“There is no meaning to life except the meaning man gives his life by the unfolding of his powers.”
Erich Fromm (1900–1980) German social psychologist and psychoanalyst
Source: Man for Himself: An Inquiry into the Psychology of Ethics
Source: Man for Himself (1947), Ch. 3
Context: The quest for certainty blocks the search for meaning. Uncertainty is the very condition to impel man to unfold his powers.
“There is no meaning to life except the meaning man gives his life by the unfolding of his powers.”
Erich Fromm (1900–1980) German social psychologist and psychoanalyst
Source: Man for Himself: An Inquiry into the Psychology of Ethics
Fryderyk Skarbek (1792–1866) Polish noble
Fryderyk Skarbek (1828), cited in: Karl Marx. Human Requirements and Division of Labour https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1844/manuscripts/needs.htm, Manuscript, 1844.
“There are no conventional games involving conditions of uncertainty without risk.”
Richard Arnold Epstein (1927) American physicist
Source: The Theory of Gambling and Statistical Logic (Revised Edition) 1977, Chapter Three, Fundamental Principles Of A Theory Of Gambling, p. 44
“The very essence of romance is uncertainty.”
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish writer and poet
Variant: The very essence of romance is uncertainty.
Source: The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays
“A man feels impelled to do something to keep awake.”
William Mulock (1843–1944) Canadian politician, judge, academic administrator
Toronto Star, 30 November 1928, reported in [Famous Lasting Words: Great Canadian Quotations, Douglas & McIntyre, 2000, Vancouver, Columbo, John Robert, 571]
“The common man is impelled and controlled by interests; the superior, by ideas.”
John Lancaster Spalding (1840–1916) Catholic bishop
Source: Aphorisms and Reflections (1901), p. 113