--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: every human being is… equally unfree…" description: "\"“every human being is… equally unfree, that is, we… create out of freedom, a prison….”\" — Ernest Becker" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/ernest-becker-7036_freedom_every-human-being-is-equally-unfree-that_407723.jpg" --- # every human being is… equally unfree, that is, we… create… ![“every human being is… equally unfree, that is, we… create out of freedom, a prison….” quote by Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/ernest-becker-7036_freedom_every-human-being-is-equally-unfree-that_407723.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/ernest-becker-7036_freedom_every-human-being-is-equally-unfree-that_407723.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/ernest-becker-7036_freedom_every-human-being-is-equally-unfree-that_407723.jpg) > ““every human being is… equally unfree, that is, we… create out of freedom, a prison….”” [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human freedom is paradoxical: we are free yet create self‑imposed prisons through our choices. **In simple terms:** Freedom creates self‑imposed prisons. Key Takeaway Recognize and break self‑limiting patterns. Themes freedom psychology existential human nature Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal decision making - mental health - creative expression Key Concepts self‑imposed constraints psychological paradox Questions to Reflect On - What " you imprison yourself? - How can you use freedom constructively? A Different Perspective Freedom can be overwhelming, leading to paralysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Unfree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unfree/) ## Related quotes > [Remember that the Unification Church rose, not in freedom, but from a prison, the pit of suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-myung-moon/remember-that-the-unification-church-rose-not-in-freedom-but-from-a/) [Sun Myung Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-myung-moon/) > [“But you see, most of us are concerned with revolt within the prison; we want better food, a little more light, a larger window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/but-you-see-most-of-us-are-concerned-with-revolt-within-the-prison-we/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [Freedom or prison--what's the difference? A man must develop unwavering will power subject only to his reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/freedom-or-prison-what-s-the-difference-a-man-must-develop-unwavering/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [“Symbols, for me and for many, of freedom, whether it be from the prison of over-dense communities and the close confines of human relationships,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-maxwell/symbols-for-me-and-for-many-of-freedom-whether-it-be-from-the-prison/) [Gavin Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-maxwell/) > [“There is no freedom from the prison of the mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelley-armstrong/there-is-no-freedom-from-the-prison-of-the-mind/) [Kelley Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelley-armstrong/) > [Cage of freedom, that's our prison; we're the jailer and captive combined Cage of freedom, cast in power; all the trappings of our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-anderson/cage-of-freedom-that-s-our-prison-we-re-the-jailer-and-captive/) [Jon Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-anderson/) > [I'm not here to put my music out on the Internet with no support and then say I got creative freedom. I've got creative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/no-i-d/i-m-not-here-to-put-my-music-out-on-the-internet-with-no-support-and/) [No I.D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/no-i-d/) > [Remember, the Internet did not create freedom of speech; in theory, we always had freedom of speech - it's just that it often went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeynep-tufekci/remember-the-internet-did-not-create-freedom-of-speech-in-theory-we/) [Zeynep Tufekci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeynep-tufekci/) > [People like me thought America was the best place to be creative, to be free to create, to have the freedom to be who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-enninful/people-like-me-thought-america-was-the-best-place-to-be-creative-to/) [Edward Enninful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-enninful/) > [ One can...never create \[freedom\] by an invading force. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximilien-robespierre/one-can-never-create-freedom-by-an-invading-force/) [Maximilien Robespierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximilien-robespierre/) > [I think you create your own freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-patton/i-think-you-create-your-own-freedom/) [Mike Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-patton/) > [“Thus freedom is not just the matter of saying ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to a specific decision: it is the power to mold and create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-e-gerber/thus-freedom-is-not-just-the-matter-of-saying-yes-or-no-to-a-specific/) [Michael E. Gerber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-e-gerber/) > [All I've ever wanted to do was create freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/all-i-ve-ever-wanted-to-do-was-create-freedom/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [So far as discipline is concerned, freedom means not its absence but the use of higher and more rational forms as contrasted with those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/so-far-as-discipline-is-concerned-freedom-means-not-its-absence-but/) [Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/) > [The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-only-way-to-deal-with-an-unfree-world-is-to-become-so-absolutely/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) ## More by Ernest Becker > [“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/) > [“the characteristics the modern mind prides itself on are precisely those of madness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/the-characteristics-the-modern-mind-prides-itself-on-are-precisely/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“When we are young we are often puzzled by the fact that each person we admire seems to have a different version of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/when-we-are-young-we-are-often-puzzled-by-the-fact-that-each-person/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [Relationship is thus always slavery of a kind, which leaves a residue of guilt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/relationship-is-thus-always-slavery-of-a-kind-which-leaves-a-residue/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“neurosis as a problem of character and have seen that it can be approached in two ways: as a problem of too much narrowness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/neurosis-as-a-problem-of-character-and-have-seen-that-it-can-be/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [When we understand that man is the only animal who must create meaning, who must open a wedge into neutral nature, we already understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/when-we-understand-that-man-is-the-only-animal-who-must-create/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [What is the ideal for mental health, then? A lived, compelling illusion that does not lie about life, death, and reality; one honest enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-is-the-ideal-for-mental-health-then-a-lived-compelling-illusion/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“This is one of the reasons for bigotry and censorship of all kinds over personal morality: people fear that the standard morality will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/this-is-one-of-the-reasons-for-bigotry-and-censorship-of-all-kinds/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“Civilized" society is a hopeful belief and protest that science, money and goods make man count for more than any other animal. In this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/civilized-society-is-a-hopeful-belief-and-protest-that-science-money/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We might say that psychoanalysis revealed to us the complex penalties of denying the truth of man's condition, what we might call the costs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/we-might-say-that-psychoanalysis-revealed-to-us-the-complex-penalties/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“Understanding this, Rank could take a great step beyond Freud. Freud thought that modern man’s moral dependence on another was a result of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/understanding-this-rank-could-take-a-great-step-beyond-freud-freud/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“The world of human aspiration is largely fictitious and if we do not understand this we understand nothing about man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/the-world-of-human-aspiration-is-largely-fictitious-and-if-we-do-not/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“If the partner becomes God he can just as easily become the Devil; the reason is not far to seek. For one thing, one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/if-the-partner-becomes-god-he-can-just-as-easily-become-the-devil-the/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“The point is that if the love object is divine perfection, then one’s own self is elevated by joining one’s destiny to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/the-point-is-that-if-the-love-object-is-divine-perfection-then-one-s/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [Modern man is drinking and drugging himself out of awareness, or he spends his time shopping, which is the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/modern-man-is-drinking-and-drugging-himself-out-of-awareness-or-he/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) [Explore all 95 Ernest Becker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) ## More Freedom quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/elections-belong-to-the-people-it-s-their-decision-if-they-decide-to/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [If we gave up our freedom as the price of security, we would no longer be the great nation that we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/if-we-gave-up-our-freedom-as-the-price-of-security-we-would-no-longer/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [We live in the greatest country in the world because of the veterans who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom and the security…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-husted/we-live-in-the-greatest-country-in-the-world-because-of-the-veterans/) [Jon Husted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-husted/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [“No one was more surprised than I to realize that my newfound freedom had been purchased by giving up on eternity and settling for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-jessop/no-one-was-more-surprised-than-i-to-realize-that-my-newfound-freedom/) [Carolyn Jessop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-jessop/) > [“In a world of fixed future, there can be no right or wrong. Right and wrong demand freedom of choice, but if each action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-a-world-of-fixed-future-there-can-be-no-right-or-wrong-right-and/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“In any case, white people, who had robbed black people of their liberty and who profited by this theft every hour that they lived,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-any-case-white-people-who-had-robbed-black-people-of-their-liberty/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“I have to blame myself for not finding any way of reaching him, but I can't feel that either Ruth or I had anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/i-have-to-blame-myself-for-not-finding-any-way-of-reaching-him-but-i/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“It breaks my heart. Better than your words, your eye tells me all your peril. You are not yet free, you still search for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-breaks-my-heart-better-than-your-words-your-eye-tells-me-all-your/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [I don't want to be famous famous. I'm happy on the second tier, where I have autonomy on a professional level but I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-reece/i-don-t-want-to-be-famous-famous-i-m-happy-on-the-second-tier-where-i/) [Gabrielle Reece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-reece/) [Browse all 30,110 Freedom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“every human being is… equally unfree, that is, we… create out of freedom, a prison….”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ernest Becker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/every-human-being-is-equally-unfree-that-is-we-create-out-of-freedom/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Freedom" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/every-human-being-is-equally-unfree-that-is-we-create-out-of-freedom/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/ernest-becker-7036_freedom_every-human-being-is-equally-unfree-that_407723.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/ernest-becker-7036_freedom_every-human-being-is-equally-unfree-that_407723.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/ernest-becker-7036_freedom_every-human-being-is-equally-unfree-that_407723.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“every human being is… equally unfree, that is, we… create out of freedom, a prison….” — Ernest Becker", "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": "Ernest Becker", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“every human being is… equally unfree,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/every-human-being-is-equally-unfree-that-is-we-create-out-of-freedom/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/every-human-being-is-equally-unfree-that-is-we-create-out-of-freedom/#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 } } ] } ```