"Man can do what he wills but he cannot will what he wills"--Arthur Schopenhauer. Einstein wrote: "Schopenhauer's words, 'Man can indeed do what he wants, but he cannot want what he wants', accompany me in all life situations and console me in my dealings with people, even those that are really painful to me." (In German: »Der Mensch kann wohl tun was er will, aber er kann nicht wollen, was er will.«). Variant translations: Man can control what he wills, but not how he wills. Man can indeed do what he wants, but he cannot want what he wants. --Taken from Wikipedia. Examples would be very helpful. All contributions are greatly appreciated.
2007-01-08 13:51:09 · 2 answers · asked by M&Math 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Quotations
Hmm... I hate to say this but I disagree with the interpretations above. I think it means instead that man can put something into place that he wants to have happen, but he cannot make it happen just because he wants (wills) it to. In other words, willpower alone will not make something happen, it requires action.
2007-01-08 14:02:48 · answer #1 · answered by Deborah C 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It means you can do what you want, but you can't choose what you want to do.
2007-01-08 14:03:06 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋