--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Human beings are social creatures - not…" description: "\"Human beings are social creatures - not occasionally or by accident but always. Sociability is one of our lives as both cause and effect.\" — Clay Shirky" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/clay-shirky-3364_accident_human-beings-are-social-creatures-not-oc_2766140.png" --- # Human beings are social creatures - not occasionally or by… ![“Human beings are social creatures - not occasionally or by accident but always. Sociability is one of our lives as both cause and effect.” quote by Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/clay-shirky-3364_accident_human-beings-are-social-creatures-not-oc_2766140.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/clay-shirky-3364_accident_human-beings-are-social-creatures-not-oc_2766140.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/clay-shirky-3364_accident_human-beings-are-social-creatures-not-oc_2766140.png) > “Human beings are social creatures - not occasionally or by accident but always. Sociability is one of our lives as both cause and effect.” [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans inherently need social connection; it's both a cause and effect of our lives. **In simple terms:** People naturally seek social bonds. Key Takeaway Cultivate community. Themes social human nature connection Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - workplace - family gatherings - online groups - volunteer work Key Concepts sociology psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does community shape identity? - When does social pressure become harmful? A Different Perspective Social needs can conflict with personal autonomy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accident/) [Accident Sociability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accident-sociability-3208127/) [Accidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accidents/) [Always](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always/) [Beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beings/) [Beings Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beings-social-871438/) [Both](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/both/) [Cause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cause/) [Cause and effect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cause-and-effect/) [Causes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/causes/) [Creatures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creatures/) [Effect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effect/) [Effects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effects/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lives/) [Occasionally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occasionally/) [Our](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our/) [Our lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-lives/) [Sociability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sociability/) [Sociability Lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sociability-lives-3208126/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social Creatures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-creatures-1401763/) ## Related quotes > [Human beings are social creatures. We are social not just in the trivial sense that we like company, and not just in the obvious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/human-beings-are-social-creatures-we-are-social-not-just-in-the/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [We human beings are social beings. We come into the world as the result of others’ actions. We survive here in dependence on others.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-human-beings-are-social-beings-we-come-into-the-world-as-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Human beings are a social species. We like to hang together in groups, just like wildebeests, just like lions. Wildebeests don't hang with lions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-phillips/human-beings-are-a-social-species-we-like-to-hang-together-in-groups/) [Dan Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-phillips/) > [Without love we could not survive. Human beings are social creatures, and a concern for each other is the very basis of our life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/without-love-we-could-not-survive-human-beings-are-social-creatures/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [At the end of the day, human beings are social people. If you have had a bad day, there is no escape when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jofra-archer/at-the-end-of-the-day-human-beings-are-social-people-if-you-have-had/) [Jofra Archer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jofra-archer/) > [I see a world in the future in which we understand that all life is related to us and we treat that life with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/i-see-a-world-in-the-future-in-which-we-understand-that-all-life-is/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [Human beings are social animals and nearly all of us are driven by the need to be loved and the desire to successfully sustain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-hussey/human-beings-are-social-animals-and-nearly-all-of-us-are-driven-by/) [Matthew Hussey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-hussey/) > [“If emotions were created for social creatures, did they cease to exist as soon as society disappeared?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-w-robertson/if-emotions-were-created-for-social-creatures-did-they-cease-to-exist/) [Edward W. Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-w-robertson/) > [Human beings are social animals. We were social before we were human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/human-beings-are-social-animals-we-were-social-before-we-were-human/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [Human beings are such social animals. We're very connected with the feelings of those we're close to, so we can't really be happy when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/human-beings-are-such-social-animals-we-re-very-connected-with-the/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [Evolution did not intend trees to grow singly. Far more than ourselves they are social creatures, and no more natural as isolated specimens than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/evolution-did-not-intend-trees-to-grow-singly-far-more-than-ourselves/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [Humans are social creatures that really crave intimacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mercer/humans-are-social-creatures-that-really-crave-intimacy/) [James Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mercer/) > [I believe that we were meant to live as social creatures, to reach out and bless each other's lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/i-believe-that-we-were-meant-to-live-as-social-creatures-to-reach-out/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [Human beings are social animals; we devote a significant portion of our brain just to dealing with interactions with other humans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamais-cascio/human-beings-are-social-animals-we-devote-a-significant-portion-of/) [Jamais Cascio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamais-cascio/) > [Human beings take social stances, and if you’re respectful of all human beings, you have to decide what you’re going to do and why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-carey/human-beings-take-social-stances-and-if-you-re-respectful-of-all/) [Mike Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-carey/) ## More by Clay Shirky > [ “\[N\]ew technology enables new kinds of group-forming.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/n-ew-technology-enables-new-kinds-of-group-forming/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [To have a discussion about the plusses and minuses of various forms of group action, though, is going to require discussing the current tools…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/to-have-a-discussion-about-the-plusses-and-minuses-of-various-forms/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [“Mass amateurization of publishing makes mass amateurization of filtering a forced move.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/mass-amateurization-of-publishing-makes-mass-amateurization-of/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [“Information sharing produces shared awareness among the participants, and collaborative production relies on shared creation, but collective action creates shared responsibility, by tying the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/information-sharing-produces-shared-awareness-among-the-participants/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [More interesting than thinking about what's possible in 10 years is thinking what's possible now but that no one has built.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/more-interesting-than-thinking-about-what-s-possible-in-10-years-is/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [“Digital networks are increasing the fluidity of all media. The old choice between one-way public media (like books and movies) and two-way private media…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/digital-networks-are-increasing-the-fluidity-of-all-media-the-old/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [Even with the sacred printing press, we got erotic novels 150 years before we got scientific journals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/even-with-the-sacred-printing-press-we-got-erotic-novels-150-years/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [Tools get socially interesting after they're no longer technologically interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/tools-get-socially-interesting-after-they-re-no-longer/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [Carpooling is important for urban density, air pollution and other reasons, but carpooling is not the kind of thing that actually changes the energy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/carpooling-is-important-for-urban-density-air-pollution-and-other/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [If what you're doing is valuable for people, they will find a way to pay you to keep doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/if-what-you-re-doing-is-valuable-for-people-they-will-find-a-way-to/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [Multi-taskers often think they are like gym rats, bulking up their ability to juggle tasks, when in fact they are like alcoholics, degrading their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/multi-taskers-often-think-they-are-like-gym-rats-bulking-up-their/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [Civic participants don't aim to make life better merely for members of the group. They want to improve even the lives of people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/civic-participants-don-t-aim-to-make-life-better-merely-for-members/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [I would not hesitate to say I was addicted to the Internet in the first two years. It can be addictive, and things not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/i-would-not-hesitate-to-say-i-was-addicted-to-the-internet-in-the/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [Bureaucracies temporarily suspend the Second Law of Thermodynamics. In a bureaucracy, it's easier to make a process more complex than to make it simpler,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/bureaucracies-temporarily-suspend-the-second-law-of-thermodynamics-in/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [The more ideas there are in circulation, the more ideas there are for any individual to disagree with. More media always means more arguing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/the-more-ideas-there-are-in-circulation-the-more-ideas-there-are-for/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) [Explore all 132 Clay Shirky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) ## More Accident quotes > [Fame, we may understand, is no sure test of merit, but only a probability of such: it is an accident, not a property, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/fame-we-may-understand-is-no-sure-test-of-merit-but-only-a/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [I went to school at night in L.A. to brush up on my engineering while I applied to the astronaut program. I really did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-jemison/i-went-to-school-at-night-in-l-a-to-brush-up-on-my-engineering-while/) [Mae Jemison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-jemison/) > [“The accident in your rearview mirror already happened. The one in front of you is still preventable. Pay attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nakia-r-laushaul/the-accident-in-your-rearview-mirror-already-happened-the-one-in/) [Nakia R. Laushaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nakia-r-laushaul/) > [People dont get married by accident and they dont get divorced by accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-hayes/people-dont-get-married-by-accident-and-they-dont-get-divorced-by/) [Darren Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hayes/) > [My father had Parkinson's, though he actually died following a bicycle accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kt-tunstall/my-father-had-parkinson-s-though-he-actually-died-following-a-bicycle/) [KT Tunstall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kt-tunstall/) > [A tragic car accident put me in a wheelchair and dashed my hopes and dreams for the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-cawthorn/a-tragic-car-accident-put-me-in-a-wheelchair-and-dashed-my-hopes-and/) [Madison Cawthorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-cawthorn/) > [My musical career was an accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sade-adu/my-musical-career-was-an-accident/) [Sade Adu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sade-adu/) > [The spirit in the body is like wine in a glass; when it spills, it seeps into air and earth and light….It’s a mistake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-michaels/the-spirit-in-the-body-is-like-wine-in-a-glass-when-it-spills-it/) [Anne Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-michaels/) > [accident ruled every corner of the universe except the chambers of the human heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/accident-ruled-every-corner-of-the-universe-except-the-chambers-of/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [There is a French expression that says: to be exposed to an accident, to cross a street without looking at the cars means exposing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/there-is-a-french-expression-that-says-to-be-exposed-to-an-accident/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [It's no accident that most self-help groups use 'anonymous' in their names; to Americans, the first step toward redemption is a ritual wiping out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/it-s-no-accident-that-most-self-help-groups-use-anonymous-in-their/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [High birth is an accident, not a virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pietro-metastasio/high-birth-is-an-accident-not-a-virtue/) [Pietro Metastasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pietro-metastasio/) > [“I just got out of the hospital. I was in a speed reading accident. I hit a book mark and flew across the room.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/i-just-got-out-of-the-hospital-i-was-in-a-speed-reading-accident-i/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [However, I met with a horrible accident while riding my bike in Sangla Valley. The accident was a wakeup call for me stop getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhinav-shukla/however-i-met-with-a-horrible-accident-while-riding-my-bike-in-sangla/) [Abhinav Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhinav-shukla/) > [“Because the core of my personal philosophy is that everything that happens to us benefits us, I was also spared the futility of cursing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/because-the-core-of-my-personal-philosophy-is-that-everything-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 922 Accident quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accident/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Human beings are social creatures - not occasionally or by accident but always. 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