--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only thing that separates us from the…" description: "\"The only thing that separates us from the animals...is we have pornography.\" — Chuck Palahniuk" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b33/chuck-palahniuk-37_animal_the-only-thing-that-separates-us-from-th_1013724.jpg" --- # The only thing that separates us from the animals...is we… ![“The only thing that separates us from the animals...is we have pornography.” quote by Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b33/chuck-palahniuk-37_animal_the-only-thing-that-separates-us-from-th_1013724.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b33/chuck-palahniuk-37_animal_the-only-thing-that-separates-us-from-th_1013724.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b33/chuck-palahniuk-37_animal_the-only-thing-that-separates-us-from-th_1013724.jpg) > “The only thing that separates us from the animals...is we have pornography.” [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human uniqueness is defined by cultural constructs like pornography, separating us from animal instincts. **In simple terms:** Culture sets us apart from animals. Key Takeaway Question what truly defines humanity. Themes culture humanity technology Mood critical provocative Type philosophical controversial When to use this quote - media consumption - ethical debate - personal identity Key Concepts existentialism media studies Questions to Reflect On - What cultural artifacts define us? - Is technology eroding our humanity? A Different Perspective Pornography is not the sole differentiator. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Pornography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pornography/) ## Related quotes > [The only thing that separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorize.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harling/the-only-thing-that-separates-us-from-the-animals-is-our-ability-to/) [Robert Harling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harling/) > [Details are the only thing that separates one movie from another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/campbell-scott/details-are-the-only-thing-that-separates-one-movie-from-another/) [Campbell Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/campbell-scott/) > [“It is our ability to accessorize that separates us from the animals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miss-truvie/it-is-our-ability-to-accessorize-that-separates-us-from-the-animals/) Miss Truvie > [“Art is what separates us from the animals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iimani-david/art-is-what-separates-us-from-the-animals/) [Iimani David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iimani-david/) > [“The point was, there'd be nothing to this if you were beautiful and sexy. The point was, in a world where everybody had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/the-point-was-there-d-be-nothing-to-this-if-you-were-beautiful-and/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [I've about decided that's the main thing that separates happy people from the other people: the feeling that you're a practical item, with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/i-ve-about-decided-that-s-the-main-thing-that-separates-happy-people/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [The only thing which separates man from child is all the values he has lost over the years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/poul-henningsen/the-only-thing-which-separates-man-from-child-is-all-the-values-he/) [Poul Henningsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/poul-henningsen/) > [The chief thing that separates us from God is the thought that we are separated from God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/the-chief-thing-that-separates-us-from-god-is-the-thought-that-we-are/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [Revenge is good. It's what separates us from the animals and the hippies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/revenge-is-good-it-s-what-separates-us-from-the-animals-and-the/) [Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/) > [Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It's what separates us from the animals ... except the weasel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-groening/weaseling-out-of-things-is-important-to-learn-it-s-what-separates-us/) [Matt Groening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-groening/) > [What separates us from the animals, what separates us from the chaos, is our ability to mourn people we’ve never met.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/what-separates-us-from-the-animals-what-separates-us-from-the-chaos/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [There's only one thing that separates us from animals: We aren't afraid of vacuum cleaners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-stilson/there-s-only-one-thing-that-separates-us-from-animals-we-aren-t/) [Jeff Stilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-stilson/) > [Choice, I've always believed, is all that separates us from animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/choice-i-ve-always-believed-is-all-that-separates-us-from-animals/) [Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/) > [Guilt, remorse. It's what separates us from the animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-mitchell/guilt-remorse-it-s-what-separates-us-from-the-animals/) [Arthur Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-mitchell/) > [We all have to control our feelings. That's the thing that separates us from animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/we-all-have-to-control-our-feelings-that-s-the-thing-that-separates/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) ## More by Chuck Palahniuk > [Because after you've crossed some lines, you just keep crossing them. And there's no escaping from constant escape. Distracting ourselves. Avoiding confrontation. Getting past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/because-after-you-ve-crossed-some-lines-you-just-keep-crossing-them/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [According to Plato, we don't learn anything. Our soul has lived so many lives that we know everything. Teachers and education can only remind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/according-to-plato-we-don-t-learn-anything-our-soul-has-lived-so-many/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [His saliva tasted like the wet dicks of ten thousand lonely truck drivers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/his-saliva-tasted-like-the-wet-dicks-of-ten-thousand-lonely-truck/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“shoulder. They weigh that much. Tyler’s a banquet waiter,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/shoulder-they-weigh-that-much-tyler-s-a-banquet-waiter/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [We'll never be as young as we are tonight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-ll-never-be-as-young-as-we-are-tonight/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“We drive west the rest of the night, away from where the sun will come up, trying to outrace it, trying not to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-drive-west-the-rest-of-the-night-away-from-where-the-sun-will-come/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Just for the record, how I feel right now is very terrific.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/just-for-the-record-how-i-feel-right-now-is-very-terrific/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Nobody's told me anything to date that I've been completely reviled by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/nobody-s-told-me-anything-to-date-that-i-ve-been-completely-reviled-by/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Then you're trapped in your lovely nest, and the things you used to own, now they own you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/then-you-re-trapped-in-your-lovely-nest-and-the-things-you-used-to/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Some stories, you use up. Others use you up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/some-stories-you-use-up-others-use-you-up/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Verbs allow you to communicate a story in a much more converged or involuntary way for a reader. 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My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [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 > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The only thing that separates us from the animals...is we have pornography.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Chuck Palahniuk" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/the-only-thing-that-separates-us-from-the-animals-is-we-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/the-only-thing-that-separates-us-from-the-animals-is-we-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b33/chuck-palahniuk-37_animal_the-only-thing-that-separates-us-from-th_1013724.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b33/chuck-palahniuk-37_animal_the-only-thing-that-separates-us-from-th_1013724.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b33/chuck-palahniuk-37_animal_the-only-thing-that-separates-us-from-th_1013724.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The only thing that separates us from the animals...is we have pornography.” — Chuck Palahniuk", "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": "Chuck Palahniuk", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The only thing that separates us...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/the-only-thing-that-separates-us-from-the-animals-is-we-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/the-only-thing-that-separates-us-from-the-animals-is-we-have/#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 } } ] } ```