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To become respectable, the exercise of their understanding is necessary; there is no other foundation for independence of character.
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“To become respectable, the exercise of their understanding is necessary; there is no other foundation for independence of character.”

Mary Wollstonecraft

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Source
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
Date
1792
Meaning

Meaning of “To become respectable, the exercise of their understanding…”

Independent character is presented as something built through trained understanding, not granted by status, appearance or approval.

Source context

Where does it come from?

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman; the statement immediately precedes Wollstonecraft’s insistence on reason rather than opinion as authority.

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Be YourselfConfidence Quotes About Ability & Self-TrustCuriosityEducation Quotes About Teaching & Intellectual FormationIdentityIndependenceLearning Quotes About Curiosity, Study & ExperienceMindSelf RelianceSelf TrustSelf-Respect Quotes About Dignity & BoundariesThinking Quotes About Reasoning, Reflection & JudgmentUnderstandingCharacter
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They must only bow to the authority of reason, instead of being the modest slaves of opinion.
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“They must only bow to the authority of reason, instead of being the modest slaves of opinion.”

Mary Wollstonecraft · A Vindication of the Rights of Woman · 1792
Meaning & context

Respectability is grounded in independent reasoning rather than deference to social opinion, making judgment more important than approval.

Source details

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman; Wollstonecraft explicitly connects independence of character with the exercise of understanding.

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a man may have a great mass of knowledge, but if he has not worked it up by thinking it over for himself, it has much less value than a far smaller amount which he has thoroughly pondered.
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“a man may have a great mass of knowledge, but if he has not worked it up by thinking it over for himself, it has much less value than a far smaller amount which he has thoroughly pondered.”

Arthur Schopenhauer · The Art of Literature · 1851
Meaning & context

Accumulated information is distinguished from understanding: Schopenhauer values knowledge that has been actively compared, connected and reconsidered over a larger but unprocessed store.

Source details

The Art of Literature, section “On Thinking for Oneself,” T. Bailey Saunders translation; Project Gutenberg #10714. The library analogy immediately precedes the sentence.

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It is not selfish to think for oneself.
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“It is not selfish to think for oneself.”

Oscar Wilde · The Soul of Man under Socialism · 1891
Meaning & context

Independent thought is distinguished from selfishness: forming one’s own judgment can protect individuality without requiring indifference to other people.

Source details

The Soul of Man under Socialism; Wilde defends individual thought while criticizing social pressure that mistakes conformity for moral virtue.

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You shall listen to all sides and filter them from yourself.
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“You shall listen to all sides and filter them from yourself.”

Walt Whitman · Song of Myself · 1855
Meaning & context

Whitman urges the reader not to borrow even his own viewpoint wholesale: other voices can be heard, but judgment still has to be worked through personally rather than accepted second-hand.

Source details

Leaves of Grass (1855), untitled first-edition poem later known as “Song of Myself,” printed page 14 (Wikisource scan page 20). The sentence follows Whitman’s warning against taking things at second or third hand and against looking only through another person’s eyes; the reviewed locator is edition-specific.

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But why, my dear Crito, should we care about the opinion of the many?
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“But why, my dear Crito, should we care about the opinion of the many?”

Plato · Crito · c. 399 BCE
Voice: Dialogue speaker · Socrates
Meaning & context

Socrates challenges the idea that widespread approval should decide a moral question, directing attention toward informed judgment rather than numerical popularity.

Source details

Crito, Benjamin Jowett translation; Socrates responds to Crito’s concern about public opinion while awaiting execution.

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He who lets the world, or his own portion of it, choose his plan of life for him, has no need of any other faculty than the ape-like one of imitation.
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“He who lets the world, or his own portion of it, choose his plan of life for him, has no need of any other faculty than the ape-like one of imitation.”

John Stuart Mill · On Liberty · 1859
Meaning & context

A life copied from convention leaves important human faculties unused; choosing deliberately requires observation, judgment and firmness.

Source details

On Liberty, Chapter III; Mill contrasts imitation with actively choosing one’s own plan of life.

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