Thinker × theme

The Great Learning quotes on self

2 verified English passages where The Great Learning’ s thought meets questions of self.

The Great Learning on self

The Great Learning appears in this archive through verified English quotations that touch self. To ask about the self is to ask what persists through experience, what can be known from the first-person point of view, and how character is formed. Some traditions treat the self as a substantial soul; others as a stream of experience, a social role, or a practical center of agency. Read the passages as entry points, then return to the full thinker and theme pages for wider context.

How to use this page

Start with the shortest passage, then compare tone across sources. Return to the The Great Learning thinker page for biography and to the self theme for other voices on the same question.

Frequently asked

What did The Great Learning say about self?

The quotations below are the archive’s curated answer: English renderings selected for clarity and attribution, not a complete corpus.

Where else should I read after the great learning on self?

Related themes: Philosophy , Knowledge , Freedom , Life , Wisdom , Nature .

  1. From the Son of Heaven down to the common people, all alike take the cultivation of the person as the root.
    Q0153
    Liji, The Great Learning
  2. Those who wish to cultivate themselves first rectify the mind; those who wish to rectify the mind first make the intention sincere.