The indifference that a person experiences in relation to some events surrounding people, his own life is not just a fact of lack of interest. Often apathy can be a reaction to certain external events, a desire to protect oneself from their destructive influence. On the other hand, indifference is often a sign of inner callousness.
Saadi words
For example, the following quote about indifference suggests that a person who does not empathize with others, in principle, does not deserve the title of a person:
If you are indifferent to the suffering of others, you do not deserve the name of a person. - M. Saadi.
Some people may feel compassion more easily than others. Perhaps they are more sensitive by nature. And those who have not developed such a quality to the proper degree, need to work on it. Indeed, according to Saadi, one cannot even bear the name of a person without compassion - in other words, a Persian poet equates those indifferent to the suffering of other people with animals. But everyone can go beyond the limits of their individuality and develop in themselves a valuable spiritual quality.
Bernard Shaw has a similar quote about indifference:
The worst crime we can commit against people is not to hate them, but to treat them indifferently; this is the essence of inhumanity.
The writer says that even hatred cannot be compared with indifference. The meaning of inhumanity is not to experience negative emotions in relation to another, as B. Shaw sees it. Heartlessness lies precisely in an indifferent attitude towards one's neighbor.
Indifference to oneself
But can compassion be shown only to other people? Or should it really arise in man and in relation to himself? This phenomenon is described in the following quotation about indifference by E. Fromm:
Our moral problem is man’s indifference to himself.
An outstanding psychologist says that one of the most important difficulties of modern people is the inability to sympathize with themselves, indifference to their own soul, body, life. If it is difficult for a person to overcome indifference to other people, then as for himself, it can be even more difficult. But if a person is emotionally mature, he should have developed the ability to sympathize with both other people and himself. Indifference to oneself has negative consequences: those spheres of a person’s life to which he does not pay attention, decline over time.
Quotes and aphorisms about indifference teach to participate not only to other people, but also to oneself. Fromm's words will be useful to everyone in everyday life. For example, if an individual is indifferent to his health, then sooner or later it will begin to deteriorate. If he is not interested in the fact that he has been depressed for several months, over time, the emotional life of a person indifferent to himself will begin to have a devastating effect on his general well-being, financial condition, and relationships with other people.
Indifference as a type of nervous strain
The following quote about indifference is written by writer Peter Heg:
A nervous breakdown is not necessarily a breakdown, it can occur so that you quietly and calmly plunge into indifference.
This fact can be confirmed by many psychologists with a sufficient amount of experience in working with people. Often, other experiences hide behind the external indifference of a person. The psyche seems to protect the sufferer from those emotions that are destructive to his physical health and emotional well-being.
Constantly experiencing stress, a person develops a reaction of indifference. And then behind the external facade of an indifferent personality, those difficult experiences begin to hide, from which the individual is saved by the reaction of indifference.
Quotes about the girl’s indifference to the guy. Aphorisms about indifference in personal relationships
A lot of words about indifference also apply to such a field as the relationship between a guy and a girl. Consider a few of these phrases. They are well suited as a status on a social network.
Absolute unease is the same indifference. (Unknown author).
Indifference seeks excuses, and love always finds a way. (Unknown author).
I have a terrible void inside, some kind of indifference to everything that kills me. Albert Camus.
They say that death kills a person, but it is not death that kills. Kills boredom and indifference. Irwin Welch.
Indifference versus Interest
There are many useful quotes about indifference that reveal the diverse facets of this phenomenon. For example, the following words belong to Gilbert Chesterton:
In the world there is no such thing as an uninteresting topic. But there is such a thing as an indifferent person.
There are a large number of diverse areas of knowledge. We can talk about a passion for a particular science, a particular sport or art. Each of the topics may be of interest to one person and may seem unattractive to another. A quote about Chesterton’s indifference shows that in reality the topic itself cannot be uninteresting - it all depends on a person’s preferences, on his passion.
Words by L. Berne
It is difficult to hide strong emotional feelings from others. Love or hate, delight or irritation - all these experiences can be read by other people at the slightest nuances of speech, facial expressions, behavior. However, when a person is indifferent, it is extremely difficult to hide this state from others. This is indicated by a quote about indifference, owned by L. Berne:
It is easy to hide hatred, it is difficult to hide love, all the same it is more difficult to hide indifference.
Sayings of great people
To those individuals who have managed to leave a significant mark in the history of mankind, we listen most of all. Their words allow us to get an idea of how these people looked at life, what principles were guided by.
It’s sweet for me to sleep, it’s sweet for me to be a stone. O this world, sad and shameful, To not know, not to feel is an enviable destiny. Please, be silent, do not dare to wake me. (Michelangelo Buonarroti).
Man’s greatest sin is not hatred, but indifference to his brothers. (Mother Teresa).
It is great to be humble, but you should not be indifferent. (F. Voltaire).
These quotes from the greats about indifference reveal both the positive and negative aspects of this phenomenon. If we talk about the words of Mother Teresa, in this quote spiritual callousness is condemned. Indeed, precisely because of the indifference of some people, others are forced to endure disasters: illness, war, poverty.
Voltaire shares advice that will be useful to every humble person. Modesty nowadays is increasingly losing its value, although in reality this quality is excellent - at least, according to Voltaire. But there is no need to go too far and do not allow yourself to be indifferent.