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There has been outward progress from the bullock cart to the jet plane but psychologically the individual has not changed at all, and the structure of society throughout the world has been created by individuals. The outward social structure is the result of the inward psychological structure of our human relationships, for the individual is the result of the total experience, knowledge and conduct of man. Each one of us is the storehouse of all the past. The individual is the human who is all mankind.

Jiddu Krishnamurti#23

SocietyHuman natureIndividualPsychologyProgress

About this quote

What does it mean?
External technology advances while human psychology and social structures remain rooted in individual past experiences.
In plain terms
We have new machines, but our minds and society still reflect our old ways of thinking.
What can you take from it?
Change starts within the individual, not just in external tools.

Where it applies

  • personal development
  • social critique
  • historical analysis

Putting it to work

  • self reflection
  • examining biases
  • understanding social roots

Questions to consider

  • How much of your behavior is shaped by past conditioning?
  • Does technological progress guarantee moral progress?

Another view

It overlooks how external systems can shape individual psychology over time.

More from Jiddu Krishnamurti

  1. We human beings are what we have been for millions of years-colossally greedy, envious, aggressive, jealous, anxious and despairing, with occasional flashes of…

    Permalink to quote #22
  2. We are afraid of the known and afraid of the unknown. That is our daily life and in that there is no hope, and therefore every form of philosophy, every form o…

    Permalink to quote #24
  3. I think there is a difference between the human being and the individual. The individual is a local entity, living in a particular country, belonging to a part…

    Permalink to quote #21

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