--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whatsoever is contrary to nature is…" description: "\"Whatsoever is contrary to nature is contrary to reason, and whatsoever is contrary to reason is absurd.\" — Baruch Spinoza" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/baruch-spinoza-1338_absurd_whatsoever-is-contrary-to-nature-is-cont_1017952.jpg" --- # Whatsoever is contrary to nature is contrary to reason… ![“Whatsoever is contrary to nature is contrary to reason, and whatsoever is contrary to reason is absurd.” quote by Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/baruch-spinoza-1338_absurd_whatsoever-is-contrary-to-nature-is-cont_1017952.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/baruch-spinoza-1338_absurd_whatsoever-is-contrary-to-nature-is-cont_1017952.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/baruch-spinoza-1338_absurd_whatsoever-is-contrary-to-nature-is-cont_1017952.jpg) > “Whatsoever is contrary to nature is contrary to reason, and whatsoever is contrary to reason is absurd.” [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Things that go against nature also defy reason, and anything that defies reason is illogical. **In simple terms:** Contrary to nature is irrational and absurd. Key Takeaway Align actions with natural order. Themes nature reason logic Mood reflective serious Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - ethical decision making - scientific inquiry - personal habits Key Concepts metaphysics rationalism Questions to Reflect On - How do you distinguish natural from artificial constraints? - When might irrational choices be beneficial? A Different Perspective Reason may not capture all aspects of lived experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) ## Related quotes > [The punishment of murder by death is contrary to reason, and to the order and happiness of society, and contrary to divine revelation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/the-punishment-of-murder-by-death-is-contrary-to-reason-and-to-the/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [It is not contrary to reason to prefer the destruction of the whole world to the scratching of my finger. 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The absurd is born of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/man-stands-face-to-face-with-the-irrational-he-feels-within-him-his/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [No truly conscious human being sabotages himself - it's impossible, because it's contrary to Nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-finley/no-truly-conscious-human-being-sabotages-himself-it-s-impossible/) [Guy Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-finley/) > [Purity is a negative state and therefore contrary to nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/purity-is-a-negative-state-and-therefore-contrary-to-nature/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [Neither by nature, then, nor contrary to nature do the virtues arise in us; rather we are adapted by nature to receive them, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/neither-by-nature-then-nor-contrary-to-nature-do-the-virtues-arise-in/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [This labour of the artist to discover a means of apprehending beneath matter and experience, beneath words, something different from their appearance, is of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/this-labour-of-the-artist-to-discover-a-means-of-apprehending-beneath/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“I want to believe that, despite all the evidence to the contrary, there is reason to hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cohn-david-levithan-3/i-want-to-believe-that-despite-all-the-evidence-to-the-contrary-there/) Rachel Cohn, David Levithan > [Intuition does not denote something contrary to reason, but something outside of the province of reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/intuition-does-not-denote-something-contrary-to-reason-but-something/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [I have no reverence for any book that teaches a doctrine contrary to my reason; no reverence for any book that teaches a doctrine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/i-have-no-reverence-for-any-book-that-teaches-a-doctrine-contrary-to/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [If you follow reason far enough it always leads to conclusions that are contrary to reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/if-you-follow-reason-far-enough-it-always-leads-to-conclusions-that/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Faith is not contrary to reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-eddy/faith-is-not-contrary-to-reason/) Sherwood Eddy > [Enthusiasm is not contrary to reason; it is reason - on fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-marshall/enthusiasm-is-not-contrary-to-reason-it-is-reason-on-fire/) [Peter Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-marshall/) > [“Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/reason-is-and-ought-only-to-be-the-slave-of-the-passions-and-can-2/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) ## More by Baruch Spinoza > [It is sure that those are most desirous of honour or glory who cry out loudest of its abuse and the vanity of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/it-is-sure-that-those-are-most-desirous-of-honour-or-glory-who-cry/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [. . . to know the order of nature, and regard the universe as orderly is the highest function of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/to-know-the-order-of-nature-and-regard-the-universe-as-orderly-is-the/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [If anyone conceives that he is loved by another, and believes that he has given no cause for such love, he will love that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/if-anyone-conceives-that-he-is-loved-by-another-and-believes-that-he/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [The world would be happier if men had the same capacity to be silent that they have to speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/the-world-would-be-happier-if-men-had-the-same-capacity-to-be-silent/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [“So they will pursue their questions from cause to cause, till at last you take refuge in the will of God—in other words, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/so-they-will-pursue-their-questions-from-cause-to-cause-till-at-last/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [As men's habits of mind differ, so that some more readily embrace one form of faith, some another, for what moves one to pray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/as-men-s-habits-of-mind-differ-so-that-some-more-readily-embrace-one/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [If a man had begun to hate an object of his love, so that love is thoroughly destroyed, he will, causes being equal, regard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/if-a-man-had-begun-to-hate-an-object-of-his-love-so-that-love-is/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [I make this chief distinction between religion and superstition, that the latter is founded on ignorance, the former on knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/i-make-this-chief-distinction-between-religion-and-superstition-that/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [One and the same thing can at the same time be good, bad, and indifferent, e.g., music is good to the melancholy, bad to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/one-and-the-same-thing-can-at-the-same-time-be-good-bad-and/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [A good thing which prevents us from enjoying a greater good is in truth an evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/a-good-thing-which-prevents-us-from-enjoying-a-greater-good-is-in/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [But if men would give heed to the nature of substance they would doubt less concerning the Proposition that Existence appertains to the nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/but-if-men-would-give-heed-to-the-nature-of-substance-they-would/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [The more intelligible a thing is, the more easily it is retained in the memory, and counterwise, the less intelligible it is, the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/the-more-intelligible-a-thing-is-the-more-easily-it-is-retained-in/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [In the state of nature, wrong-doing is impossible; or, if anyone does wrong, it is to himself, not to another. For no one by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/in-the-state-of-nature-wrong-doing-is-impossible-or-if-anyone-does/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [For peace is not mere absence of war, but is a virtue that springs from force of character: for obedience is the constant will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/for-peace-is-not-mere-absence-of-war-but-is-a-virtue-that-springs/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/peace-is-not-an-absence-of-war-it-is-a-virtue-a-state-of-mind-a/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) [Explore all 248 Baruch Spinoza quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) ## More Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Whatsoever is contrary to nature is contrary to reason, and whatsoever is contrary to reason is absurd.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Baruch Spinoza" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/whatsoever-is-contrary-to-nature-is-contrary-to-reason-and-whatsoever/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absurd" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/whatsoever-is-contrary-to-nature-is-contrary-to-reason-and-whatsoever/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/baruch-spinoza-1338_absurd_whatsoever-is-contrary-to-nature-is-cont_1017952.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/baruch-spinoza-1338_absurd_whatsoever-is-contrary-to-nature-is-cont_1017952.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/baruch-spinoza-1338_absurd_whatsoever-is-contrary-to-nature-is-cont_1017952.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Whatsoever is contrary to nature is contrary to reason, and whatsoever is contrary to reason is absurd.” — Baruch Spinoza", "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": "Baruch Spinoza", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Whatsoever is contrary to nature is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/whatsoever-is-contrary-to-nature-is-contrary-to-reason-and-whatsoever/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/whatsoever-is-contrary-to-nature-is-contrary-to-reason-and-whatsoever/#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 } } ] } ```