service America press release, 3/24/2005 1:07:00 PM http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=44826 retrieved April 16, 2006

“[Knowledge assets are] stocks of knowledge through which different value added services flow.”

Max Boisot (1943–2011) British academic and educator

Source: Knowledge Assets, 1998, p. 3.; as cited in: Evans, M. M., and Natasha Ali. "Bridging knowledge management life cycle theory and practice." 2013.

Rabindranath Tagore photo

“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service is joy.”

Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) Bengali polymath

Quoted often without citation http://www.tagorefoundationinternational.com http://rupkatha.com/V2/n4/11Tagorephilosohy.pdf
Compare this verse verse written by Ellen Sturgis Hooper:
::"I slept, and dreamed that life was Beauty;
I woke, and found that life was Duty."
Disputed

Herbert Marcuse photo

“In conditions of private property … “life-activity” stands in the service of property instead of property standing the service of free life-activity.”

Herbert Marcuse (1898–1979) German philosopher, sociologist, and political theorist

"The Foundations of Historical Materialism," Studies in Critical Philosophy (1972), p. 32

Benjamin Franklin photo

“It would be thought a hard Government that should tax its People one-tenth Part of their Time, to be employed in its Service.”

Benjamin Franklin book Poor Richard's Almanack

Poor Richard's Almanack (1758), “The Way to Wealth”
Poor Richard's Almanack

Nikos Kazantzakis photo

“Life is a crusade in the service of God.”

Nikos Kazantzakis book The Saviors of God

The Saviors of God (1923)
Context: Life is a crusade in the service of God. Whether we wished to or not, we set out as crusaders to free — not the Holy Sepulchre — but that God buried in matter and in our souls.
Every body, every soul is a Holy Sepulcher. Every seed of grain is a Holy Sepulchre; let us free it! The brain is a Holy Sepulchre, God sprawls within it and battles with death; let us run to his assistance!

Mohan Bhagwat photo

“Mother Teresa’s service would have been good. But it used to have one objective, to convert the person, who was being served, into a Christian. The question is not about conversion but if this is done in the name of service, then that service gets devalued.”

Mohan Bhagwat (1950) Indian activist

On Mother Teresa, as quoted in " Mother Teresa’s aim was conversion, says Bhagwat http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/mother-teresas-aim-was-conversion-says-bhagwat/article6926462.ece", The Hindu (24 February 2015)
2015-present

Kailash Satyarthi photo

“Consumers can boycott goods and services that involve children in manufacturing products. Don't accept hospitality from eateries and from shops employing children. Have the courage to tell them that you refuse to take their services because they employ children, which is a crime. This will put psychological pressure on the industries too. Demand a guarantee from shops you visit that they don't employ children. Use social media to prevent exploitation.”

Kailash Satyarthi (1954) Indian children's rights activist

Times of India interview (2014)

Merrick Garland photo

“As my parents taught me by both words and deeds, a life of public service is as much a gift to the person who serves as it is to those he is serving. And for me, there could be no higher public service than serving as a member of the United States Supreme Court.”

Merrick Garland (1952) American judge

[Remarks by the President Announcing Judge Merrick Garland as his Nominee to the Supreme Court, Merrick, Garland, w:Merrick Garland, The White House, March 16, 2016, https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Remarks_by_the_President_Announcing_Judge_Merrick_Garland_as_his_Nominee_to_the_Supreme_Court#Remarks_by_Judge_Garland]; quote then excerpted in:
[March 18, 2016, http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2016/03/16/obama-taps-chicago-native-merrick-garland-supreme-court, Obama Taps Chicago Native Merrick Garland for Supreme Court, Paris Schutz, March 16, 2016, WTTW]; and also quote excerpted in:
[March 18, 2016, http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2016/03/16/President-Obama-to-reveal-Supreme-Court-nominee/7221458128542/, United Press International, Merrick Garland: Supreme Court nomination 'greatest honor of my life', March 16, 2016, Andrew V. Pestano]; and quote again also excerpted in:
[March 18, 2016, http://www.npr.org/2016/03/16/470684460/will-garlands-nomination-prompt-senate-to-act, Morning Edition, National Public Radio, March 16, 2016, Renee Montagne, Judge Garland Has Ability To 'Assemble Unlikely Coalitions,' Obama Says]
Remarks by Judge Garland upon nomination to Supreme Court of the United States (2016)

Related topics