Man is the measure of all things

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.

Example Sentences

Humanity has evolved in many ways, but modernity has fostered an illusion that the Greek tragedians were routinely dismantling — the idea that man is the measure of all things.

From Los Angeles Times

Indeed, I firmly believe that man is the measure of all things.

From Washington Post

“Man is the measure of all things,” said Protagoras.

From The Guardian

The normal adjustment of the horizontal space between the oarsmen was then, as it is now, regulated by that canon of the ancient philosopher, ‘Man is the measure of all things.’

From Project Gutenberg

The concept that "man is the measure of all things," as Protagoras put it, confronted the church's theocentric portrait of the universe.

From Time Magazine Archive