--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No human being can really understand…" description: "\"No human being can really understand another, and no one can arrange another's happiness.\" — Graham Greene" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/882/graham-greene-441_being_no-human-being-can-really-understand-ano_2421544.jpg" --- # No human being can really understand another, and no one… ![“No human being can really understand another, and no one can arrange another's happiness.” quote by Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/882/graham-greene-441_being_no-human-being-can-really-understand-ano_2421544.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/882/graham-greene-441_being_no-human-being-can-really-understand-ano_2421544.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/882/graham-greene-441_being_no-human-being-can-really-understand-ano_2421544.jpg) > “No human being can really understand another, and no one can arrange another's happiness.” [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) This quote is also attributed to [Babloo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babloo/) in other sources. Attributions for famous quotes are often disputed. ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding another person fully is impossible; arranging their happiness is even more elusive. **In simple terms:** We can't truly know others or control their joy. Key Takeaway Practice empathy, accept limits. Themes empathy relationships limits misunderstanding Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - friendships - romantic relationships - caregiving - conflict resolution Key Concepts philosophical psychological ethical Questions to Reflect On - How can you better support someone's happiness? - What are the limits of empathy? A Different Perspective May underestimate the value of effort to understand others. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arrange Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrange-happiness-5745682/) [Being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Human being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-being/) [Human Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-really-1898642/) [Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand/) ## Related quotes > [“If we can’t arrange our own happiness, it’s a conceit beyond vulgarity to arrange the happiness of those who come after us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-we-can-t-arrange-our-own-happiness-it-s-a-conceit-beyond-vulgarity/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Well, of course, people are only human... But it really does not seem much for them to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/well-of-course-people-are-only-human-but-it-really-does-not-seem-much/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [What a laugh, though. To think that one human being could ever really know another. You could get used to each other, get so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/what-a-laugh-though-to-think-that-one-human-being-could-ever-really/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [I think it is impossible for one human being really to know another without first knowing and being at peace with himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/i-think-it-is-impossible-for-one-human-being-really-to-know-another/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [To err is human, but to really foul things up you need a computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-r-ehrlich/to-err-is-human-but-to-really-foul-things-up-you-need-a-computer/) [Paul R. Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-r-ehrlich/) > [ “To be conformed to the one who has become human—that is what being really human means.\[77.\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/to-be-conformed-to-the-one-who-has-become-human-that-is-what-being/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [No human being can really understand another, and no one can arrange anothers happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babloo/no-human-being-can-really-understand-another-and-no-one-can-arrange/) [Babloo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babloo/) > [We treat our dogs as if they were "almost human": that is why they really become "almost human" in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/we-treat-our-dogs-as-if-they-were-almost-human-that-is-why-they/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [I am just one human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/i-am-just-one-human-being/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Look at Greg Jbara! I've watched him work for years, always switching. He's literally a different human being when he's onstage in 'Billy Elliot.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-chase/look-at-greg-jbara-i-ve-watched-him-work-for-years-always-switching/) [Will Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-chase/) > [Primarily affecting low-information voters and members of the mainstream media, Obama Worship Syndrome attributes impossible capabilities to Obama's political opponents, finds excuses for every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shapiro/primarily-affecting-low-information-voters-and-members-of-the/) [Ben Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shapiro/) > [He has the obligation to society that any human being has. I don't think a satirist has any greater obligation to society than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shel-silverstein/he-has-the-obligation-to-society-that-any-human-being-has-i-don-t/) [Shel Silverstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shel-silverstein/) > [So I'm sorry, I'm going to continue to talk to the people, because I do believe that if they get to know you and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-torme/so-i-m-sorry-i-m-going-to-continue-to-talk-to-the-people-because-i-do/) [Mel Torme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-torme/) > [There is no perfect human being out there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joey-barton/there-is-no-perfect-human-being-out-there/) [Joey Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joey-barton/) > [I adore Kelly Bishop as a human being and as an actress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-gunn/i-adore-kelly-bishop-as-a-human-being-and-as-an-actress/) [Sean Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-gunn/) ## More by Graham Greene > [“Time gives poetry to a battlefield...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/time-gives-poetry-to-a-battlefield/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“What is cowardice in the young is wisdom in the old, but all the same one can be ashamed of wisdom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/what-is-cowardice-in-the-young-is-wisdom-in-the-old-but-all-the-same/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Pity is cruel. Pity destroys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/pity-is-cruel-pity-destroys/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Hate is a lack of imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/hate-is-a-lack-of-imagination/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Despair is the price one pays for setting oneself an impossible aim. 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Damn me, I deserve it, but let her live forever.’ This was the love he should have felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/he-said-oh-god-help-her-damn-me-i-deserve-it-but-let-her-live-forever/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“A police photograph is like a passport photograph: the intelligence which casts a veil over the crude common shape is never recorded by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/a-police-photograph-is-like-a-passport-photograph-the-intelligence/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [ “I tossed up whether I'd see \[the critic\] or not: I knew too well the pompous phrases of his article, the buried significance he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/i-tossed-up-whether-i-d-see-the-critic-or-not-i-knew-too-well-the/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Success is more dangerous than failure, the ripples break over a wider coastline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/success-is-more-dangerous-than-failure-the-ripples-break-over-a-wider/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“But we do not love people for what they do for us. Love happens to us; it isn't created.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/but-we-do-not-love-people-for-what-they-do-for-us-love-happens-to-us/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) [Explore all 550 Graham Greene quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) ## More Being quotes > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [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/) > [There is something magical about being able to feel somebody. And that is something that has always moved me with music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-brink/there-is-something-magical-about-being-able-to-feel-somebody-and-that/) [Maria Brink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-brink/) > [I love being in Malibu. It's so cool there, and the water is just, it's nice and, and I love the beach. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-evancho/i-love-being-in-malibu-it-s-so-cool-there-and-the-water-is-just-it-s/) [Jackie Evancho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-evancho/) > [I talk to my mates about our kids, being too tired and being worn out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-willoughby/i-talk-to-my-mates-about-our-kids-being-too-tired-and-being-worn-out/) [Holly Willoughby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-willoughby/) > [I love to fish. I love the peacefulness of being around the water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evonne-goolagong-cawley/i-love-to-fish-i-love-the-peacefulness-of-being-around-the-water/) [Evonne Goolagong Cawley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evonne-goolagong-cawley/) > [When you're in your twenties and starting out, the problem is that you care about being cool. Being older, I can care less about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-righton/when-you-re-in-your-twenties-and-starting-out-the-problem-is-that-you/) [James Righton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-righton/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [Being a new mother is a blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phaedra-parks/being-a-new-mother-is-a-blessing/) [Phaedra Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phaedra-parks/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Having small children and being an investigative reporter would seem like a difficult mix, but it worked well for me. I was often working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-abramson/having-small-children-and-being-an-investigative-reporter-would-seem/) [Jill Abramson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-abramson/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. 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