--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When neither high purpose nor the…" description: "\"When neither high purpose nor the categorical imperatives of religion will do, the only argument against suicide is life itself. You pause and attend: ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e0/al-alvarez-21402_argument_when-neither-high-purpose-nor-the-catego_1957093.png" --- # When neither high purpose nor the categorical imperatives… ![“When neither high purpose nor the categorical imperatives of religion will do, the only argument against suicide is life itself. You pause and attend: the heart beats in your chest; outside, the trees are thick with new leaves, a swallow dips over them, the light moves, people are going about…” quote by Al Alvarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e0/al-alvarez-21402_argument_when-neither-high-purpose-nor-the-catego_1957093.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e0/al-alvarez-21402_argument_when-neither-high-purpose-nor-the-catego_1957093.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e0/al-alvarez-21402_argument_when-neither-high-purpose-nor-the-catego_1957093.png) > “When neither high purpose nor the categorical imperatives of religion will do, the only argument against suicide is life itself. You pause and attend: the heart beats in your chest; outside, the trees are thick with new leaves, a swallow dips over them, the light moves, people are going about their business.” [Al Alvarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-alvarez/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life’s intrinsic value offers a profound reason to live, even when external purposes fail. **In simple terms:** Life itself is enough reason to live. Key Takeaway Appreciate present moments. Themes existential psychology suicide meaning Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal crisis - therapy - philosophical reflection - nature walks Key Concepts humanism value of life mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - What small aspect of life feels valuable now? - How can you honor the present moment? A Different Perspective Life’s value may feel abstract in deep despair. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument/) [Categorical imperative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/categorical-imperative/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Heart beat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-beat/) [Imperatives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imperatives/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life itself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-itself/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Pauses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pauses/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Suicide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suicide/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) ## Related quotes > [Go beyond science, into the region of metaphysics. Real religion is beyond argument. It can only be lived both inwardly and outwardly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/go-beyond-science-into-the-region-of-metaphysics-real-religion-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only good that I can see in the demonstration of the truth of "Spiritualism" is to furnish an additional argument against suicide. Better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/the-only-good-that-i-can-see-in-the-demonstration-of-the-truth-of/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [I do see that there is an argument against suicide: the grief of the worshipers left behind, the awful famine in their hearts, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-do-see-that-there-is-an-argument-against-suicide-the-grief-of-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [You know, I have had a terrible life. I married two men I really didn't like. My only daughter was killed in a car…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-boothe-luce/you-know-i-have-had-a-terrible-life-i-married-two-men-i-really-didn-t/) [Clare Boothe Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-boothe-luce/) > [Suicide is about life, being in fact the sincerest form of criticism life gets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-sheed/suicide-is-about-life-being-in-fact-the-sincerest-form-of-criticism/) [Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) > [I couldn't commit suicide if my life depended on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/i-couldn-t-commit-suicide-if-my-life-depended-on-it/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [That sounds so weird: "kill yourself." It makes it sound like you tried to murder someone, only that someone is you. But killing someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-thomas-ford/that-sounds-so-weird-kill-yourself-it-makes-it-sound-like-you-tried/) [Michael Thomas Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-thomas-ford/) > [“It is not the case that one can create new people on the assumption that if they are not pleased to have come into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-benatar/it-is-not-the-case-that-one-can-create-new-people-on-the-assumption/) [David Benatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-benatar/) > [“the passage on dignity is an addendum to the formula of autonomy: ‘act only so that the will could regard itself as at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-sensen/the-passage-on-dignity-is-an-addendum-to-the-formula-of-autonomy-act/) Oliver Sensen > [“To most people any radical change is even more odious than cynicism. The only way between the horns of dilemma is to persist at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/to-most-people-any-radical-change-is-even-more-odious-than-cynicism/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [There are moments in Life when keeping silent becomes a fault, and speaking an obligation. A civic duty, a moral challenge, a categorical imperative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/there-are-moments-in-life-when-keeping-silent-becomes-a-fault-and/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [“Silence, silence.’ All the air of the fourteenth floor was sibilant with the categorical imperative. Fifty”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/silence-silence-all-the-air-of-the-fourteenth-floor-was-sibilant-with/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“Live and let live” was the famous Viennese motto, which today still seems to me to be more humane than all the categorical imperatives,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/live-and-let-live-was-the-famous-viennese-motto-which-today-still/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [Kantian ethical theory distinguishes three levels: First, that of a fundamental principle (the categorical imperative, formulated in three main ways in Kant's Groundwork); second,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/kantian-ethical-theory-distinguishes-three-levels-first-that-of-a/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [A categorical imperative would be one which represented an action as objectively necessary in itself, without reference to any other purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/a-categorical-imperative-would-be-one-which-represented-an-action-as/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) ## More by Al Alvarez > [I absolutely don't believe in anything. Full stop. Including luck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-alvarez/i-absolutely-don-t-believe-in-anything-full-stop-including-luck/) [Al Alvarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-alvarez/) > [“I balanced all, brought all to mind, The years to come seemed waste of breath, A waste of breath the years behind In balance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-alvarez/i-balanced-all-brought-all-to-mind-the-years-to-come-seemed-waste-of/) [Al Alvarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-alvarez/) > [Despair, in short, seeks its own environment as surely as water finds its own level.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-alvarez/despair-in-short-seeks-its-own-environment-as-surely-as-water-finds/) [Al Alvarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-alvarez/) > [“Suicide is, after all, the result of a choice. However impulsive the action and confused the motives, at the moment when a man finally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-alvarez/suicide-is-after-all-the-result-of-a-choice-however-impulsive-the/) [Al Álvarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-alvarez/) > [When you make a bet, you're saying something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-alvarez/when-you-make-a-bet-you-re-saying-something/) [Al Alvarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-alvarez/) > [Twentieth-century art may start with nothing, but it flourishes by virtue of its belief in itself, in the possibility of control over what seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-alvarez/twentieth-century-art-may-start-with-nothing-but-it-flourishes-by/) [Al Alvarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-alvarez/) > [Each sporadic burst of work, each minor success and disappointment, each moment of calm and relaxation, seemed merely a temporary halt on my steady…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-alvarez/each-sporadic-burst-of-work-each-minor-success-and-disappointment/) [Al Alvarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-alvarez/) > [I mean being a writer is like being a psychoanalyst, but you don't get any patients.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-alvarez/i-mean-being-a-writer-is-like-being-a-psychoanalyst-but-you-don-t-get/) [Al Alvarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-alvarez/) > [But in a tournament, you can be said in for all your money at any point so you can't make any mistakes so you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-alvarez/but-in-a-tournament-you-can-be-said-in-for-all-your-money-at-any/) [Al Alvarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-alvarez/) > [I hate writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-alvarez/i-hate-writing/) [Al Alvarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-alvarez/) > [I mean to say, this is the book and I really loathe it and I can't imagine what a nice Jewish boy like me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-alvarez/i-mean-to-say-this-is-the-book-and-i-really-loathe-it-and-i-can-t/) [Al Alvarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-alvarez/) > [The fact that we write about it doesn't mean we play better than ordinary players at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-alvarez/the-fact-that-we-write-about-it-doesn-t-mean-we-play-better-than/) [Al Alvarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-alvarez/) > [Now, if, as I think, writing should be, it's a kind of risky trade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-alvarez/now-if-as-i-think-writing-should-be-it-s-a-kind-of-risky-trade/) [Al Alvarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-alvarez/) > [I think one of the interesting things about poker is that once you let your ego in, you're done for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-alvarez/i-think-one-of-the-interesting-things-about-poker-is-that-once-you/) [Al Alvarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-alvarez/) > [Yes, I think poker really isn't gambling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-alvarez/yes-i-think-poker-really-isn-t-gambling/) [Al Alvarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-alvarez/) [Explore all 29 Al Alvarez quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-alvarez/) ## More Argument quotes > [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [Preaching to the choir actually arms the choir with arguments and elevates the choir's discourse. There's a reason the right does it and does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-savage/preaching-to-the-choir-actually-arms-the-choir-with-arguments-and/) [Dan Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-savage/) > [Lutherans, whose arguments and mistakes will not be difficult to contest or discover, do not want to attribute any value to works, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-servetus/lutherans-whose-arguments-and-mistakes-will-not-be-difficult-to/) [Michael Servetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-servetus/) > [Any comprehensive doctrine, religious or secular, can be introduced into any political argument at any time, but I argue that people who do this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/any-comprehensive-doctrine-religious-or-secular-can-be-introduced/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [As opposed to getting into arguments about, well, these folks have been treated fairly so now we're going to be doing things that, very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/as-opposed-to-getting-into-arguments-about-well-these-folks-have-been/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [There could be no more powerful argument against mixing religion and government than the success of independent African American churches in placing racial segregation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/there-could-be-no-more-powerful-argument-against-mixing-religion-and/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [On the stage, the characters express themselves more through words than images. So the arguments of the characters and the tension between characters -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/on-the-stage-the-characters-express-themselves-more-through-words/) [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) > [One argument goes that recessions are good for female artists because when money flies out the window, women are allowed in the house. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/one-argument-goes-that-recessions-are-good-for-female-artists-because/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [All of the barriers to innovation in the energy sector are arguments for a big commitment to public investment. Only the public sector can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nordhaus/all-of-the-barriers-to-innovation-in-the-energy-sector-are-arguments/) [Ted Nordhaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nordhaus/) > [“Arguments led by subjectivity are a waste of time. And, if they take place online, add to that, a waste of one’s keyboard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/arguments-led-by-subjectivity-are-a-waste-of-time-and-if-they-take/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [If in the middle of an argument I suddenly fall silent it does not mean you have won... No it means you should probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hussein-nishah/if-in-the-middle-of-an-argument-i-suddenly-fall-silent-it-does-not/) [Hussein Nishah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hussein-nishah/) > [Don't get divorced after your first argument! I have a lot of friends that have one fight and that's it, they get divorced. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ripa/don-t-get-divorced-after-your-first-argument-i-have-a-lot-of-friends/) [Kelly Ripa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ripa/) > [“The motive behind my arguments have always been to come at truth. I am not interested in conquering anyone with my ideologies or seeking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crystal-evans/the-motive-behind-my-arguments-have-always-been-to-come-at-truth-i-am/) [Crystal Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crystal-evans/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) [Browse all 3,479 Argument quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When neither high purpose nor the categorical imperatives of religion will do, the only argument against suicide is life itself. 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