You ask: what is the meaning or purpose of life? I can only answer with another question: do you think we are wise enough to read God's mind?
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The author avoids defining life's purpose directly, instead questioning whether humans are wise enough to know divine intent. This implies a humble perspective on existence.
- In plain terms
- We might not be wise enough to know why we are here or what God thinks.
- What can you take from it?
- Human wisdom may be limited when seeking the purpose of life.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Are we wise enough to know purpose?
- Does life have a knowable meaning?
Another view
The answer deflects the question rather than providing insight.
More from Freeman Dyson
The question that will decide our destiny is not whether we shall expand into space. It is: shall we be one species or a million? A million species will not ex…
Permalink to quote #46 It's better to get mugged than to live a life of fear.
Permalink to quote #48 The AEC of course has a logical explanation for this absurd situtation...Their regulations say that secret information may be given to a foreigner only when th…
Permalink to quote #45
Related quotes
I cannot think we are useless or Usen would not have created us. He created all tribes of men and certainly had a righteous purpose in creating each.
GeronimoGeronimo quote #2 It is only when we realize that life is taking us nowhere that it begins to have meaning.
P. D. OuspenskyP. D. Ouspensky quote #3 Life is Nothingness's search for Something.
Christian MorgensternChristian Morgenstern quote #3