Philosophers’ Thoughts on Solitude

Below are some insightful remarks from philosophers regarding the theme of solitude:

Kahlil Gibran: If you find everyone against you, the colors not matching yours, and everyone moving in the opposite direction, do not hesitate. Follow your heart and hold onto your principles, disregarding their opinions. It is better to be alone than to live contrary to yourself to appease others.
Nour Abdel-Megid: Night is not darkness, except for those whose hearts are engulfed by solitude, after being deprived of love and companionship.
Shams Tabrizi: You feel lonely not because there is no one with you, but because you are not with yourself.
Kahlil Gibran: Solitude is a silent storm that shatters our dead branches, yet it drives its roots deep into the vibrant core of the living heart.
Mother Teresa: Loneliness is the most terrible poverty.
Ali Shariati: One of the most prominent traits of geniuses is their sense of solitude in their time, feeling like strangers in their homeland until future generations recognize, understand, and appreciate them.
Charles Bukowski: I’ve never minded being alone; I’ve always had an urge for solitude. It’s the presence of a crowd at a party or a stadium that leaves me feeling lonely.
Paulo Coelho: A human can endure thirst for a week and hunger for two weeks; one might even survive years without a roof, but they cannot endure solitude, as it represents the worst form of torment and pain.

Philosophers’ Insights on Loneliness

Here are further thoughts by philosophers on loneliness:

Paulo Coelho: We may allow our other half to slip away without acknowledging them, leaving us to wait for the next life to meet again; driven by selfishness, we condemn ourselves to the most severe punishment humanity has created for itself: loneliness.
Emil Cioran: We are so alone in life that we must ask ourselves whether the death of solitude is not a symbol of our human existence.
bell hooks: Your ability to love solitude and isolation is foundational to love itself. When we become comfortable with solitude, we can subsequently be with others without using them as a means of escaping from ourselves.

Here are some of the most beautiful reflections from philosophers on solitude:

Jodi Picoult: Let me tell you something: if you ever meet a lonely person, regardless of what they might say, it’s not because they love solitude or enjoy it; rather, it’s because they have tried to connect with others before but felt disappointed.
Friedrich Nietzsche: Oh, if only I could convey to you the essence of my loneliness; I find no one among the living or the dead with whom I feel a similarity or kinship, and that is terrifying, truly terrifying—oh solitude, you are my homeland.
Ahmed Khaled Tawfik: Loneliness is a perilous state that can easily turn into an addiction; once you realize the peace it offers, you yearn to engage with people once again.

Here are some remarkable observations regarding solitude from philosophers:

Alexander Pushkin: I have become like someone who is repelled by all life, descending into a deep melancholy exacerbated by solitude, fed by idleness. Solitude intensified the heat of my love, leading me to greater pain and suffering each day, as I lost interest in every literary endeavor, spiraling into a state of deranged breakdown, frightened by one of two things: madness or debauchery.
Abdul Rahman Munif: A person must acclimate; they need to learn to endure everything: the cold, solitude, tedium. The word defeat seemed to surface within me, almost spoken, but a heavy pang halted me.
Farouk Gouida: One must learn to embrace solitude so as not to forget their true essence, which they were born with and must leave with.
Naguib Mahfouz: The love for solitude is akin to an addiction; one longs for liberation from it, yet remains ensnared, resenting it while pining for its embrace.
Kahlil Gibran: I sought solitude and isolation because nothing I obtained from human hands came without the cost to my heart.
Kahlil Gibran: Some among you seek the company of chatterboxes for fear of facing their own selves, as the stillness of solitude unveils the hidden depths of their bare beings, propelling them to flee.