--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How so many absurd rules of conduct, as…" description: "\"How so many absurd rules of conduct, as well as so many absurd religious beliefs, have originated, we do not know; nor how it is that they have become,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0da/charles-darwin-507_absurd_how-so-many-absurd-rules-of-conduct-as-w_1666317.jpg" --- # How so many absurd rules of conduct, as well as so many… ![“How so many absurd rules of conduct, as well as so many absurd religious beliefs, have originated, we do not know; nor how it is that they have become, in all quarters of the world, so deeply impressed on the minds of men; but it is worthy of remark that a belief constantly inculcated during the…” quote by Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0da/charles-darwin-507_absurd_how-so-many-absurd-rules-of-conduct-as-w_1666317.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0da/charles-darwin-507_absurd_how-so-many-absurd-rules-of-conduct-as-w_1666317.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0da/charles-darwin-507_absurd_how-so-many-absurd-rules-of-conduct-as-w_1666317.jpg) > “How so many absurd rules of conduct, as well as so many absurd religious beliefs, have originated, we do not know; nor how it is that they have become, in all quarters of the world, so deeply impressed on the minds of men; but it is worthy of remark that a belief constantly inculcated during the early years of life, while the brain is impressionable, appears to acquire almost the nature of an instinct; and the very essence of an instinct is that it is followed independently of reason.” [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human beliefs formed early act like instincts, persisting without rational basis. **In simple terms:** Early taught beliefs become instinctive. Key Takeaway Question early teachings critically. Themes psychology culture instincts Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - education - parenting - religious upbringing - political rhetoric Key Concepts cognitive bias social conditioning Questions to Reflect On - How do early beliefs shape adult decisions? - Can rational thought reshape deep‑seated instincts? A Different Perspective Instincts can be overridden by reason with ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Agnosticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agnosticism/) [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Essence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essence/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Instinct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instinct/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Positive atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive-atheism/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Religious belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-belief/) [Religious beliefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-beliefs/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Years of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-of-life/) ## Related quotes > [The very essence of instinct is that it's followed independently of reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-very-essence-of-instinct-is-that-it-s-followed-independently-of/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Certainty and similar states of ‘knowing what we know’ arise out of involuntary brain mechanisms that, like love or anger, function independently of reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-burton/certainty-and-similar-states-of-knowing-what-we-know-arise-out-of/) [Robert A. Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-burton/) > [Little girls, I am in the business of putting old heads on young shoulders, and all my pupils are the crème de la crème.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-smith/little-girls-i-am-in-the-business-of-putting-old-heads-on-young/) [Maggie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-smith/) > [Basically, I'm really impressionable and have no sense of consistency in anything I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grimes/basically-i-m-really-impressionable-and-have-no-sense-of-consistency/) [Grimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grimes/) > [Rock & roll is a type of sensuous music unfit for impressionable minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tip-o-neill/rock-roll-is-a-type-of-sensuous-music-unfit-for-impressionable-minds/) [Tip O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tip-o-neill/) > [I was impressionable at that age, and my high school coach did such an unbelievable job helping me, so I want to do that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-j-watt/i-was-impressionable-at-that-age-and-my-high-school-coach-did-such-an/) [J. J. Watt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-j-watt/) > [If I had been a different sort of person, maybe less impressionable, less intense, less fearful, less utterly dependent upon the perceptions of others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/if-i-had-been-a-different-sort-of-person-maybe-less-impressionable/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [Hmph," said Sharon . "Did you know that the numbers three and seven are sacred to vampires? There are seven vampire sects." "Seven sacred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-bardsley/hmph-said-sharon-did-you-know-that-the-numbers-three-and-seven-are/) [Michele Bardsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-bardsley/) > [The problem is that if you're self-conscious about being a person on whom nothing is lost, isn't something lost - some kind of presence?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/the-problem-is-that-if-you-re-self-conscious-about-being-a-person-on/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [My mother goes crazy over babies. Some people just do. They love 'em! I never have. Babies scare me more than anything. They're tiny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/my-mother-goes-crazy-over-babies-some-people-just-do-they-love-em-i/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [Obviously I'm not a role model for impressionable youth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kinison/obviously-i-m-not-a-role-model-for-impressionable-youth/) [Sam Kinison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kinison/) > [I'm very independent, but I'm also quite impressionable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-lou-wood/i-m-very-independent-but-i-m-also-quite-impressionable/) [Aimee Lou Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-lou-wood/) > [I think I will always feel a special relationship with The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, because for me it was something very, very special. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-deneuve/i-think-i-will-always-feel-a-special-relationship-with-the-umbrellas/) [Catherine Deneuve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-deneuve/) > [I'm impressionable, that's for sure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sia/i-m-impressionable-that-s-for-sure/) [Sia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sia/) > [Some of my fondest and most impressionable movie memories are from those early sci-fi and horror films. I've always been a Dracula/vampire aficionado, being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-wise/some-of-my-fondest-and-most-impressionable-movie-memories-are-from/) [Ray Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-wise/) ## More by Charles Darwin > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [The main conclusion here arrived at ... is that man is descended from some less highly organized form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-main-conclusion-here-arrived-at-is-that-man-is-descended-from/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [So great is the economy of nature, that most flowers which are fertilised by crepuscular or nocturnal insects emit their odour chiefly or exclusively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/so-great-is-the-economy-of-nature-that-most-flowers-which-are/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [I see no good reasons why the views given in this volume should shock the religious views of anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-see-no-good-reasons-why-the-views-given-in-this-volume-should-shock/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [I am quite conscious that my speculations run beyond the bounds of true science…It is a mere rag of an hypothesis with as many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-am-quite-conscious-that-my-speculations-run-beyond-the-bounds-of/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [If worms have the power of acquiring some notion, however rude, of the shape of an object and over their burrows, as seems the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/if-worms-have-the-power-of-acquiring-some-notion-however-rude-of-the/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [We can allow satellites, planets, suns, universe, nay whole systems of universes, to be governed by laws, but the smallest insect, we wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/we-can-allow-satellites-planets-suns-universe-nay-whole-systems-of/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Formerly Milton's Paradise Lost had been my chief favourite, and in my excursions during the voyage of the Beagle, when I could take only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/formerly-milton-s-paradise-lost-had-been-my-chief-favourite-and-in-my/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [May we not suspect that the vague but very real fears of children, which are quite independent of experience, are the inherited effects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/may-we-not-suspect-that-the-vague-but-very-real-fears-of-children/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [It may be said that natural selection is daily and hourly scrutinizing, throughout the world, every variation, even the slightest; rejecting that which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-may-be-said-that-natural-selection-is-daily-and-hourly/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [“Darwin, landing in Brazil in 1832, had a similar reaction, colored by his reading of his predecessor." Humboldt's glorious descriptions are & will for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/darwin-landing-in-brazil-in-1832-had-a-similar-reaction-colored-by/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [...all nature is perverse & will not do as I wish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/all-nature-is-perverse-will-not-do-as-i-wish-it/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [“To admit that species generally become rare before they become extinct—to feel no surprise at the comparative rarity of one species with another, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/to-admit-that-species-generally-become-rare-before-they-become/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [To suppose that the eye could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest possible degree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/to-suppose-that-the-eye-could-have-been-formed-by-natural-selection/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [It is interesting to contemplate an entangled bank clothed with many plants of many kinds with birds singing on the bushes, with various insects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-is-interesting-to-contemplate-an-entangled-bank-clothed-with-many/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) [Explore all 497 Charles Darwin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) ## 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": "How so many absurd rules of conduct, as well as so many absurd religious beliefs, have originated, we do not know; nor how it is that they have become, in all quarters of the world, so deeply impressed on the minds of men; but it is worthy of remark that a belief constantly inculcated during the early years of life, while the brain is impressionable, appears to acquire almost the nature of an instinct; and the very essence of an instinct is that it is followed independently of reason.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Darwin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/how-so-many-absurd-rules-of-conduct-as-well-as-so-many-absurd/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absurd" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/how-so-many-absurd-rules-of-conduct-as-well-as-so-many-absurd/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0da/charles-darwin-507_absurd_how-so-many-absurd-rules-of-conduct-as-w_1666317.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0da/charles-darwin-507_absurd_how-so-many-absurd-rules-of-conduct-as-w_1666317.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0da/charles-darwin-507_absurd_how-so-many-absurd-rules-of-conduct-as-w_1666317.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“How so many absurd rules of conduct, as well as so many absurd religious beliefs, have originated, we do not…” — Charles Darwin", "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": "Charles Darwin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "How so many absurd rules of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/how-so-many-absurd-rules-of-conduct-as-well-as-so-many-absurd/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/how-so-many-absurd-rules-of-conduct-as-well-as-so-many-absurd/#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 } } ] } ```