---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is the fantastic realization of the…"
description: "\"“It is the fantastic realization of the human essence because the human essence has no true reality.”\" — Christopher Hitchens"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfc/christopher-hitchens-117_nature-of-man_it-is-the-fantastic-realization-of-the-h_2351556.jpg"
---

#  It is the fantastic realization of the human essence…

![“It is the fantastic realization of the human essence because the human essence has no true reality.” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfc/christopher-hitchens-117_nature-of-man_it-is-the-fantastic-realization-of-the-h_2351556.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfc/christopher-hitchens-117_nature-of-man_it-is-the-fantastic-realization-of-the-h_2351556.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfc/christopher-hitchens-117_nature-of-man_it-is-the-fantastic-realization-of-the-h_2351556.jpg)

> ““It is the fantastic realization of the human essence because the human essence has no true reality.””

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Human essence is imagined, lacking concrete reality, yet it shapes our experience.

**In simple terms:** Human essence is imagined, not real.

Key Takeaway

Recognize the power of imagined identity.

Themes

existentialism identity philosophy

Mood

thoughtful introspective

Type

philosophical literary

When to use this quote

- creative writing
- psychology
- spiritual discourse

Key Concepts

subjective reality meaning making

Questions to Reflect On

- How does imagined essence influence actions?
- Is there value in believing in a non‑real essence?

A Different Perspective

Overemphasis on abstraction can detach from lived experience.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Fantastic Realization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantastic-realization-5726714/) [Human Essence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-essence-1323937/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Realization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realization/) [Realization Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realization-human-5726713/) [True reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-reality/)

## Related quotes

> [“No one should ever die alone. Rejoin the love of the goddess who made you. No longer a man, no longer a human, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomm-quackenbush/no-one-should-ever-die-alone-rejoin-the-love-of-the-goddess-who-made/)

[Thomm Quackenbush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomm-quackenbush/)

> [For me what was very important was to try to capture the essence that might have existed behind the myth, the human essence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-ramirez/for-me-what-was-very-important-was-to-try-to-capture-the-essence-that/)

[Edgar Ramirez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-ramirez/)

> [The spiritual life is part of the human essence. It is a defining characteristic of human nature, without which human nature is not fully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/the-spiritual-life-is-part-of-the-human-essence-it-is-a-defining/)

[Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/)

> [What a bog and labyrinth the human essence is... We are all overbrained and overemotioned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-hannah/what-a-bog-and-labyrinth-the-human-essence-is-we-are-all-overbrained/)

[Barry Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-hannah/)

> [“From an evolutionary perspective, the closest thing we have to a human essence is our DNA, and the DNA molecule is the vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/from-an-evolutionary-perspective-the-closest-thing-we-have-to-a-human/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“The air was full of human essence, of artificial enticement, of coquetry, indolence, pleasure—the man-made sense of existence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/the-air-was-full-of-human-essence-of-artificial-enticement-of/)

[O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/)

> [“As if sorrow is the true reality? Without ever putting his mind to it, he's come to believe that loss is the standard trajectory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/as-if-sorrow-is-the-true-reality-without-ever-putting-his-mind-to-it/)

[Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/)

> [I don't like reality TV as far as it being scripted and not being true reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cody-johnson/i-don-t-like-reality-tv-as-far-as-it-being-scripted-and-not-being/)

[Cody Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cody-johnson/)

> [“The only true reality is love and our infinite capacity to create it, in every form and in every moment”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-ellis/the-only-true-reality-is-love-and-our-infinite-capacity-to-create-it/)

[Sharon Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-ellis/)

> [If you're like most people, you've always wanted something better for your life - it's really how we are designed - we're supposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/if-you-re-like-most-people-you-ve-always-wanted-something-better-for/)

[Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/)

> [Reality became for me a problem after my experience with LSD. Before, I had believed there was only one reality, the reality of everyday…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-hofmann/reality-became-for-me-a-problem-after-my-experience-with-lsd-before-i/)

[Albert Hofmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-hofmann/)

> [“Many can argue that reality is as it is, but my experience is that the opposite is exactly true. Reality is ours for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asara-lovejoy/many-can-argue-that-reality-is-as-it-is-but-my-experience-is-that-the/)

[Asara Lovejoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asara-lovejoy/)

> [“Infinity is the true reality of God. Anything we might call God after that is insufficient to the true reality of what God is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-edward-simone/infinity-is-the-true-reality-of-god-anything-we-might-call-god-after/)

[Val Edward Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-edward-simone/)

> [“Our true reality is not a limited phenomenon, existing only between birth and death. It is eternal life that exists alone, self-existent and self-sufficient,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilchi-lee/our-true-reality-is-not-a-limited-phenomenon-existing-only-between/)

[Ilchi Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilchi-lee/)

> [“we shouldn’t surrender our real world perception to a false reality too much or we may suffer the inevitable consequences of deluded thinking. Technology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-p-neary/we-shouldn-t-surrender-our-real-world-perception-to-a-false-reality/)

[M.P. Neary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-p-neary/)

## More by Christopher Hitchens

> [“The spirit of our accurate and exact philosophy is outraged by conclusions that contradict each other so glaringly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-spirit-of-our-accurate-and-exact-philosophy-is-outraged-by/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [“Many governments employ torture but this was the first time that the element of Saturnalia and pornography in the process had been made so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/many-governments-employ-torture-but-this-was-the-first-time-that-the/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [ It's \[Los Angeles\] mostly full of nonsense and delusion and egomania. They think they'll be young and beautiful forever, even though most of them… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-los-angeles-mostly-full-of-nonsense-and-delusion-and-egomania/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [To be against rationalization is not the same as to be opposed to reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/to-be-against-rationalization-is-not-the-same-as-to-be-opposed-to/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [ \[Religion\] attacks us in our deepest integrity - the core of our self-respect. Religion says that we would not know right from wrong, we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/religion-attacks-us-in-our-deepest-integrity-the-core-of-our-self/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [“In the very recent past, we have seen the Church of Rome befouled by its complicity with the unpardonable sin of child rape, or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/in-the-very-recent-past-we-have-seen-the-church-of-rome-befouled-by/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [It's surprising to me how many of my friends send Christmas cards, or holiday cards, including my atheist and secular friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-surprising-to-me-how-many-of-my-friends-send-christmas-cards-or/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [Suppose there were groups of secularists at hospitals who went round the terminally ill and urged them to adopt atheism: 'Don't be a mug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/suppose-there-were-groups-of-secularists-at-hospitals-who-went-round/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [There are, after all, atheists who say they wish the fable were true but are unable to suspend the requisite disbelief, or who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-are-after-all-atheists-who-say-they-wish-the-fable-were-true/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [“It isn’t so long since a test of Anglican orthodoxy was applied to anyone seeking to study or teach at Oxford and Cambridge universities.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-isn-t-so-long-since-a-test-of-anglican-orthodoxy-was-applied-to/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [Gullibility and credulity are considered undesireable qualities in every department of human life - except religion ... Why are we praised by godly men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/gullibility-and-credulity-are-considered-undesireable-qualities-in/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [It's much worse to see a woman drunk than a man: I don't know quite why this is true but it just is. Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-much-worse-to-see-a-woman-drunk-than-a-man-i-don-t-know-quite/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [It's true that obscenity is a matter of taste and in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-true-that-obscenity-is-a-matter-of-taste-and-in-the-eye-of-the/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [I worked out early on to give up things I couldn't do well at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-worked-out-early-on-to-give-up-things-i-couldn-t-do-well-at-all/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [Writing is what's important to me, and anything that helps me do that - or enhances and prolongs and deepens and sometimes intensifies argument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/writing-is-what-s-important-to-me-and-anything-that-helps-me-do-that/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

[Explore all 1,241 Christopher Hitchens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

## More Nature of man quotes

> [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/)

[Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/)

> [“Probably it goes without saying, but time machine guys don't get a lot of action. Had a one night stand with something cute a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/probably-it-goes-without-saying-but-time-machine-guys-don-t-get-a-lot/)

[Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/)

> [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [“We have become human doings more than human beings, and the verb “rest,” as Jesus uses it, is largely foreign to us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/we-have-become-human-doings-more-than-human-beings-and-the-verb-rest/)

[Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/)

> [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/)

[William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/)

> [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/)

[Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/)

> [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/)

[Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/)

> [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/)

[Kenan Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenan-malik/)

> [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/)

[James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/)

> [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/)

[Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/)

> [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/)

[Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/)

> [Every human creates his own problems. Problems are ones private property and we shouldnt meddle into them self-initiatively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-papian/every-human-creates-his-own-problems-problems-are-ones-private/)

[Ruben Papian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-papian/)

> [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [“In the United States law, federally designated wilderness is famously defined as 'an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-marris/in-the-united-states-law-federally-designated-wilderness-is-famously/)

[Emma Marris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-marris/)

> [“For similar reasons, archaic humans did not initiate any revolutions. As far as we can tell, changes in social patterns, the invention of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/for-similar-reasons-archaic-humans-did-not-initiate-any-revolutions/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

[Browse all 12,662 Nature of man quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“It is the fantastic realization of the human essence because the human essence has no true reality.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Christopher Hitchens"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-is-the-fantastic-realization-of-the-human-essence-because-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Nature of man"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-is-the-fantastic-realization-of-the-human-essence-because-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfc/christopher-hitchens-117_nature-of-man_it-is-the-fantastic-realization-of-the-h_2351556.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfc/christopher-hitchens-117_nature-of-man_it-is-the-fantastic-realization-of-the-h_2351556.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfc/christopher-hitchens-117_nature-of-man_it-is-the-fantastic-realization-of-the-h_2351556.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It is the fantastic realization of the human essence because the human essence has no true reality.” — Christopher Hitchens",
                "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": "Christopher Hitchens",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“It is the fantastic realization of...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-is-the-fantastic-realization-of-the-human-essence-because-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-is-the-fantastic-realization-of-the-human-essence-because-the/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
