--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Human beings, on the other hand, are…" description: "\"“Human beings, on the other hand, are symbolic creatures. Inside their heads they break down the outside world into a mass of mental symbols, then reco..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90c/ian-tattersall-40658_beings_human-beings-on-the-other-hand-are-symbo_3165333.png" --- # Human beings, on the other hand, are symbolic creatures… ![“Human beings, on the other hand, are symbolic creatures. Inside their heads they break down the outside world into a mass of mental symbols, then recombine those symbols to recreate that world. What they subsequently react to is often the mental construct, rather than the primary experiences…” quote by Ian Tattersall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90c/ian-tattersall-40658_beings_human-beings-on-the-other-hand-are-symbo_3165333.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90c/ian-tattersall-40658_beings_human-beings-on-the-other-hand-are-symbo_3165333.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90c/ian-tattersall-40658_beings_human-beings-on-the-other-hand-are-symbo_3165333.png) > ““Human beings, on the other hand, are symbolic creatures. Inside their heads they break down the outside world into a mass of mental symbols, then recombine those symbols to recreate that world. What they subsequently react to is often the mental construct, rather than the primary experiences themselves.”” [Ian Tattersall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-tattersall/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans interpret reality through mental symbols, often reacting to those constructs rather than raw experience. **In simple terms:** We see the world through mental models, not directly. Key Takeaway Recognize and question your mental constructs. Themes cognition symbolism perception psychology Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - education - therapy - communication - design - conflict resolution Key Concepts mental representation constructivism Questions to Reflect On - How do your mental models shape your reactions? - When might a mental construct hinder truth? A Different Perspective Our symbols can distort reality, leading to misunderstandings. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beings/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Mental Construct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-construct-860240/) [Mental Symbols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-symbols-5739187/) [Outside world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outside-world/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [It's pretty much a fact that our entire universe is a mental construct. We don't actually deal with reality directly. We simply compose a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/it-s-pretty-much-a-fact-that-our-entire-universe-is-a-mental/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [Christendom is not primarily a mental construct. It is above all a fact, indeed the longest historical experience the Church has had. Hence the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustavo-gutierrez/christendom-is-not-primarily-a-mental-construct-it-is-above-all-a/) [Gustavo Gutiérrez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustavo-gutierrez/) > [Confidence is so important, and that's entirely a mental construct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hardy/confidence-is-so-important-and-that-s-entirely-a-mental-construct/) [Dan Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hardy/) > [“Disruption of our mental construct can be deeply disorienting. Still, it may also provide an opportunity for growth and reevaluation, prompting us to rebuild…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/disruption-of-our-mental-construct-can-be-deeply-disorienting-still/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [In metaphysics, the notion that earth and all that's on it is a mental construct is the product of people who spend their lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/in-metaphysics-the-notion-that-earth-and-all-that-s-on-it-is-a-mental/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [ Whether or not science can be applied to that mental construct \[i.e. the designed entity\] is a matter of availability. If there is body… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-petroski/whether-or-not-science-can-be-applied-to-that-mental-construct-i-e/) [Henry Petroski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-petroski/) > [It is mind-boggling to me that the Almighty power created everything I see; the Bible says that God created the entire universe just so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/it-is-mind-boggling-to-me-that-the-almighty-power-created-everything/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [We're human beings trying to love each other. There are constant revelations and room for growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamman-rucker/we-re-human-beings-trying-to-love-each-other-there-are-constant/) [Lamman Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamman-rucker/) > [As human beings, we aren't as individual as we'd like to believe we are. And I think that's what makes acting possible. Despite the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupita-nyong-o/as-human-beings-we-aren-t-as-individual-as-we-d-like-to-believe-we/) [Lupita Nyong'o](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupita-nyong-o/) > [My intended audience was everybody. I just want to make cartoons for human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kricfalusi/my-intended-audience-was-everybody-i-just-want-to-make-cartoons-for/) [John Kricfalusi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kricfalusi/) > [I'm a humanist at heart: at the end of the day, we are all human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chet-faker/i-m-a-humanist-at-heart-at-the-end-of-the-day-we-are-all-human-beings/) [Chet Faker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chet-faker/) > [For our purposes as human beings, the mind is the center of everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/for-our-purposes-as-human-beings-the-mind-is-the-center-of-everything/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [A composer knows that music is written by human beings for human beings and that music is a continuation of life, not something separated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanns-eisler/a-composer-knows-that-music-is-written-by-human-beings-for-human/) [Hanns Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanns-eisler/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) ## More by Ian Tattersall > [Perhaps we will one day be able at least to admit of a God possessing sufficient majesty and expansiveness to transcend the limits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-tattersall/perhaps-we-will-one-day-be-able-at-least-to-admit-of-a-god-possessing/) [Ian Tattersall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-tattersall/) > [Behavior is ultimately the product of the brain, the most mysterious organ of them all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-tattersall/behavior-is-ultimately-the-product-of-the-brain-the-most-mysterious/) [Ian Tattersall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-tattersall/) > [Hominids typically haven't so much adapted to change, as they have accommodated to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-tattersall/hominids-typically-haven-t-so-much-adapted-to-change-as-they-have/) [Ian Tattersall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-tattersall/) > [“some current controversies are caused, or at least stoked, by a reluctance to abandon received ideas that may well have outlived their usefulness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-tattersall/some-current-controversies-are-caused-or-at-least-stoked-by-a/) [Ian Tattersall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-tattersall/) > [The alternative to extinction is stagnation, and stagnation is seldom a good thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-tattersall/the-alternative-to-extinction-is-stagnation-and-stagnation-is-seldom/) [Ian Tattersall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-tattersall/) > [It is...highly probable that from the very beginning, apart from death, the only ironclad rule of human experience has been the Law of Unintended…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-tattersall/it-is-highly-probable-that-from-the-very-beginning-apart-from-death/) [Ian Tattersall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-tattersall/) > [“For over a century, an evolving microcosm of Anthropology’s turbulent history has hidden behind the staid façade of the American Museum of Natural History.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-tattersall/for-over-a-century-an-evolving-microcosm-of-anthropology-s-turbulent/) [Ian Tattersall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-tattersall/) > [When environments change, they usually do so pretty rapidly, at rates with which adaptation by natural selection would be hard put to keep up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-tattersall/when-environments-change-they-usually-do-so-pretty-rapidly-at-rates/) [Ian Tattersall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-tattersall/) > [“Inside our skulls are fish, reptile and shrew brains, as well as the highest centers that allow us to integrate information in our unique…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-tattersall/inside-our-skulls-are-fish-reptile-and-shrew-brains-as-well-as-the/) [Ian Tattersall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-tattersall/) [Explore all 10 Ian Tattersall quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-tattersall/) ## More Beings quotes > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [“Is there any holy beings like human beings?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/is-there-any-holy-beings-like-human-beings/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [A composer knows that music is written by human beings for human beings and that music is a continuation of life, not something separated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanns-eisler/a-composer-knows-that-music-is-written-by-human-beings-for-human/) [Hanns Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanns-eisler/) > [For our purposes as human beings, the mind is the center of everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/for-our-purposes-as-human-beings-the-mind-is-the-center-of-everything/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [I'm a humanist at heart: at the end of the day, we are all human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chet-faker/i-m-a-humanist-at-heart-at-the-end-of-the-day-we-are-all-human-beings/) [Chet Faker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chet-faker/) > [My intended audience was everybody. I just want to make cartoons for human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kricfalusi/my-intended-audience-was-everybody-i-just-want-to-make-cartoons-for/) [John Kricfalusi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kricfalusi/) > [Everyone else on the planet, from the lowest amoebae to the great blue whale, expresses all their component elements in a perfect dance with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-lore/everyone-else-on-the-planet-from-the-lowest-amoebae-to-the-great-blue/) [Nicholas Lore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-lore/) > [I have never really been fond of animals. I certainly wasn't an 'animal lover' when I became involved in the movement. I just came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/i-have-never-really-been-fond-of-animals-i-certainly-wasn-t-an-animal/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [As human beings, we aren't as individual as we'd like to believe we are. And I think that's what makes acting possible. Despite the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupita-nyong-o/as-human-beings-we-aren-t-as-individual-as-we-d-like-to-believe-we/) [Lupita Nyong'o](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupita-nyong-o/) > [We cannot deal with people like human beings, we cannot deal with them on the high level of true humanity, unless we really know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-cannot-deal-with-people-like-human-beings-we-cannot-deal-with-them/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Spiritual beings, either from the beginning or soon thereafter, become what they are to be for ever and ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-pico-della-mirandola/spiritual-beings-either-from-the-beginning-or-soon-thereafter-become/) [Giovanni Pico della Mirandola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-pico-della-mirandola/) > [We're human beings trying to love each other. There are constant revelations and room for growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamman-rucker/we-re-human-beings-trying-to-love-each-other-there-are-constant/) [Lamman Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamman-rucker/) > [“There are no greater or truer lords, gods, fathers, sons or holy spirits, than the humans. Humans are the highest beings on earth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/there-are-no-greater-or-truer-lords-gods-fathers-sons-or-holy-spirits/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Although we might settle for less, Heavenly Father won't, for he sees us as the glorious beings we are capable of becoming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/although-we-might-settle-for-less-heavenly-father-won-t-for-he-sees/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) [Browse all 979 Beings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beings/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Human beings, on the other hand, are symbolic creatures. Inside their heads they break down the outside world into a mass of mental symbols, then recombine those symbols to recreate that world. What they subsequently react to is often the mental construct, rather than the primary experiences themselves.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ian Tattersall" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-tattersall/human-beings-on-the-other-hand-are-symbolic-creatures-inside-their/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beings" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-tattersall/human-beings-on-the-other-hand-are-symbolic-creatures-inside-their/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90c/ian-tattersall-40658_beings_human-beings-on-the-other-hand-are-symbo_3165333.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90c/ian-tattersall-40658_beings_human-beings-on-the-other-hand-are-symbo_3165333.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90c/ian-tattersall-40658_beings_human-beings-on-the-other-hand-are-symbo_3165333.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Human beings, on the other hand, are symbolic creatures. Inside their heads they break down the outside…” — Ian Tattersall", "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": "Ian Tattersall", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-tattersall/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Human beings, on the other hand,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-tattersall/human-beings-on-the-other-hand-are-symbolic-creatures-inside-their/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-tattersall/human-beings-on-the-other-hand-are-symbolic-creatures-inside-their/#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 } } ] } ```