--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Man cannot live without some knowledge of…" description: "\"Man cannot live without some knowledge of the purpose of life. If he can find no purpose in life he creates one in the inevitability of death.\" — Chest..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/052/chester-himes-30065_creating_man-cannot-live-without-some-knowledge-o_2749430.png" --- # Man cannot live without some knowledge of the purpose of… ![“Man cannot live without some knowledge of the purpose of life. If he can find no purpose in life he creates one in the inevitability of death.” quote by Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/052/chester-himes-30065_creating_man-cannot-live-without-some-knowledge-o_2749430.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/052/chester-himes-30065_creating_man-cannot-live-without-some-knowledge-o_2749430.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/052/chester-himes-30065_creating_man-cannot-live-without-some-knowledge-o_2749430.png) > “Man cannot live without some knowledge of the purpose of life. If he can find no purpose in life he creates one in the inevitability of death.” [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Purpose gives life meaning; lacking it leads to creating meaning through confronting mortality. **In simple terms:** Purpose prevents existential emptiness. Key Takeaway Find or create purpose. Themes existential purpose mortality Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career choices - personal crises - creative projects - spiritual seeking Key Concepts meaning death existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What purpose drives you daily? - How do you confront mortality? A Different Perspective Purpose can be elusive and culturally defined. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creating/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Inevitability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inevitability/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-purpose/) [Meaning of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaning-of-life/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Purpose In Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose-in-life/) [Purpose of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose-of-life/) ## Related quotes > [There is nothing in biology yet found that indicates the inevitability of death. This suggests to me that it is not at all inevitable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/there-is-nothing-in-biology-yet-found-that-indicates-the/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [In that chocolate side of town, in my blessed city of Sacramento, California - that was beginning of my death shudders, that's why Kierkegaard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/in-that-chocolate-side-of-town-in-my-blessed-city-of-sacramento/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Any great artist is wrestling with their sadness and loneliness, their fears, anxieties and securities, and they're transfiguring those into complicated forms of expression…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/any-great-artist-is-wrestling-with-their-sadness-and-loneliness-their/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [But there is nothing in biology yet found that indicates the inevitability of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/but-there-is-nothing-in-biology-yet-found-that-indicates-the/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [The ultimate meaning to which all stories refer has two faces: the continuity of life, the inevitability of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-ultimate-meaning-to-which-all-stories-refer-has-two-faces-the/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“It is one of the most remarkable things that in all of the biological sciences there is no clue as to the necessity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/it-is-one-of-the-most-remarkable-things-that-in-all-of-the-biological/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [However much we talk of the inexorable laws governing the life of individuals and of societies, we remain at the bottom convinced that in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/however-much-we-talk-of-the-inexorable-laws-governing-the-life-of/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [“The earthquake is the thing that all humans face: the banal inevitability of death. 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But it has never been my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-dungy/i-love-coaching-football-and-winning-a-super-bowl-was-a-goal-i-ve-had/) [Tony Dungy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-dungy/) > [No matter what our job is, we view it not as our purpose in life but rather as where God has sovereignly placed us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-chandler/no-matter-what-our-job-is-we-view-it-not-as-our-purpose-in-life-but/) [Matt Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-chandler/) > [The purpose in life is just one purpose in one life (our human life now). What that exactly is, is that life always is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-fennis/the-purpose-in-life-is-just-one-purpose-in-one-life-our-human-life/) [Alexander Fennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-fennis/) > [One's purpose in life could be anything, but only one thing gives life to that purpose. . . Love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gillen/one-s-purpose-in-life-could-be-anything-but-only-one-thing-gives-life/) [Nicole Gillen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-gillen/) > [Problems tend to be put into their proper perspective the moment we get off SELF, and on PURPOSE. By choosing your purpose in life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/problems-tend-to-be-put-into-their-proper-perspective-the-moment-we/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) ## More by Chester Himes > [“what i really need is a dead man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/what-i-really-need-is-a-dead-man/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [American violence is public life, it's a public way of life, it became a form, a detective story form. So I should think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/american-violence-is-public-life-it-s-a-public-way-of-life-it-became/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [Our highest ambition is to be included in the stream of American life, to be permitted to "play the game" as any other American;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/our-highest-ambition-is-to-be-included-in-the-stream-of-american-life/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [It seemed so illogical to punish some poor criminal for doing something that civilization taught him how to do so he could have something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/it-seemed-so-illogical-to-punish-some-poor-criminal-for-doing/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [“Don't ever lean your whole weight on happiness, Jimmy. You fall too hard too hard when it gives away”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/don-t-ever-lean-your-whole-weight-on-happiness-jimmy-you-fall-too/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [“For he reached the conclusion that everything he had ever seen, or had ever done, or had ever dreamed of doing would in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/for-he-reached-the-conclusion-that-everything-he-had-ever-seen-or-had/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [I grew to manhood in the Ohio State Penitentiary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/i-grew-to-manhood-in-the-ohio-state-penitentiary/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [When you get to mixing sex and religion, it will make anybody crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/when-you-get-to-mixing-sex-and-religion-it-will-make-anybody-crazy/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [Democracy is not tolerance. Democracy is a prescribed way of life erected on the premise that all men are created equal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/democracy-is-not-tolerance-democracy-is-a-prescribed-way-of-life/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [I would sit in my room and become hysterical about the wild incredible story I was writing. And I thought I was writing realism.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/i-would-sit-in-my-room-and-become-hysterical-about-the-wild/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [Growth is the surviving influence in all our lives. The tree will send up its trunk in thick profusion from land burned black by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/growth-is-the-surviving-influence-in-all-our-lives-the-tree-will-send/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [The Harlem of my books was never meant to be real; I never called it real; I just wanted to take it away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/the-harlem-of-my-books-was-never-meant-to-be-real-i-never-called-it/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [There is an indomitable quality within the human spirit that cannot be destroyed; a face deep within the human personality that is impregnable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/there-is-an-indomitable-quality-within-the-human-spirit-that-cannot/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [If one lives in a country where racism is held valid and practiced in all ways of life eventually, no matter whether one is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/if-one-lives-in-a-country-where-racism-is-held-valid-and-practiced-in/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [“She held him at arms’ length, looked at the pipe still gripped in his hand, then looked at his face and read him like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/she-held-him-at-arms-length-looked-at-the-pipe-still-gripped-in-his/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) [Explore all 17 Chester Himes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) ## More Creating quotes > [How could you feel worthless when God has honoured you by creating you and choosing you to be with Him, in this life and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/how-could-you-feel-worthless-when-god-has-honoured-you-by-creating/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [People who are creating history don't realize they're creating it at the time it's happening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-dreymon/people-who-are-creating-history-don-t-realize-they-re-creating-it-at/) [Alexander Dreymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-dreymon/) > [When I am creating art, I have absolutely no social responsibility. It's like dreaming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cronenberg/when-i-am-creating-art-i-have-absolutely-no-social-responsibility-it/) [David Cronenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cronenberg/) > [Europe is creating the flight of refugees that's tearing it apart politically, and leading rightwing nationalist parties to gain power to withdraw from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/europe-is-creating-the-flight-of-refugees-that-s-tearing-it-apart/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [You can disseminate your art, and it's all such easy access now. The upside to it is that more people are creating than ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-clarke/you-can-disseminate-your-art-and-it-s-all-such-easy-access-now-the/) [Stanley Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-clarke/) > [“It didn’t matter that the scarves weren’t even all that special or great or that I was making far too many to actually keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-vercillo/it-didn-t-matter-that-the-scarves-weren-t-even-all-that-special-or/) [Kathryn Vercillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-vercillo/) > [I think, if I had my choice, I would spend all my time in the studio writing, and creating music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-condon/i-think-if-i-had-my-choice-i-would-spend-all-my-time-in-the-studio/) [Zach Condon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-condon/) > [Your problem is how you are going to spend this one odd and precious life you have been issued. Whether you're going to spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/your-problem-is-how-you-are-going-to-spend-this-one-odd-and-precious/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Without a vision there is no possibility of creating something larger than what al-ready exists. An entrepreneur has to be able to bring something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/without-a-vision-there-is-no-possibility-of-creating-something-larger/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [The ultimate goal of radical politics is gradually to displace the limit of social exclusions, empowering the excluded agents (sexual and ethnic minorities) by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/the-ultimate-goal-of-radical-politics-is-gradually-to-displace-the/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [Creating a top team and being in a position to win the Tour de France will give me a nice feeling. But I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-alonso/creating-a-top-team-and-being-in-a-position-to-win-the-tour-de-france/) [Fernando Alonso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-alonso/) > [When you are not honoring the present moment by allowing it to be, you are creating drama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/when-you-are-not-honoring-the-present-moment-by-allowing-it-to-be-you/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [You wind up creating from silence, like painting a picture on a blank canvas that could bring tears to somebody's eyes. 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