--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It isn't what people think that is…" description: "\"It isn't what people think that is important, but the reason they think what they think\" — Eugene Ionesco" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27f/eug-ne-ionesco-1878_human-nature_it-isn-t-what-people-think-that-is-impor_2434267.jpg" --- # It isn't what people think that is important, but the… ![“It isn't what people think that is important, but the reason they think what they think” quote by Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27f/eug-ne-ionesco-1878_human-nature_it-isn-t-what-people-think-that-is-impor_2434267.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27f/eug-ne-ionesco-1878_human-nature_it-isn-t-what-people-think-that-is-impor_2434267.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27f/eug-ne-ionesco-1878_human-nature_it-isn-t-what-people-think-that-is-impor_2434267.jpg) > “It isn't what people think that is important, but the reason they think what they think” [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Importance lies not in what people think, but why they think it. **In simple terms:** Why people think matters. Key Takeaway Explore underlying reasons. Themes critical thinking motivation perception Mood inquisitive analytical Type theatrical philosophical When to use this quote - debate - education - media analysis Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - What drives your beliefs? - How do you question assumptions? A Different Perspective People’s reasons can be irrational or hidden. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Important Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important-reason-320108/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-think/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Reason Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason-think-320107/) [Think Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-important/) [Think Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-think/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I have no other but a woman's reason: I think him so, because I think him so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-have-no-other-but-a-woman-s-reason-i-think-him-so-because-i-think/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I do think it's important not to be absolutely sure, so sure that you can't reinvent yourself in some way, or at least rediscover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/i-do-think-it-s-important-not-to-be-absolutely-sure-so-sure-that-you/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [I've come to realize that the thing in life that's important, the reason we're all here, is to love and do well for each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-gonzalez/i-ve-come-to-realize-that-the-thing-in-life-that-s-important-the/) [Tony Gonzalez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-gonzalez/) > [An important reason that we're in the trouble we are in with climate change is that we don't have a handle on our environment.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/an-important-reason-that-we-re-in-the-trouble-we-are-in-with-climate/) [Jeff Vandermeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [I have a hunch the most important reason we're going to space is not known now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burt-rutan/i-have-a-hunch-the-most-important-reason-we-re-going-to-space-is-not/) [Burt Rutan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burt-rutan/) > [I think that the most important reason to come out is your own sanity; that's above everything else. I think that applies whether you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-rice/i-think-that-the-most-important-reason-to-come-out-is-your-own-sanity/) [Christopher Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-rice/) > [Gandhi was important for another reason as well: his country was suffering under the British Empire, and yet he was leading a very singular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/gandhi-was-important-for-another-reason-as-well-his-country-was/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [“You matter. You are important. There is a reason for your existence. You may not see or understand how this is true, but truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/you-matter-you-are-important-there-is-a-reason-for-your-existence-you/) [Richelle E. 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Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“Why does the world have to destroy anything that doesn't fit in? We still can't figure out that this is the most important reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-zadoorian/why-does-the-world-have-to-destroy-anything-that-doesn-t-fit-in-we/) [Michael Zadoorian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-zadoorian/) > [I think about love being so important because, to me, that's the reason we were put on Earth. Love, in a sense, is God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle/i-think-about-love-being-so-important-because-to-me-that-s-the-reason/) [Kyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle/) > [“I am the MOST important reason of my life, without me... ...I am nothing!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homero-arceyut/i-am-the-most-important-reason-of-my-life-without-me-i-am-nothing/) [Homero Arceyut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homero-arceyut/) > [“The most important reason for going from one place to another is to see what's in between.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/the-most-important-reason-for-going-from-one-place-to-another-is-to/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) ## More by Eugene Ionesco > [I am, it seems, an avant-garde dramatist. It would even seem obvious since I am present here at discussions on the avant-garde theatre. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/i-am-it-seems-an-avant-garde-dramatist-it-would-even-seem-obvious/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [ “My boy! It's really true, you really love hashed brown potatoes? You make me so happy. JACK \[without conviction\]: Yes, I like them, I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/my-boy-it-s-really-true-you-really-love-hashed-brown-potatoes-you/) [Eugène Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [Everything that has been will be, everything that will be is, everything that will be has been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/everything-that-has-been-will-be-everything-that-will-be-is/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [“Rhinoceros The Leader The Future is in Eggs or It Takes all Sorts to Make a World”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/rhinoceros-the-leader-the-future-is-in-eggs-or-it-takes-all-sorts-to/) [Eugène Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [Every message of despair is the statement of a situation from which everybody must freely try to find a way out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/every-message-of-despair-is-the-statement-of-a-situation-from-which/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [I've always been suspicious of collective truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/i-ve-always-been-suspicious-of-collective-truths/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [Shakespeare was the great one before us. His place was between God and despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/shakespeare-was-the-great-one-before-us-his-place-was-between-god-and/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [I'll never waste my dreams by falling asleep. Never again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/i-ll-never-waste-my-dreams-by-falling-asleep-never-again/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [“All doctors are quacks. And all patients too. Only the Royal Navy is honest in England.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/all-doctors-are-quacks-and-all-patients-too-only-the-royal-navy-is/) [Eugène Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [That's how we stay young these days: murder and suicide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/that-s-how-we-stay-young-these-days-murder-and-suicide/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [“I read a page of Plato's great work. I can no longer understand anything, because behind the words on the page, which have their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/i-read-a-page-of-plato-s-great-work-i-can-no-longer-understand/) [Eugène Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [“MRS. SMITH: Well, this is how it was. It is difficult for me to speak openly to you, but a fireman is also a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/mrs-smith-well-this-is-how-it-was-it-is-difficult-for-me-to-speak/) [Eugène Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [Childhood is over the moment things are no longer astonishing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/childhood-is-over-the-moment-things-are-no-longer-astonishing/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [Realism falls short of reality. It shrinks it, attenuates it, falsifies it; it does not take into account our basic truths and our fundamental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/realism-falls-short-of-reality-it-shrinks-it-attenuates-it-falsifies/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [A nose that can see is worth two that sniff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/a-nose-that-can-see-is-worth-two-that-sniff/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) [Explore all 169 Eugene Ionesco quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) ## More Human nature quotes > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [“The aristocratic interiority is centered on the higher mind, the mens, the ajna chakra, the seat of intellect and intuition that commands the lower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-evola/the-aristocratic-interiority-is-centered-on-the-higher-mind-the-mens/) [Julius Evola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-evola/) > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [Nothing brings out the lower traits of human nature like office-seeking. Men of good character and impulses are betrayed by it into all sorts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/nothing-brings-out-the-lower-traits-of-human-nature-like-office/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) > [Selfishness is one of the principal fruits of the corruption of human nature; and it is obvious that selfishness disposes us to over-rate our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wilberforce/selfishness-is-one-of-the-principal-fruits-of-the-corruption-of-human/) [William Wilberforce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wilberforce/) > [Though there may be people in your life that support you and encourage you we have to realize that people are only human, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/though-there-may-be-people-in-your-life-that-support-you-and/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [“I wasn't sure which I appreciated less—the insincere concern or the genuine indifference.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-graham/i-wasn-t-sure-which-i-appreciated-less-the-insincere-concern-or-the/) [Arthur Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-graham/) > [Time is the nervous system of narration, whether factual or fictive. 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Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) [Browse all 3,743 Human nature quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It isn't what people think that is important, but the reason they think what they think", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eugene Ionesco" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/it-isn-t-what-people-think-that-is-important-but-the-reason-they/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Human nature" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/it-isn-t-what-people-think-that-is-important-but-the-reason-they/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27f/eug-ne-ionesco-1878_human-nature_it-isn-t-what-people-think-that-is-impor_2434267.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27f/eug-ne-ionesco-1878_human-nature_it-isn-t-what-people-think-that-is-impor_2434267.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27f/eug-ne-ionesco-1878_human-nature_it-isn-t-what-people-think-that-is-impor_2434267.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It isn't what people think that is important, but the reason they think what they think” — Eugene Ionesco", "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": "Eugene Ionesco", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It isn't what people think that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/it-isn-t-what-people-think-that-is-important-but-the-reason-they/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/it-isn-t-what-people-think-that-is-important-but-the-reason-they/#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 } } ] } ```