--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are so well trained that we are our…" description: "\"We are so well trained that we are our own domesticator. We are an autodomesticated animal. We can now domesticate ourselves according to the same beli..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/470/anonymous-1_animal_we-are-so-well-trained-that-we-are-our-o_2119874.jpg" --- # We are so well trained that we are our own domesticator… ![“We are so well trained that we are our own domesticator. We are an autodomesticated animal. We can now domesticate ourselves according to the same belief system we were given, and using the same system of punishment and reward. We punish ourselves when we don't follow the rules according to our…” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/470/anonymous-1_animal_we-are-so-well-trained-that-we-are-our-o_2119874.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/470/anonymous-1_animal_we-are-so-well-trained-that-we-are-our-o_2119874.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/470/anonymous-1_animal_we-are-so-well-trained-that-we-are-our-o_2119874.jpg) > “We are so well trained that we are our own domesticator. We are an autodomesticated animal. We can now domesticate ourselves according to the same belief system we were given, and using the same system of punishment and reward. We punish ourselves when we don't follow the rules according to our belief system; we reward ourselves when we are the "good boy" or "good girl".” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage describes how humans have internalized societal norms to the point of self‑governance, rewarding and punishing themselves according to the same belief systems that shape external control. **In simple terms:** We police ourselves with the same rules we impose on others. Key Takeaway Recognize and re‑evaluate internalized belief systems. Themes self‑control belief social conditioning autonomy Mood introspective critical Type psychological sociological When to use this quote - personal habit change - therapy - education reform - community building Key Concepts psychology behavioral economics sociology Questions to Reflect On - What rules do you enforce on yourself? - Can self‑reward be balanced with compassion? A Different Perspective Self‑discipline can become oppressive if unexamined. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Belief System](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief-system/) [Belief systems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief-systems/) [Boys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boys/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girl/) [Punishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/punishment/) [Rewards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rewards/) ## Related quotes > [History is a big word... History is not the sort of animal you can domesticate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-tabucchi/history-is-a-big-word-history-is-not-the-sort-of-animal-you-can/) [Antonio Tabucchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-tabucchi/) > [Uh huh, I like him, so what I like him. I tried that good boy thing but the dough boy turning me on!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/uh-huh-i-like-him-so-what-i-like-him-i-tried-that-good-boy-thing-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every good boy wants a bad girl just for him, and every bad girl wants a good boy just for her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-good-boy-wants-a-bad-girl-just-for-him-and-every-bad-girl-wants/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All laws are an attempt to domesticate the natural ferocity of the species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-gardner/all-laws-are-an-attempt-to-domesticate-the-natural-ferocity-of-the/) [John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/) > [When you tame and domesticate the divine it loses its danger and it's power to forgive you, make you happy, or its power to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/when-you-tame-and-domesticate-the-divine-it-loses-its-danger-and-it-s/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [“Our cultures domesticate us for obscure purposes, nurturing and encouraging certain aspects of our behavior and tendencies while seeking to eliminate those that might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-ryan/our-cultures-domesticate-us-for-obscure-purposes-nurturing-and/) [Christopher Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-ryan/) > [Learning to domesticate the horse was a sort of energy revolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-christian/learning-to-domesticate-the-horse-was-a-sort-of-energy-revolution/) [David Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-christian/) > [“We didn’t domesticate cats. They domesticated themselves. But not totally, you know? You take a good look at any house cat, and you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/we-didn-t-domesticate-cats-they-domesticated-themselves-but-not/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [Today the Western powers and media want to domesticate us like sheep, to keep us tame and domesticated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abu-bakar-bashir/today-the-western-powers-and-media-want-to-domesticate-us-like-sheep/) [Abu Bakar Bashir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abu-bakar-bashir/) > [You can domesticate your body, but you can't domesticate your face - even by having a lift or having your nose bobbed. A face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-giroud/you-can-domesticate-your-body-but-you-can-t-domesticate-your-face/) [Francoise Giroud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-giroud/) > [We did not domesticate wheat; wheat domesticated us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/we-did-not-domesticate-wheat-wheat-domesticated-us/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [I don't know if street art ever really works indoors. If you domesticate an animal, it goes from being wild and free to sterile,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banksy/i-don-t-know-if-street-art-ever-really-works-indoors-if-you/) [Banksy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banksy/) > [An artist must smash down the systems that domesticate the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraud/an-artist-must-smash-down-the-systems-that-domesticate-the-mind/) [Jean Giraud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraud/) > [After a moment of shrinking back, we domesticate the grotesque.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/after-a-moment-of-shrinking-back-we-domesticate-the-grotesque/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [You'll see. I'm as good as any boy. I'm better. - Kel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamora-pierce/you-ll-see-i-m-as-good-as-any-boy-i-m-better-kel/) [Tamora Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamora-pierce/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are so well trained that we are our own domesticator. We are an autodomesticated animal. We can now domesticate ourselves according to the same belief system we were given, and using the same system of punishment and reward. 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