--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is only because a person has volitions…" description: "\"It is only because a person has volitions of the second order that he is capable both of enjoying and of lacking freedom of the will.\" — Harry Frankfurt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/harry-frankfurt-32619_capable_it-is-only-because-a-person-has-volition_2452748.png" --- # It is only because a person has volitions of the second… ![“It is only because a person has volitions of the second order that he is capable both of enjoying and of lacking freedom of the will.” quote by Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/harry-frankfurt-32619_capable_it-is-only-because-a-person-has-volition_2452748.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/harry-frankfurt-32619_capable_it-is-only-because-a-person-has-volition_2452748.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/harry-frankfurt-32619_capable_it-is-only-because-a-person-has-volition_2452748.png) > “It is only because a person has volitions of the second order that he is capable both of enjoying and of lacking freedom of the will.” [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Second‑order volitions (desires about desires) enable both freedom and its loss. **In simple terms:** Higher‑order desires shape freedom. Key Takeaway Examine what you truly want. Themes philosophy free will self‑control Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical introspective When to use this quote - decision making - habit formation - addiction recovery - personal growth Key Concepts metaphysics psychology ethics Questions to Reflect On - What second‑order desires guide you? - Do they help or hinder you? A Different Perspective Complex to can cause paralysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Capable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capable/) [Capable Enjoying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capable-enjoying-583072/) [Enjoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enjoy/) [Free will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-will/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Lacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lacking/) [Lacking Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lacking-freedom-583071/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Person Volitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person-volitions-583070/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Volition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/volition/) [Volitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/volitions-583073/) [Volitions Second](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/volitions-second-583069/) ## Related quotes > [If you want total security, go to prison. There you're fed, clothed, given medical care and so on. The only thing lacking... is freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/if-you-want-total-security-go-to-prison-there-you-re-fed-clothed/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [“So, how is it that you don’t have a girlfriend?” I asked boldly. Joel shrugged. “Have you ever had a girlfriend?” There was no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-kirsten-maravel/so-how-is-it-that-you-don-t-have-a-girlfriend-i-asked-boldly-joel/) [Shawn Kirsten Maravel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-kirsten-maravel/) > [“I knew that she couldn’t hear me if she was there. But the sound was enough to grab me, to hold me to hope,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-kirsten-maravel/i-knew-that-she-couldn-t-hear-me-if-she-was-there-but-the-sound-was/) [Shawn Kirsten Maravel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-kirsten-maravel/) > [To me the Universe was all void of Life, of Purpose, of Volition, even of Hostility; it was one huge, dead, immeasurable Steam-engine, rolling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/to-me-the-universe-was-all-void-of-life-of-purpose-of-volition-even/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Reason, in a strict sense, as meaning the judgment of truth and falsehood, can never, of itself, be any motive to the will, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/reason-in-a-strict-sense-as-meaning-the-judgment-of-truth-and/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Innate directs its vital energy through the nervous system to specialize the coordination and sensation and volition through the cumulative and vegetative functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-d-palmer/innate-directs-its-vital-energy-through-the-nervous-system-to/) [Daniel D. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-d-palmer/) > [No road offers more mystery than that first one you mount from the town you were born to, the first time you mount it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/no-road-offers-more-mystery-than-that-first-one-you-mount-from-the/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) > [As we are, so we associate. The good, by affinity, seek the good; the vile, by affinity, the vile. Thus of their own volition,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/as-we-are-so-we-associate-the-good-by-affinity-seek-the-good-the-vile/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The pure mystic wishes to approach his God only in the all-embracing love. The yogi, too, walks toward one single aspect of God. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-bardon/the-pure-mystic-wishes-to-approach-his-god-only-in-the-all-embracing/) [Franz Bardon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-bardon/) > [The ruin of the human heart is self-interest, which the American merchant calls self-service. We have become a self-service populace, and all our specious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-dahlberg/the-ruin-of-the-human-heart-is-self-interest-which-the-american/) [Edward Dahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-dahlberg/) > [“‎''I froze. Like an idiot I froze. He was staring right at me. (...) He wore an innocent and mesmerizing smile directed right at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-kirsten-maravel/i-froze-like-an-idiot-i-froze-he-was-staring-right-at-me-he-wore-an/) [Shawn Kirsten Maravel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-kirsten-maravel/) > [Faculty Psychology is getting to be respectable again after centuries of hanging around with phrenologists and other dubious types. By faculty psychology I mean,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-fodor/faculty-psychology-is-getting-to-be-respectable-again-after-centuries/) [Jerry Fodor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-fodor/) > [“...are you a person - with volition and maybe some stubborness and at least the capacity if not the actual determination to do something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-donaldson/are-you-a-person-with-volition-and-maybe-some-stubborness-and-at/) [Stephen R. Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-donaldson/) > [Love itself is not an act of will, but sometimes I need the force of my volition to break with my habitual responses and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-prather/love-itself-is-not-an-act-of-will-but-sometimes-i-need-the-force-of/) [Hugh Prather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-prather/) > [The man of wisdom is devoid of ego even though he may appear to use it. His vacant or fasting mind is neither doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramesh-s-balsekar/the-man-of-wisdom-is-devoid-of-ego-even-though-he-may-appear-to-use/) [Ramesh S Balsekar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramesh-s-balsekar/) ## More by Harry Frankfurt > [The fact about himself that the liar hides is that he is attempting to lead us away from a correct apprehension of reality; we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/the-fact-about-himself-that-the-liar-hides-is-that-he-is-attempting/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) > [One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit. Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/one-of-the-most-salient-features-of-our-culture-is-that-there-is-so/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) > [I was raised in Brooklyn and in Baltimore. My father was a bookkeeper. When I was 36 years old, my mother told me I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/i-was-raised-in-brooklyn-and-in-baltimore-my-father-was-a-bookkeeper/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) > [Bullshit is unavoidable when circumstances require someone to talk without knowing what he is talking about. Thus, the production of bullshit is stimulated whenever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/bullshit-is-unavoidable-when-circumstances-require-someone-to-talk/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) > [Someone who lies and someone who tells the truth are playing on opposite sides, so to speak, in the same game. Each responds to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/someone-who-lies-and-someone-who-tells-the-truth-are-playing-on/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) > [The bullshitter is neither on the side of the true or the side of the false. His eye is not on the facts at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/the-bullshitter-is-neither-on-the-side-of-the-true-or-the-side-of-the/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) > [One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/one-of-the-most-salient-features-of-our-culture-is-that-there-is-so-2/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) > [“Bullshit is unavoidable whenever circumstances require someone to talk without knowing what he is talking about. Thus the production of bullshit is stimulated whenever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/bullshit-is-unavoidable-whenever-circumstances-require-someone-to/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) > [Recognizing truth requires selflessness. You have to leave yourself out of it so you can find out the way things are in themselves, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/recognizing-truth-requires-selflessness-you-have-to-leave-yourself/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) > [I used to teach at Yale, which was at one time a center of postmodernist literary theory. Derrida was there. Paul de Man was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/i-used-to-teach-at-yale-which-was-at-one-time-a-center-of/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) > [It is impossible for someone to lie unless he thinks he knows the truth. A person who lies is thereby responding to the truth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/it-is-impossible-for-someone-to-lie-unless-he-thinks-he-knows-the/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) > [Bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/bullshit-is-a-greater-enemy-of-the-truth-than-lies-are/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) > [“When a honest man speaks, he says only what he believes to be true; and for the liar, it is correspondingly indispensable that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/when-a-honest-man-speaks-he-says-only-what-he-believes-to-be-true-and/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) > [As a philosopher, I'm not obliged to explore every unknown wilderness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/as-a-philosopher-i-m-not-obliged-to-explore-every-unknown-wilderness/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) [Explore all 15 Harry Frankfurt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) ## More Capable quotes > [When we are capable of living in the moment free from the tyranny of "shoulds," free from the nagging sensation that this moment isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-z-borysenko/when-we-are-capable-of-living-in-the-moment-free-from-the-tyranny-of/) [Joan Z. Borysenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-z-borysenko/) > [Everybody is different. Some writers can write reams of great books and then J. D. Salinger wrote just a few. Beethoven wrote nine symphonies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-joel/everybody-is-different-some-writers-can-write-reams-of-great-books/) [Billy Joel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-joel/) > [People are capable of great, great change during the span of one lifetime. And women even more than men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/people-are-capable-of-great-great-change-during-the-span-of-one/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [When you lived it for years and years and years and seen different characters just get pummeled and squashed because 'I said so,' it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-you-lived-it-for-years-and-years-and-years-and-seen-different/) [Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [But, outside of being a sweet little girl, she was awfully dumb and capable of doing horrible things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/but-outside-of-being-a-sweet-little-girl-she-was-awfully-dumb-and/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [I was terrible student. I was capable, but I never like being told what to do, so I was always in the bottom class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-lilley/i-was-terrible-student-i-was-capable-but-i-never-like-being-told-what/) [Chris Lilley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-lilley/) > [Not everyone is capable of madness; and of those lucky enough to be capable, not many have the courage for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/not-everyone-is-capable-of-madness-and-of-those-lucky-enough-to-be/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [ \[The Community's\] crosses and trials give me confidence. But I derive my hope above all, and most especially, from our utter incapacity, for it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-guerin/the-community-s-crosses-and-trials-give-me-confidence-but-i-derive-my/) [Theodore Guerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-guerin/) > [The mathematical facts worthy of being studied are those which, by their analogy with other facts, are capable of leading us to the knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-poincare/the-mathematical-facts-worthy-of-being-studied-are-those-which-by/) [Henri Poincare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-poincare/) > [“If you not yet try How to know you can or not?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sopharat/if-you-not-yet-try-how-to-know-you-can-or-not/) [Sopharat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sopharat/) > [I'm attracted to the garden, without a doubt, but I always try and image the wolf that's there, too. And that wolf would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-light/i-m-attracted-to-the-garden-without-a-doubt-but-i-always-try-and/) [Michael Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-light/) > [A man, as a man, could arrive at all the dignity that a man was capable of obtaining or receiving; but it needed a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor/a-man-as-a-man-could-arrive-at-all-the-dignity-that-a-man-was-capable/) [John Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor/) > [Playing is much, much harder than composing in my opinion, becoming a player. If you want to be a player for all your life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-powell/playing-is-much-much-harder-than-composing-in-my-opinion-becoming-a/) [John Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-powell/) > [How difficult the task to quench the fire and the pride of private ambition, and to sacrifice ourselves and all our hopes and expectations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-adams/how-difficult-the-task-to-quench-the-fire-and-the-pride-of-private/) [Abigail Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-adams/) [Browse all 3,861 Capable quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capable/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is only because a person has volitions of the second order that he is capable both of enjoying and of lacking freedom of the will.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Harry Frankfurt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/it-is-only-because-a-person-has-volitions-of-the-second-order-that-he/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Capable" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/it-is-only-because-a-person-has-volitions-of-the-second-order-that-he/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/harry-frankfurt-32619_capable_it-is-only-because-a-person-has-volition_2452748.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/harry-frankfurt-32619_capable_it-is-only-because-a-person-has-volition_2452748.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/harry-frankfurt-32619_capable_it-is-only-because-a-person-has-volition_2452748.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is only because a person has volitions of the second order that he is capable both of enjoying and of…” — Harry Frankfurt", "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": "Harry Frankfurt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is only because a person...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/it-is-only-because-a-person-has-volitions-of-the-second-order-that-he/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/it-is-only-because-a-person-has-volitions-of-the-second-order-that-he/#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 } } ] } ```