Who said “We cling to our own point of view, as though everything depended on it. Yet our opinions…”?

Verified

Chuang Tzu. A published source records them saying or writing it.

SourceZhuangzi, Ch. 2 (tr. Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English, 1974)

Evidence: Wikiquote · How we check

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Authors A–Z
“We cling to our own point of view, as though everything depended on it. Yet our opinions have no permanence; like autumn and winter, they gradually pass away.”
— Chuang Tzu
VerifiedZhuangzi, Ch. 2 (tr. Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English, 1974) · evidenceOpinions

Cite this quote

For academic work, cite the original where you can: Zhuangzi, Ch. 2 (tr. Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English, 1974).

APA

Tzu, C. (n.d.). We cling to our own point of view, as though everything depended on it. Yet our opinions have no permanence; like autumn and winter, they gradually pass away. [Quotation]. Famous Quotations Network. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/31439-we-cling-to-our-own-point-of-view/

MLA

Tzu, Chuang. “We cling to our own point of view, as though everything depended on it. Yet our opinions have no permanence; like autumn and winter, they gradually pass away.” Famous Quotations Network, https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/31439-we-cling-to-our-own-point-of-view/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Tzu, Chuang. “We cling to our own point of view, as though everything depended on it. Yet our opinions have no permanence; like autumn and winter, they gradually pass away.” Famous Quotations Network. Accessed October 24, 2026. https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/31439-we-cling-to-our-own-point-of-view/.

Related quotes

“Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.”
— Bertrand Russell
Verified"A Liberal Decalogue", from "The Best Answer to Fanaticism: Liberalism", New York Times Magazine (16/December/1951); later printed in The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell (1969), vol. 3: 1944-1967, pp. 71-2 · evidenceDetails & citeOpinions

More quotes by Chuang Tzu

“Happiness is the absence of the striving for happiness.”
Happiness
“I know the joy of fishes in the river through my own joy, as I go walking along the same river.”
Joy
“Flow with whatever is happening and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.”
Control
“If water derives lucidity from stillness, how much more the faculties of the mind! The mind of the sage, being in repose, becomes the mirror of the universe, the speculum of all creation.”
Mind
All 6 Chuang Tzu quotes →