"If we were not all so interested in ourselves, life would be so uninteresting that none of us would be able to endure it"
- Arthur Schopenhauer
About this Quote
In this quote, thinker Arthur Schopenhauer suggests that our self-interest is what makes life fascinating and manageable. He argues that if we were not taken in by our own desires, ideas, and requires, life would become dull and uneventful. Our private interests and ambitions drive us to seek out brand-new experiences and difficulties, making life more exciting and fulfilling. Without this self-interest, Schopenhauer believes that life would become so boring that we would not have the ability to endure it. This quote highlights the importance of self-awareness and the role it plays in forming our experiences and understandings of the world around us.
"Life is life - whether in a cat, or dog or man. There is no difference there between a cat or a man. The idea of difference is a human conception for man's own advantage"