Man is the measure of all things

Cultural  

1. A statement by the ancient Greek philosopher Protagoras. It is usually interpreted to mean that the individual human being, rather than a god or an unchanging moral law, is the ultimate source of value.

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Example Sentences

A nonsentimental environmentalism is one founded on Protagoras' maxim that "Man is the measure of all things."

From Time Magazine Archive

"Man is the measure of all things"; certainly, but man as a rational being, not man as a bundle of particular sensations, subjective impressions, impulses, irrational prejudices, self-will, mere eccentricities, oddities, foibles, and fancies.

From A Critical History of Greek Philosophy by Stace, W. T. (Walter Terence)

Man is the measure of all things, as an ancient Greek philosopher asserted; and man has inferred, discovered, and named matter.

From The Silesian Horseherd - Questions of the Hour by Müller, F. Max (Friedrich Max)

"Man is the measure of all things," declared an ancient philosopher.

From The Enjoyment of Art by Noyes, Carleton Eldredge

He makes the discovery that Protagoras made two thousand years ago: "Man is the measure of all things"; standards of good and evil depend on the accidents of time, space, and circumstance.

From Human Traits and their Social Significance by Edman, Irwin