Q0179
“Human life is life with awareness and understanding — or with a…” — Feng Youlan (A New Treatise on the Nature…)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: A New Treatise on the Nature of Man. Theme: life.
English
Human life is life with awareness and understanding — or with a higher degree of such awareness. This is what distinguishes humans from beasts, and human life from the life of other animals.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to A New Treatise on the Nature of Man and files it under Modern New Confucianism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About Feng Youlan
Feng Youlan (1895–1990) was a leading twentieth-century historian and reconstructor of Chinese philosophy, trained partly at Columbia under pragmatist influence. His multi-volume History of Chinese Philosophy introduced generations to a systematic narrative of schools.
Interpretation
Feng Youlan is defining human life by the presence of awareness rather than by any specific faculty. His claim in the Xin Yuandao is that what distinguishes human beings is not that they act but that they understand what they are doing, and that the difference within human life is one of degree of that awareness. This lets him treat philosophy as the activity of raising it. The formulation is deliberately minimal so it can cover both moral and intellectual development.
Why it matters
It makes reflection the measure rather than achievement: the question is how much of what you do you are actually present to.
Concepts in this quote
- Life
- Philosophy quotes about life ask what makes a life good, meaningful, or worth examining—questions that drive ethics, religion, and everyday decision.
- Self
- Philosophy quotes about self explore identity, responsibility, and the examined life—from Socrates’ unexamined life to modern phenomenology and existential authenticity.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Feng Youlan. (n.d.). Human life is life with awareness and understanding — or with a higher degree of such awareness. This is what distinguishes humans from beasts, and human life from the life of other animals. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0179
MLA: Feng Youlan. “Human life is life with awareness and understanding….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0179.
Chicago: Feng Youlan. “Human life is life with awareness and understanding….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0179.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “Human life is life with awareness and understanding…”?
The passage is attributed to Feng Youlan, A New Treatise on the Nature of Man. The archive attributes this English wording to A New Treatise on the Nature of Man and files it under Modern New Confucianism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does Feng Youlan mean by life?
Life is both a biological fact and a practical project. Philosophers debate flourishing, suffering, mortality, and the standards by which a biography can be judged successful or wasted. This passage enters that discussion through life, self.