--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If some men do not choose to think, but…" description: "\"“If some men do not choose to think, but survive by imitating and repeating, like trained animals, the routine of sounds and motions they learned from ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02a/ayn-rand-59_psychology_if-some-men-do-not-choose-to-think-but-s_2538407.jpg" --- # If some men do not choose to think, but survive by… ![“If some men do not choose to think, but survive by imitating and repeating, like trained animals, the routine of sounds and motions they learned from others, never making an effort to understand their own work, it still remains true that their survival is made possible only by those who did choose…” quote by Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02a/ayn-rand-59_psychology_if-some-men-do-not-choose-to-think-but-s_2538407.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02a/ayn-rand-59_psychology_if-some-men-do-not-choose-to-think-but-s_2538407.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02a/ayn-rand-59_psychology_if-some-men-do-not-choose-to-think-but-s_2538407.jpg) > ““If some men do not choose to think, but survive by imitating and repeating, like trained animals, the routine of sounds and motions they learned from others, never making an effort to understand their own work, it still remains true that their survival is made possible only by those who did choose to think and to discover the motions they are repeating. The survival of such mental parasites depend on blind chance; their unfocused minds are unable to know whom to imitate, whose motions it is safe to follow. They are the men who march into the abyss, trailing after any destroyer who promises them to assume the responsibility they evade: the responsibility of being conscious.”” [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Thinking individuals drive progress, while those who mind imitate lack true understanding and rely on chance, becoming mental parasites. **In simple terms:** Original thought fuels advancement; copying leads to stagnation. Key Takeaway Encourage independent thinking and responsibility. Themes reason individualism responsibility Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - education - creative work - leadership - problem solving Key Concepts philosophy critical thinking mental autonomy Questions to Reflect On - What steps can you take to think independently? - How do you identify mental parasites in your environment? A Different Perspective Blind imitation can hinder innovation and lead to dependency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Making An Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-an-effort/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [Physical needs are only part of what is needed for survival mental needs are also necessary the will to want a better. the want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/te/physical-needs-are-only-part-of-what-is-needed-for-survival-mental/) TE > [I am speaking to those among you who have retained some sovereign shred of their soul, unsold and unstamped: '- to the order of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/i-am-speaking-to-those-among-you-who-have-retained-some-sovereign/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [I know that when you are experiencing failure, it's pretty damn painful. It is easy in retrospect to wax poetic about it. But in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lubetzky/i-know-that-when-you-are-experiencing-failure-it-s-pretty-damn/) [Daniel Lubetzky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lubetzky/) > [“I have faith in us as a family, and our friends. I think we will survive because we don’t wish to harm anyone. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-fortunato/i-have-faith-in-us-as-a-family-and-our-friends-i-think-we-will/) [Jessica Fortunato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-fortunato/) > [“There are those moments you don't think you will survive. And then you survive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/there-are-those-moments-you-don-t-think-you-will-survive-and-then-you/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [We allow our ignorance to prevail upon us and make us think we can survive alone, alone in patches, alone in groups, alone in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/we-allow-our-ignorance-to-prevail-upon-us-and-make-us-think-we-can/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Sometimes the worst thing that happens to you, the thing you think you can't survive...it's the thing that makes you better than you used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/sometimes-the-worst-thing-that-happens-to-you-the-thing-you-think-you/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) > [“I think it’s more about learning that in life it begins and ends with you. I mean, yes we all need love and seek…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-harris/i-think-it-s-more-about-learning-that-in-life-it-begins-and-ends-with/) [Ali Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-harris/) > [Life isn't meant to be easy. It's hard to take being on the top - or on the bottom. I guess I'm something of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-nixon/life-isn-t-meant-to-be-easy-it-s-hard-to-take-being-on-the-top-or-on/) [Richard M. Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon/) > [There are all these moments you don't think you will survive. And then you survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/there-are-all-these-moments-you-don-t-think-you-will-survive-and-then/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“There is very little hope for life of any kind surviving the big crunch in a closed universe. However, one cannot be dogmatic about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamal-nazrul-islam/there-is-very-little-hope-for-life-of-any-kind-surviving-the-big/) [Jamal Nazrul Islam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamal-nazrul-islam/) > [When I think about doing something, I think: Will I survive a million out of a million times?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-potter/when-i-think-about-doing-something-i-think-will-i-survive-a-million/) [Dean Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-potter/) > [I think I could survive a week without eating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/i-think-i-could-survive-a-week-without-eating/) [Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/) > [I like to think that I could survive should the apocalypse or zombies show up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-bream/i-like-to-think-that-i-could-survive-should-the-apocalypse-or-zombies/) [Shannon Bream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-bream/) > [“If you want success then decide to provide a great service to the world. Do not think how you will survive. Think of how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dines/if-you-want-success-then-decide-to-provide-a-great-service-to-the/) [Christopher Dines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dines/) ## More by Ayn Rand > [There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-no-white-lies-there-is-only-the-blackest-of-destruction-and/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [She watched the prairies the rivers, the towns slipping past at an untouchable distance below - and she noted that the sense of detachment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-watched-the-prairies-the-rivers-the-towns-slipping-past-at-an/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“This was reality, she thought, this sense of clear outlines, of purpose, of lightness, of hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-was-reality-she-thought-this-sense-of-clear-outlines-of-purpose/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [A “collective” mind does not exist. It is merely the sum of endless numbers of individual minds. If we have an endless number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/a-collective-mind-does-not-exist-it-is-merely-the-sum-of-endless/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Lobbying' is the activity of attempting to influence legislation by privately influencing the legislators. It is the result and creation of a mixed economy-of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/lobbying-is-the-activity-of-attempting-to-influence-legislation-by/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“She moved her hand and let it rest against his. He did not withdraw his fingers and he did not pretend indifference. She bent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-moved-her-hand-and-let-it-rest-against-his-he-did-not-withdraw/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [This miracle of me is mine to own and keep, and mine to guard, and mine to use, and mine to kneel before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-miracle-of-me-is-mine-to-own-and-keep-and-mine-to-guard-and-mine/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“There was still one response, the greatest, that she had missed. She thought: To find a feeling that would hold, as their sum, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-was-still-one-response-the-greatest-that-she-had-missed-she/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Inflation is not caused by the actions of private citizens, but by the government: by an artificial expansion of the money supply required to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/inflation-is-not-caused-by-the-actions-of-private-citizens-but-by-the/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“We are fornicating in the sight of six billion people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-fornicating-in-the-sight-of-six-billion-people/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“She was fifteen when it occurred to her for the first time that women did not run railroads and that people might object. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-was-fifteen-when-it-occurred-to-her-for-the-first-time-that-women/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Fransisco, you're some kind of very high nobility, aren't you?" He answered, "Not yet. The reason my family has lasted for such a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/fransisco-you-re-some-kind-of-very-high-nobility-aren-t-you-he/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Have you felt it too? Have you seen how your best friends love everything about you- except the things that count? And your most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/have-you-felt-it-too-have-you-seen-how-your-best-friends-love/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Every coercive monopoly was created by government intervention into the economy: by special privileges, such as franchises or subsidies, which closed the entry of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/every-coercive-monopoly-was-created-by-government-intervention-into/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [We are all brothers under the skin - and I, for one, would be willing to skin humanity to prove it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-all-brothers-under-the-skin-and-i-for-one-would-be-willing-to/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) [Explore all 1,777 Ayn Rand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## More Psychology quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Once ye made up yer mind to do somethin', 'tis better t'stumble o'er the small hillock of jump-ahead than t'bash yer head on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/once-ye-made-up-yer-mind-to-do-somethin-tis-better-t-stumble-o-er-the/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I love playing for my country, getting the support. Especially for the kids and everybody, showing my example of what I can achieve so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-sharapova/i-love-playing-for-my-country-getting-the-support-especially-for-the/) [Maria Sharapova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-sharapova/) > [Do you think that God would separate me from my husband if I killed myself? I feel as though I am going out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-you-think-that-god-would-separate-me-from-my-husband-if-i-killed/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [This is a proof of a well-trained mind, to rejoice in what is good and to grieve at the opposite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/this-is-a-proof-of-a-well-trained-mind-to-rejoice-in-what-is-good-and/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [“I had nowhere to go and did not wish to be seen by anyone for fear they would recognize my sadness and so for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dewitt/i-had-nowhere-to-go-and-did-not-wish-to-be-seen-by-anyone-for-fear/) [Patrick deWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dewitt/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) > [Music is a job, but I figured out ways to get my mind into a place where I could be creative. I actually discovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flume/music-is-a-job-but-i-figured-out-ways-to-get-my-mind-into-a-place/) [Flume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flume/) > [ “\[S\]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-the-possible-irrelevance-of/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [No!! Get out of my Head!...You may have invaded my mind and my body...But there's one thing a Saiyan always keeps...his PRIDE!!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragon-ball-z/no-get-out-of-my-head-you-may-have-invaded-my-mind-and-my-body-but/) [Dragon Ball Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragon-ball-z/) [Browse all 56,059 Psychology quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If some men do not choose to think, but survive by imitating and repeating, like trained animals, the routine of sounds and motions they learned from others, never making an effort to understand their own work, it still remains true that their survival is made possible only by those who did choose to think and to discover the motions they are repeating. The survival of such mental parasites depend on blind chance; their unfocused minds are unable to know whom to imitate, whose motions it is safe to follow. They are the men who march into the abyss, trailing after any destroyer who promises them to assume the responsibility they evade: the responsibility of being conscious.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ayn Rand" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/if-some-men-do-not-choose-to-think-but-survive-by-imitating-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Psychology" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/if-some-men-do-not-choose-to-think-but-survive-by-imitating-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02a/ayn-rand-59_psychology_if-some-men-do-not-choose-to-think-but-s_2538407.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02a/ayn-rand-59_psychology_if-some-men-do-not-choose-to-think-but-s_2538407.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02a/ayn-rand-59_psychology_if-some-men-do-not-choose-to-think-but-s_2538407.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If some men do not choose to think, but survive by imitating and repeating, like trained animals, the…” — Ayn Rand", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ayn Rand", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If some men do not choose...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/if-some-men-do-not-choose-to-think-but-survive-by-imitating-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/if-some-men-do-not-choose-to-think-but-survive-by-imitating-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```