---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Are zombies possible? They're not just…"
description: "\"Are zombies possible? They're not just possible, they're actual. We're all zombies. Nobody is conscious — not in the systematically mysterious way that..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd2/daniel-dennett-3895_assertion_are-zombies-possible-they-re-not-just-po_3181118.png"
---

#  Are zombies possible? They're not just possible, they're…

![“Are zombies possible? They're not just possible, they're actual. We're all zombies. Nobody is conscious — not in the systematically mysterious way that supports such doctrines as epiphenomenalism. &#42;It would be an act of desperate intellectual dishonesty to quote this assertion out of context!” quote by Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd2/daniel-dennett-3895_assertion_are-zombies-possible-they-re-not-just-po_3181118.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd2/daniel-dennett-3895_assertion_are-zombies-possible-they-re-not-just-po_3181118.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd2/daniel-dennett-3895_assertion_are-zombies-possible-they-re-not-just-po_3181118.png)

> “Are zombies possible? They're not just possible, they're actual. We're all zombies. Nobody is conscious — not in the systematically mysterious way that supports such doctrines as epiphenomenalism. \*It would be an act of desperate intellectual dishonesty to quote this assertion out of context!”

[Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/)

## About This Quote

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

He claims that humans function like zombies, lacking true consciousness, challenging views like epiphenomenalism, and warns against misquoting his stance.

**In simple terms:** Humans act without genuine consciousness, questioning philosophical assumptions.

Key Takeaway

Question the nature of consciousness.

Themes

philosophy consciousness skepticism

Mood

critical provocative

Type

philosophical controversial

When to use this quote

- ethical debates
- psychology research
- AI consciousness
- public discourse

Key Concepts

epiphenomenalism zombie argument

Questions to Reflect On

- What evidence supports or refutes the zombie hypothesis?
- How does this view affect moral responsibility?

A Different Perspective

Argument may oversimplify complex neuroscience and philosophy.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Desperate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desperate/) [Dishonesty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dishonesty/) [Doctrine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctrine/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious/) [Mysterious ways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious-ways/) [Support](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/support/) [Zombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zombie/) [Zombies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zombies/)

## Related quotes

> [My stories are about humans and how they react, or fail to react, or react stupidly. I'm pointing the finger at us, not at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-a-romero/my-stories-are-about-humans-and-how-they-react-or-fail-to-react-or/)

[George A. Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-a-romero/)

> [I don't think most of my coworkers would be that much different if they became actual zombies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-think-most-of-my-coworkers-would-be-that-much-different-if/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The theory that the biosphere was created without evolution, a few thousand years ago, is ruled out by overwhelming scientific evidence. To claim that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-deutsch/the-theory-that-the-biosphere-was-created-without-evolution-a-few/)

[David Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deutsch/)

> [“Dawkins and his supporters have a right to their atheism. They do not have a right to intellectual dishonesty about atheism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dawkins-and-his-supporters-have-a-right-to-their-atheism-they-do-not/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [It is never just disagreement but always intellectual dishonesty that is the apologist's worst enemy. And its apprentice is ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/it-is-never-just-disagreement-but-always-intellectual-dishonesty-that/)

[Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/)

> [Campuses that were once havens of free speech are now patrolled and regulated by thought police. Intellectual dishonesty has become a job requirement for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-barone/campuses-that-were-once-havens-of-free-speech-are-now-patrolled-and/)

[Michael Barone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-barone/)

> [The removal of religion as history from our schoolbooks betrays the intellectual dishonesty of secular humanist educators and reveals their blind hostility to Christianity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/the-removal-of-religion-as-history-from-our-schoolbooks-betrays-the/)

[Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/)

> [If the history of resistance to Darwinian thinking is a good measure, we can expect that long into the future, long after every triumph…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/if-the-history-of-resistance-to-darwinian-thinking-is-a-good-measure/)

[Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/)

> [I'm a huge Nirvana fan and I like seeing things that at first seem out of context, but actually they're one of the biggest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-zinner/i-m-a-huge-nirvana-fan-and-i-like-seeing-things-that-at-first-seem/)

[Nick Zinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-zinner/)

> [I'm more interested in talking about what I do. And I don't think people are interested in my personal life. I've never had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-dafoe/i-m-more-interested-in-talking-about-what-i-do-and-i-don-t-think/)

[Willem Dafoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-dafoe/)

> [The natural world is not only a set of constraints but of contexts within which we can more fully realize our dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-shepard/the-natural-world-is-not-only-a-set-of-constraints-but-of-contexts/)

[Paul Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-shepard/)

> [I have done interviews in the past, and they cut everything out except for the outrageous line, and then they take it out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemmy-kilmister/i-have-done-interviews-in-the-past-and-they-cut-everything-out-except/)

[Lemmy Kilmister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemmy-kilmister/)

> [To quote out of context is the essence of the photographer's craft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-szarkowski/to-quote-out-of-context-is-the-essence-of-the-photographer-s-craft/)

[John Szarkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-szarkowski/)

> [Do we believe the Russians or do we believe our own lying media? Yeah, believe the Russians hands down, believe the Russians hands down.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/do-we-believe-the-russians-or-do-we-believe-our-own-lying-media-yeah/)

[Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/)

> [I painted the words "GREAT ADVENTURE" in Beijing, Dallas, San Francisco, Copenhagen, and Japan. What it means to me is completely different to everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-eine/i-painted-the-words-great-adventure-in-beijing-dallas-san-francisco/)

[Ben Eine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-eine/)

## More by Daniel Dennett

> [Virtually every major technological advance in the history of the human species- back to the invention of stone tools and the domestication of fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/virtually-every-major-technological-advance-in-the-history-of-the/)

[Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/)

> [Churches have given us great treasures such as music and architecture. Whether that pays for the harm they have done is another matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/churches-have-given-us-great-treasures-such-as-music-and-architecture/)

[Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/)

> [The secret of happiness is: Find something more important than you are and dedicate your life to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/the-secret-of-happiness-is-find-something-more-important-than-you-are/)

[Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/)

> [Whereas religions may serve a benign purpose by letting many people feel comfortable with the level of morality they themselves can attain, no religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/whereas-religions-may-serve-a-benign-purpose-by-letting-many-people/)

[Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/)

> [There's no polite way to say to somebody (religious followers) 'Do you realize you've wasted your life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/there-s-no-polite-way-to-say-to-somebody-religious-followers-do-you/)

[Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/)

> [Wherever there is a design that is highly successful in a broad range of similar environments, it is apt to emerge again and again,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/wherever-there-is-a-design-that-is-highly-successful-in-a-broad-range/)

[Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/)

> [The haven all memes depend on reaching is the human mind, but a human mind is itself an artifact created when memes restructure a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/the-haven-all-memes-depend-on-reaching-is-the-human-mind-but-a-human/)

[Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/)

> [Cost is always an object - the second law of thermodynamics sees to that](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/cost-is-always-an-object-the-second-law-of-thermodynamics-sees-to-that/)

[Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/)

> [In the beginning, there were no reasons; there were only causes. Nothing had a purpose, nothing has so much as a function; there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/in-the-beginning-there-were-no-reasons-there-were-only-causes-nothing/)

[Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/)

> [I look around the world and see so many wonderful things that I love and enjoy and benefit from, whether it's art or music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/i-look-around-the-world-and-see-so-many-wonderful-things-that-i-love/)

[Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/)

> [In all mammalian species that have so far been carefully studied, the rate at which their members engage in the killing of conspecifics is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/in-all-mammalian-species-that-have-so-far-been-carefully-studied-the/)

[Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/)

> [Cults and prophets proclaiming the imminent end of the world have been with us for several millennia, and it has been another sour sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/cults-and-prophets-proclaiming-the-imminent-end-of-the-world-have/)

[Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/)

> [Consciousness is cerebral celebrity--nothing more and nothing less. Those contents are conscious that persevere, that monopolize resources long enough to achieve certain typical and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/consciousness-is-cerebral-celebrity-nothing-more-and-nothing-less/)

[Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/)

> [People ache to believe that we human beings are vastly different from all other species - and they are right! We are different. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/people-ache-to-believe-that-we-human-beings-are-vastly-different-from/)

[Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/)

> [Minds are in limited supply, and each mind has a limited capacity for memes, and hence there is considerable competition among memes for entry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/minds-are-in-limited-supply-and-each-mind-has-a-limited-capacity-for/)

[Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/)

[Explore all 120 Daniel Dennett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/)

## More Assertion quotes

> [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/)

[Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/)

> [Metaphysical assertions, however, are statements of the psyche, and are therefore psychological. Whenever the Westerner hears the word “psychological,” it always sounds to him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/metaphysical-assertions-however-are-statements-of-the-psyche-and-are/)

[Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/)

> [At length weariness succeeds to labor, and the mind lies at ease in the contemplation of her own attainments without any desire of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/at-length-weariness-succeeds-to-labor-and-the-mind-lies-at-ease-in/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [When on a Sunday morning we hear the old bells ring out, we ask ourselves, "Is it possible! This is done on account of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/when-on-a-sunday-morning-we-hear-the-old-bells-ring-out-we-ask/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“Knowledge as a past fact, as something dead and done with—knowledge by the time it gets into encyclopaedias and text-books—does consist of assertion, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-g-collingwood/knowledge-as-a-past-fact-as-something-dead-and-done-with-knowledge-by/)

[R. G. Collingwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-g-collingwood/)

> [What causes adolescents to rebel is not the assertion of authority but the arbitrary use of power, with little explanation of the rules and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-steinberg/what-causes-adolescents-to-rebel-is-not-the-assertion-of-authority/)

[Laurence Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-steinberg/)

> [Those who know that the consensus of many centuries has sanctioned the conception that the earth remains at rest in the middle of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolaus-copernicus/those-who-know-that-the-consensus-of-many-centuries-has-sanctioned/)

[Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaus-copernicus/)

> [Upon the profound discontent of the young in every country do I set my faith. I beg you, the young, to be discontented. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/upon-the-profound-discontent-of-the-young-in-every-country-do-i-set/)

[Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/)

> [“Within certain limits terminology is always arbitrary. But the definition of being-true as unveiling, making manifest, is not an arbitrary, private invention of mine;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/within-certain-limits-terminology-is-always-arbitrary-but-the/)

[Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/)

> [There is in St. Paul's definite, soul-stirring assertion of the wrath of God and the reality of the judgment at hand, a truth more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-allen/there-is-in-st-paul-s-definite-soul-stirring-assertion-of-the-wrath/)

[Roland Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-allen/)

> [The Japanese see self-assertion as immoral and self- sacrifice as the sensible course to take in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akira-kurosawa/the-japanese-see-self-assertion-as-immoral-and-self-sacrifice-as-the/)

[Akira Kurosawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akira-kurosawa/)

> [But innovation is more than a new method. It is a new view of the universe, as one of risk rather than of chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/but-innovation-is-more-than-a-new-method-it-is-a-new-view-of-the/)

[Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/)

> [What I need to write is a complicated equation. Maybe if I knew I'd be one of those writers, one of the steady ones.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-keck/what-i-need-to-write-is-a-complicated-equation-maybe-if-i-knew-i-d-be/)

[Kevin Keck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-keck/)

> [There needs to be a public dawning - and it is beginning to dawn on some members of the public - that how science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-d-holt-jr/there-needs-to-be-a-public-dawning-and-it-is-beginning-to-dawn-on/)

[Rush D. Holt, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-d-holt-jr/)

> [So long as Muslims continue looking towards Western civilization as the only force that could regenerate their own stagnant society, they destroy their self-confidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-asad/so-long-as-muslims-continue-looking-towards-western-civilization-as/)

[Muhammad Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-asad/)

Browse all 279 Assertion quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Are zombies possible? They're not just possible, they're actual. We're all zombies. Nobody is conscious — not in the systematically mysterious way that supports such doctrines as epiphenomenalism. *It would be an act of desperate intellectual dishonesty to quote this assertion out of context!",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Daniel Dennett"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/are-zombies-possible-they-re-not-just-possible-they-re-actual-we-re/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Assertion"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/are-zombies-possible-they-re-not-just-possible-they-re-actual-we-re/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd2/daniel-dennett-3895_assertion_are-zombies-possible-they-re-not-just-po_3181118.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd2/daniel-dennett-3895_assertion_are-zombies-possible-they-re-not-just-po_3181118.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd2/daniel-dennett-3895_assertion_are-zombies-possible-they-re-not-just-po_3181118.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Are zombies possible? They're not just possible, they're actual. We're all zombies. Nobody is conscious…” — Daniel Dennett",
                "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": "Daniel Dennett",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Are zombies possible? They're not just...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/are-zombies-possible-they-re-not-just-possible-they-re-actual-we-re/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/are-zombies-possible-they-re-not-just-possible-they-re-actual-we-re/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
