'Mind arose out of existence, as an organ for keeping alive. In reflecting existence, however, it becomes at the same time something else. The existent negates itself as thought upon itself. Such negation is mind's element.'
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Mind developed to preserve life, but by reflecting existence it transforms into something that negates itself.
- In plain terms
- Mind arose to survive, yet it also negates itself through thought.
- What can you take from it?
- Recognize thought’s self‑critical nature.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What does self‑negation mean for consciousness?
- Can mind escape its own contradictions?
Another view
The concept can be overly abstract for practical use.
More from Theodor Adorno
'Metaphysical categories are not merely an ideology concealing the social system; at the same time they express its nature, the truth about, and in their chang…
Permalink to quote #59 'Modernity is a qualitative, not a chronological, category.'
Permalink to quote #61 'Love you will find only where you may show yourself weak without provoking strength.'
Permalink to quote #58
Related quotes
My temptation is quiet. Here at life's end Neither loose imagination, Nor the mill of the mind Consuming its rag and bone, Can make the truth known.
William Butler YeatsWilliam Butler Yeats quote #156 Do you know how cruel your God can be, David. How fantastically cruel? ...Sometimes he makes us live.
Stephen KingStephen King quote #4 By speaking of space as an Idea, I intend to imply...that the apprehension of objects as existing in space, and of the relations of position, &c., prevailing a…
William WhewellWilliam Whewell quote #5