---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's true that there's no such thing as…"
description: "\"It's true that there's no such thing as free will. We can't help what we are or what we do. It's not our fault. Nobody's to blame for anything. It's al..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2d/ayn-rand-59_achievement_it-s-true-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as_2308394.jpg"
---

#  It's true that there's no such thing as free will. We…

![“It's true that there's no such thing as free will. We can't help what we are or what we do. It's not our fault. Nobody's to blame for anything. It's all in your background ... and your glands. If you're good, that's no achievement of yours - you were lucky in your glands. If you're rotten, nobody…” quote by Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2d/ayn-rand-59_achievement_it-s-true-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as_2308394.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2d/ayn-rand-59_achievement_it-s-true-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as_2308394.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2d/ayn-rand-59_achievement_it-s-true-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as_2308394.jpg)

> “It's true that there's no such thing as free will. We can't help what we are or what we do. It's not our fault. Nobody's to blame for anything. It's all in your background ... and your glands. If you're good, that's no achievement of yours - you were lucky in your glands. If you're rotten, nobody should punish you - you were unlucky, that's all.”

[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.

Human behavior is largely determined by genetics and environment, not free choice, so moral responsibility is limited.

**In simple terms:** We are shaped by biology and upbringing, not pure will.

Key Takeaway

Recognize limits of personal blame.

Themes

determinism morality responsibility

Mood

reflective critical

Type

philosophical ethical

When to use this quote

- legal judgments
- parenting
- education policy
- self‑assessment

Key Concepts

genetics environment free will

Questions to Reflect On

- How much of your actions are truly your own?
- Can we hold people accountable for innate traits?

A Different Perspective

Ignores personal agency and societal influence.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Achievement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achievement/) [Free will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-will/) [Lucky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lucky/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Unlucky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unlucky/)

## Related quotes

> [“Sometimes bad things happen. Nothing caused them. They're nobody's fault and no one's to blame. They just happen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-lampe/sometimes-bad-things-happen-nothing-caused-them-they-re-nobody-s/)

[Katherine Lampe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-lampe/)

> [“And the most awful thing about it is that it’s all my fault—all my fault, though I’m not to blame.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/and-the-most-awful-thing-about-it-is-that-it-s-all-my-fault-all-my/)

[Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/)

> [If you don't get a laugh I immediately think it's somebody else's fault. You can always blame the material. But when it's just yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-graae/if-you-don-t-get-a-laugh-i-immediately-think-it-s-somebody-else-s/)

[Jason Graae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-graae/)

> [If you're the star of a show, the next one has to be as good or better, and if you're doing a series, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-whitfield/if-you-re-the-star-of-a-show-the-next-one-has-to-be-as-good-or-better/)

[June Whitfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-whitfield/)

> [“...it's always somebody's fault - I blame you for my helpless love - do you think I chose this? Your beauty compelled me...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/it-s-always-somebody-s-fault-i-blame-you-for-my-helpless-love-do-you/)

[John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/)

> [Life is hard,when its all your fault and you have no one to blame to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunila-sam/life-is-hard-when-its-all-your-fault-and-you-have-no-one-to-blame-to/)

Sunila Sam

> [Donald Trump is not my fault. You can blame certain things on me, but not Donald Trump.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/donald-trump-is-not-my-fault-you-can-blame-certain-things-on-me-but/)

[Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/)

> [What you think is an illusion created by your glands, your emotions and, in the last analysis, by the content of your stomach. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/what-you-think-is-an-illusion-created-by-your-glands-your-emotions/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [“Playing the blame game is stupid and childish. Even if it is someone else’s fault, the blame game is wasted time, effort, and energy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-weisman/playing-the-blame-game-is-stupid-and-childish-even-if-it-is-someone/)

[Loren Weisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-weisman/)

> [The purpose of the law is not to prevent a future offense, but to punish the one actually committed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/the-purpose-of-the-law-is-not-to-prevent-a-future-offense-but-to/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [If I am against the condition of the world it is not because I am a moralist, it is because I want to laugh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/if-i-am-against-the-condition-of-the-world-it-is-not-because-i-am-a/)

[Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/)

> [From numberless books the fluttering reader, idle and inconstant, bears away the bloom that only clings to the outer leaf; but genius has its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/from-numberless-books-the-fluttering-reader-idle-and-inconstant-bears/)

[Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/)

> [Our experiments not only proved the existence of a nervous apparatus in the above-mentioned glands, but also disclosed some facts clearly showing the participation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-pavlov/our-experiments-not-only-proved-the-existence-of-a-nervous-apparatus/)

[Ivan Pavlov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-pavlov/)

> [Doubt is a precipice on the way to God. Blessed is he who is freed from its bonds. He who fares without any doubt,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/doubt-is-a-precipice-on-the-way-to-god-blessed-is-he-who-is-freed/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [These changes-the more rapid pulse, the deeper breathing, the increase of sugar in the blood, the secretion from the adrenal glands-were very diverse and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-bradford-cannon/these-changes-the-more-rapid-pulse-the-deeper-breathing-the-increase/)

[Walter Bradford Cannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-bradford-cannon/)

## 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 Achievement quotes

> [You, of Canada, are building a magnificent record of achievement. My country rejoices in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/you-of-canada-are-building-a-magnificent-record-of-achievement-my/)

[Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/)

> [“If attempting to make the world a civilized one, makes you a bad woman in the eyes of the dumb patriarchal society, then, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/if-attempting-to-make-the-world-a-civilized-one-makes-you-a-bad-woman/)

[Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/)

> [One achieves true human dignity only when one serves. Only he is great who subjects himself to taking part in the achievement of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-antonio-primo-de-rivera/one-achieves-true-human-dignity-only-when-one-serves-only-he-is-great/)

Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera

> [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/)

[Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/)

> [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [It's tragic what America has become because there is a great segment of society that now resents luxury and success and achievement by others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-leach/it-s-tragic-what-america-has-become-because-there-is-a-great-segment/)

[Robin Leach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-leach/)

> [To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular belief, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/to-preserve-an-unclouded-capacity-for-the-enjoyment-of-life-is-an/)

[Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/)

> [Joel Lane documents a life we don’t quite live, in a city we can’t quite find: half glimpsed and half imagined, we know it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-brenchley/joel-lane-documents-a-life-we-don-t-quite-live-in-a-city-we-can-t/)

Chaz Brenchley

> [The main substantive achievement of neoliberalism has been to redistribute rather than to generate wealth and income.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harvey/the-main-substantive-achievement-of-neoliberalism-has-been-to/)

[David Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harvey/)

> [Every profession has an ideology and a drive for power that goes far beyond its achievements and it is the task of democracy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feyerabend/every-profession-has-an-ideology-and-a-drive-for-power-that-goes-far/)

[Paul Feyerabend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feyerabend/)

> [We have Internet now and people are not stupid. But it seems that some people are trying to push the same agenda of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/we-have-internet-now-and-people-are-not-stupid-but-it-seems-that-some/)

[Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/)

> [“If you find a way where there seems to be no way, that’s what we call miracle, not personal achievement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nkwachukwu-ogbuagu/if-you-find-a-way-where-there-seems-to-be-no-way-that-s-what-we-call/)

[Nkwachukwu Ogbuagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nkwachukwu-ogbuagu/)

> [The Baseball Hall of Fame is something every player dreams about, but being a member of God's Hall of Fame is the greatest achievement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-carter/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-is-something-every-player-dreams-about-but/)

[Gary Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-carter/)

> [Cease speaking of enemies when an achievement can kindle a great light. Solitude will transmit the message better than the murmurs of crowds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-roerich/cease-speaking-of-enemies-when-an-achievement-can-kindle-a-great/)

Nicholas Roerich

> [Every scene is a challenge. There are technical challenges, but often it's the simplest challenge where you feel a sense of achievement when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-deakins/every-scene-is-a-challenge-there-are-technical-challenges-but-often/)

[Roger Deakins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-deakins/)

[Browse all 3,867 Achievement quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achievement/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "It's true that there's no such thing as free will. We can't help what we are or what we do. It's not our fault. Nobody's to blame for anything. It's all in your background ... and your glands. If you're good, that's no achievement of yours - you were lucky in your glands. If you're rotten, nobody should punish you - you were unlucky, that's all.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ayn Rand"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/it-s-true-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as-free-will-we-can-t-help-what/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Achievement"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/it-s-true-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as-free-will-we-can-t-help-what/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2d/ayn-rand-59_achievement_it-s-true-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as_2308394.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2d/ayn-rand-59_achievement_it-s-true-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as_2308394.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2d/ayn-rand-59_achievement_it-s-true-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as_2308394.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It's true that there's no such thing as free will. We can't help what we are or what we do. It's not our…” — 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": "It's true that there's no such...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/it-s-true-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as-free-will-we-can-t-help-what/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/it-s-true-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as-free-will-we-can-t-help-what/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
