--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What I’m talking about is free will. Do…" description: "\"“What I’m talking about is free will. Do we have it, or does God dictate and script everything we do and say and want? Do we have free will, or do the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35d/chuck-palahniuk-37_control_what-i-m-talking-about-is-free-will-do-w_2909094.jpg" --- # What I’m talking about is free will. Do we have it, or… ![“What I’m talking about is free will. Do we have it, or does God dictate and script everything we do and say and want? Do we have free will, or do the mass media and our culture control us, our desires and actions, from the moment we’re born?” quote by Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35d/chuck-palahniuk-37_control_what-i-m-talking-about-is-free-will-do-w_2909094.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35d/chuck-palahniuk-37_control_what-i-m-talking-about-is-free-will-do-w_2909094.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35d/chuck-palahniuk-37_control_what-i-m-talking-about-is-free-will-do-w_2909094.jpg) > ““What I’m talking about is free will. Do we have it, or does God dictate and script everything we do and say and want? Do we have free will, or do the mass media and our culture control us, our desires and actions, from the moment we’re born?”” [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. He questions whether free will exists or if divine destiny and cultural forces dictate human thoughts and actions from birth. **In simple terms:** Free will vs. destiny and media control. Key Takeaway Examine influences on your choices. Themes philosophy free will determinism media influence spirituality Mood skeptical inquisitive Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - media consumption - spiritual reflection - personal decision making - critical thinking Key Concepts existentialism cultural conditioning theology psychology Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel truly free? - How much does media shape your desires? A Different Perspective Answers may be ambiguous. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control/) [Mass media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass-media/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Do we have free will, or do the mass media and our culture control us, our desires and actions, from the moment we’re born?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/do-we-have-free-will-or-do-the-mass-media-and-our-culture-control-us/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“A motion picture, or music, or television, they have to maintain a certain decorum in order to be broadcast to a vast audience. Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/a-motion-picture-or-music-or-television-they-have-to-maintain-a/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“As for him who envies or even fears us (and envied and feared great powers must always be), and who on this account wishes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/as-for-him-who-envies-or-even-fears-us-and-envied-and-feared-great/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [“As Greg Boyd states: Why should we assume that God desires to do everything he has the raw power to do? . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-fischer/as-greg-boyd-states-why-should-we-assume-that-god-desires-to-do/) [Austin Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-fischer/) > [“Sometimes what we desire the most can change who we are, and it’s up to us to decide if that’s for better or worse.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dannika-dark/sometimes-what-we-desire-the-most-can-change-who-we-are-and-it-s-up/) [Dannika Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dannika-dark/) > [Through return to simple living comes control of desires. In control of desires stillness is attained. In stillness the world is restored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/through-return-to-simple-living-comes-control-of-desires-in-control/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [“One is a careful distinction between things which are in our power and things which are not. Desire and dislike, opinion and affection, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/one-is-a-careful-distinction-between-things-which-are-in-our-power/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [The one who has no control over his desires has no control over his mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-ibn-abi-talib/the-one-who-has-no-control-over-his-desires-has-no-control-over-his/) [Ali ibn Abi Talib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-ibn-abi-talib/) > [Freedom in Christ allows you to control the desires that once controlled you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/freedom-in-christ-allows-you-to-control-the-desires-that-once/) [LeCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [Everyone have desires, not everyone can control desires from doing it in actions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/km-ii/everyone-have-desires-not-everyone-can-control-desires-from-doing-it/) [KM II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/km-ii/) > [“If organisms indeed lack free will, it implies that we can manipulate and even control their desires using drugs, genetic engineering or direct brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/if-organisms-indeed-lack-free-will-it-implies-that-we-can-manipulate/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“For twenty-one years, I have been paralyzed by the fear of what this society will do with me if they ever were to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-pearce/for-twenty-one-years-i-have-been-paralyzed-by-the-fear-of-what-this/) [Dan Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-pearce/) > [When it comes to power as it functions between humans, it all comes down to desire. If you know what someone wants, you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-a-kemp/when-it-comes-to-power-as-it-functions-between-humans-it-all-comes/) [Courtney A. Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-a-kemp/) > [To me that's what art is about - when you don't really have any control over your desires to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-taylor/to-me-that-s-what-art-is-about-when-you-don-t-really-have-any-control/) [Noah Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-taylor/) > [When people can't control their desires... we have to pass laws to stop their desires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/when-people-can-t-control-their-desires-we-have-to-pass-laws-to-stop/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) ## 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. The verbs allow you to come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/verbs-allow-you-to-communicate-a-story-in-a-much-more-converged-or/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Waiters will always pee in soup, people will always fall in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/waiters-will-always-pee-in-soup-people-will-always-fall-in-love/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Branch Bacardi, star of The Da Vinci Load, To Drill a Mockingbird, The Postman Always Cums Twice, Chitty Chitty Gang Bang, The Twilight Bone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/branch-bacardi-star-of-the-da-vinci-load-to-drill-a-mockingbird-the/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Every unkind remark or crude gesture by others is a blessing, an opportunity to exercise our own capacity to forgive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/every-unkind-remark-or-crude-gesture-by-others-is-a-blessing-an/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Nuestro deber es enseñar a esos hombres y mujeres la libertad a través de la esclavitud; y el coraje a través del miedo.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/nuestro-deber-es-ense-ar-a-esos-hombres-y-mujeres-la-libertad-a-trav/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) [Explore all 2,041 Chuck Palahniuk quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) ## More Control quotes > [We have to get control of our borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-coffman/we-have-to-get-control-of-our-borders/) [Mike Coffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-coffman/) > [Grit and self-control are related, but they're not the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-duckworth/grit-and-self-control-are-related-but-they-re-not-the-same-thing/) [Angela Duckworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-duckworth/) > [“You can't control who loves you...you can't let someone love you anymore than you can make someone love you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/you-can-t-control-who-loves-you-you-can-t-let-someone-love-you/) [Amy Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-harmon/) > [I thought I fought a really good Orlando Salido. I never let him get into his fight. I knew what I needed to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikey-garcia/i-thought-i-fought-a-really-good-orlando-salido-i-never-let-him-get/) [Mikey Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikey-garcia/) > [Don't think you can...know you can! You human body is the most impressive tool you'll ever own. Even if you can't control everything, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hardy/don-t-think-you-can-know-you-can-you-human-body-is-the-most/) [Jeff Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hardy/) > [If you have everything under control, you're not moving fast enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-andretti/if-you-have-everything-under-control-you-re-not-moving-fast-enough/) [Mario Andretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-andretti/) > [“Without time management, you lose control of your life and do what other people tell you to do. You lose control and become a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-miller/without-time-management-you-lose-control-of-your-life-and-do-what/) Thomas Miller > [I started off as a model maker, so the first part of my career was a model maker and then a motion control camera…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-knoll/i-started-off-as-a-model-maker-so-the-first-part-of-my-career-was-a/) [John Knoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-knoll/) > [Many of us rely on our own illusion of control. But when God makes it known to you that you're not the one steering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/many-of-us-rely-on-our-own-illusion-of-control-but-when-god-makes-it/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [In Congress, Florida Republicans worked with the Trump administration to secure funding for coastal restoration projects following the devastating impacts of Hurricanes Irma and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-waltz/in-congress-florida-republicans-worked-with-the-trump-administration/) [Michael Waltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-waltz/) > [“He who can destroy a thing has the real control of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/he-who-can-destroy-a-thing-has-the-real-control-of-it/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [Sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying or getting overly angry or to maintain control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-haysbert/sometimes-you-have-to-laugh-to-keep-from-crying-or-getting-overly/) [Dennis Haysbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-haysbert/) > [My sister-in-law works for a group that supports orphanages in Cairo. She and her colleagues take care of children left behind by circumstances beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-elbaradei/my-sister-in-law-works-for-a-group-that-supports-orphanages-in-cairo/) [Mohamed ElBaradei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-elbaradei/) > [Some nights I'm funny with the between-song commentary, some nights I'm not. I have no control over this. I pace the stage a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-berman/some-nights-i-m-funny-with-the-between-song-commentary-some-nights-i/) [David Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-berman/) > [“Control never be a means to any practical end. It can never be a means to anything but more control… Like punk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/control-never-be-a-means-to-any-practical-end-it-can-never-be-a-means/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) [Browse all 6,032 Control quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What I’m talking about is free will. Do we have it, or does God dictate and script everything we do and say and want? Do we have free will, or do the mass media and our culture control us, our desires and actions, from the moment we’re born?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Chuck Palahniuk" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/what-i-m-talking-about-is-free-will-do-we-have-it-or-does-god-dictate/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Control" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/what-i-m-talking-about-is-free-will-do-we-have-it-or-does-god-dictate/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35d/chuck-palahniuk-37_control_what-i-m-talking-about-is-free-will-do-w_2909094.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35d/chuck-palahniuk-37_control_what-i-m-talking-about-is-free-will-do-w_2909094.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35d/chuck-palahniuk-37_control_what-i-m-talking-about-is-free-will-do-w_2909094.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What I’m talking about is free will. Do we have it, or does God dictate and script everything we do and say…” — 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": "“What I’m talking about is free...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/what-i-m-talking-about-is-free-will-do-we-have-it-or-does-god-dictate/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/what-i-m-talking-about-is-free-will-do-we-have-it-or-does-god-dictate/#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 } } ] } ```