Quotes About Meaning

Literature took the place in my life that had once been occupied by religion: it absorbed me entirely, and transfigured my life.

A woman's situation, i.e those meanings derived from the total context in which she comes to maturity, disposes her to apprehend her body not as instrument of her transcendence, but an object destined for another.

Every individual concerned to justify his existence feels that his existence involves an undefined need to transcend himself, to engage in freely chosen projects. pg. xxxiii

symbolism did not fall out of heaven or rise out of subterranean depths: it was elaborated like language, by the human reality…

Aujourd'hui, je n'ai pas vécu

Only man can be an enemy for man; only he can rob him of the meaning of his acts and his life because it also belongs only to him alone to confirm it in its existence, to recognize it in actual fact as a freedom

I could easily understand why Lambert was bored with this peace which gave us back our lives without giving us back our reasons for living.

le parole fissano la verità solo dopo averla assassinata; lasciano sfuggire ciò che v'è in essa di più importante: la sua presenza.

One night I summoned God, if He really existed, to show Himself to me. He didn't, and I never addressed another word to Him. In my heart of hearts I was very glad He didn't exist. I should have hated it if what was going on here below had had to end up in eternity.

The nihilist is right in thinking that the world _possesses_ no justification and that he himself _is_ nothing. But he forgets that it is up to him to justify the world and to make himself exist validly.

Humans are the beings whose essence is in not having an essence

But an action which wants to serve man ought to be careful not to forget him on the way, if it chooses to fulfill itself blindly, it will lose its meaning or will take on an unforeseen meaning; for the goal is not fixed once & for all; it is defined all along the road which leads up to it.

Me preguntaba como se logra vivir todavia cuando no se espera nada más de sí

One's life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship, indignation and compassion

Le nom, c'est ma présence totale rassemblée magiquement dans l'objet.

Male beauty is a sign of transcendence, that of woman has the passivity of immanence

Man exists .For him it is not a question of wondering whether his presence in the world is useful, wheter life is worth the trouble of being lived. These questions make no sense. It is a matter of knowing whether he wants to live and under what conditions.

If we do not love life on our own account and through others, it is futile to seek to justify it in any way.

It is because there are real dangers, real failures and real earthly damnation that words like victory, wisdom, or joy have meaning. Nothing is decided in advance, and it is because man has something to lose and because he can lose that he can also win.

I wondered how many people managed to go on living when there was nothing to be hoped from within.

Sí yo mismo no fuera sino una cosa, nada en efecto me concerniría; si me encierro en mí mismo, el otro está también cerrado para mí; la existencia inerte de las cosas es separación y soledad.

Não há salvação. Nem mesmo a embriagez do desespero e a resolução cega, porque tu estás aí, nessa cama, na luz selvagem da tua morte.

Exister authentiquement ce n'est pas nier le mouvement spontané de ma transcendance, mais seulement refuser de me perdre en lui

We can hope to grasp the significance of sexuality only by studying it in its concrete manifestations; and then perhaps the meaning of the word female will stand revealed.