--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wish my life and decisions to depend…" description: "\"I wish my life and decisions to depend upon myself, not on external forces of whatever kind. I wish to be the instrument of my own, not other men's, ac..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/416/isaiah-berlin-10150_animal_i-wish-my-life-and-decisions-to-depend-u_1179616.jpg" --- # I wish my life and decisions to depend upon myself, not on… ![“I wish my life and decisions to depend upon myself, not on external forces of whatever kind. I wish to be the instrument of my own, not other men's, acts of will. I wish to be the subject, not an object...I wish to be somebody, not nobody; a doer - deciding, not being decided for, slef-directed…” quote by Isaiah Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/416/isaiah-berlin-10150_animal_i-wish-my-life-and-decisions-to-depend-u_1179616.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/416/isaiah-berlin-10150_animal_i-wish-my-life-and-decisions-to-depend-u_1179616.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/416/isaiah-berlin-10150_animal_i-wish-my-life-and-decisions-to-depend-u_1179616.jpg) > “I wish my life and decisions to depend upon myself, not on external forces of whatever kind. I wish to be the instrument of my own, not other men's, acts of will. I wish to be the subject, not an object...I wish to be somebody, not nobody; a doer - deciding, not being decided for, slef-directed and not acted upon by external nature or by other men as if I were a thing, or an animal, or a slave incapable of playing a human role, that is, of conceiving goals and policies of my own and realizing them.” [Isaiah Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-berlin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author asserts the desire for self‑determination, rejecting being treated as an object or puppet of external forces. **In simple terms:** Wanting to control one's own life. Key Takeaway Cultivate autonomy and self‑direction. Themes autonomy self‑determination agency freedom responsibility Mood reflective determined Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career planning - education choices - political activism - personal goal setting Key Concepts existentialism political philosophy self‑actualization Questions to Reflect On - What choices can you make today to assert agency? - How do societal structures impact your freedom? A Different Perspective External constraints often limit true autonomy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acts Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acts-wish-3453852/) [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Conceiving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceiving/) [Decided](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decided/) [Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) [Decisions Depend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decisions-depend-3453851/) [Depend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depend/) [Depends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depends/) [Doers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doers/) [External forces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/external-forces/) [Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/force/) [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Incapable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incapable/) [Instruments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instruments/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life And Decisions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-and-decisions-227204/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [My own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-own/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Object Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/object-wish-3453853/) [Objects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objects/) [Policy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policy/) [Realizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realizing/) [Roles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roles/) [Slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave/) [Subjects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjects/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) [Wish Subject](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish-subject-3453850/) ## Related quotes > [“I wish my life and decisions to depend on myself, not on external forces of whatever kind. I wish to be the instrument of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-berlin/i-wish-my-life-and-decisions-to-depend-on-myself-not-on-external/) [Isaiah Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-berlin/) > [In many spheres of human endeavor, from science to business to education to economic policy, good decisions depend on good measurement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bernanke/in-many-spheres-of-human-endeavor-from-science-to-business-to/) [Ben Bernanke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bernanke/) > [Believers often forget that most atheists used to be religious, that many non-believers used to think they had a personal relationship with their God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-g-mcafee/believers-often-forget-that-most-atheists-used-to-be-religious-that/) [David G. McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-g-mcafee/) > [Though Satan instils his poison, and fans the flames of our corrupt desires within us,we are yet not carried by any external force to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/though-satan-instils-his-poison-and-fans-the-flames-of-our-corrupt/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [When who you are and what you are is not decided by any external forces, then you are in dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaggi-vasudev/when-who-you-are-and-what-you-are-is-not-decided-by-any-external/) [Jaggi Vasudev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaggi-vasudev/) > [When he tries to extend his power over objects, those objects gain control of him. He who is controlled by objects loses possession of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/when-he-tries-to-extend-his-power-over-objects-those-objects-gain/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [When we use punishment, our children are robbed of the opportunity to develop their own inner discipline-the ability to act with integrity, wisdom, compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-coloroso/when-we-use-punishment-our-children-are-robbed-of-the-opportunity-to/) [Barbara Coloroso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-coloroso/) > [How many of you have had a crush on a teacher? I mean, remember that Physics professor? Law One is so steamy, I'm getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-munn/how-many-of-you-have-had-a-crush-on-a-teacher-i-mean-remember-that/) [Olivia Munn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-munn/) > [A republic of this kind, able to withstand an external force, may support itself without any internal corruptions. The form of this society prevents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/a-republic-of-this-kind-able-to-withstand-an-external-force-may/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [A war must be avoided at all costs. Russia is against any type of use of external force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-yakunin/a-war-must-be-avoided-at-all-costs-russia-is-against-any-type-of-use/) [Vladimir Yakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-yakunin/) > [True Freedom Is An Inner Thing. It Is A State Of Mind. It Is A Deliberate Exercise Of Choice. Thus, If We Think We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/true-freedom-is-an-inner-thing-it-is-a-state-of-mind-it-is-a/) [Pacifiersucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pacifiersucker/) > [“Ignorant of our own and our mate’s inner life, we are ruled largely by external forces at this stage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/ignorant-of-our-own-and-our-mate-s-inner-life-we-are-ruled-largely-by/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [Don't worry about society's conditioning and the labels that are put on you by external forces. Hold onto your true self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gugu-mbatha-raw/don-t-worry-about-society-s-conditioning-and-the-labels-that-are-put/) [Gugu Mbatha-Raw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gugu-mbatha-raw/) > [It cannot but happen?that those will survive whose functions happen to be most nearly in equilibrium with the modified aggregate of external forces? This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/it-cannot-but-happen-that-those-will-survive-whose-functions-happen/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [The body is a cell state in which every cell is a citizen. Disease is merely the conflict of the citizens of the state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-virchow/the-body-is-a-cell-state-in-which-every-cell-is-a-citizen-disease-is/) [Rudolf Virchow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-virchow/) ## More by Isaiah Berlin > [Those who have ever valued liberty for its own sake believed that to be free to choose, and not to be chosen for, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-berlin/those-who-have-ever-valued-liberty-for-its-own-sake-believed-that-to/) [Isaiah Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-berlin/) > [Liberty is liberty, not equality or fairness or justice or human happiness or a quiet conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-berlin/liberty-is-liberty-not-equality-or-fairness-or-justice-or-human/) [Isaiah Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-berlin/) > [“The world that we encounter in ordinary experience is one in which we are faced by choices equally absolute, the realisation of some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-berlin/the-world-that-we-encounter-in-ordinary-experience-is-one-in-which-we/) [Isaiah Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-berlin/) > [Philosophers are adults who persist in asking childish questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-berlin/philosophers-are-adults-who-persist-in-asking-childish-questions/) [Isaiah Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-berlin/) > [The history of society is the history of the inventive labors that man alter man, alter his desires, habits, outlook, relationships both to other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-berlin/the-history-of-society-is-the-history-of-the-inventive-labors-that/) [Isaiah Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-berlin/) > [Out of the crooked timber of humanity, nothing completely straight was ever made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-berlin/out-of-the-crooked-timber-of-humanity-nothing-completely-straight-was/) [Isaiah Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-berlin/) > [Utopias have their value -- nothing so wonderfully expands the imaginative horizons of human potentialities -- but as guides to conduct they can prove…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-berlin/utopias-have-their-value-nothing-so-wonderfully-expands-the/) [Isaiah Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-berlin/) > [Both liberty and equality are among the primary goals pursued by human beings throughout many centuries; but total liberty for wolves is death to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-berlin/both-liberty-and-equality-are-among-the-primary-goals-pursued-by/) [Isaiah Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-berlin/) > [All forms of tampering with human beings, getting at them, shaping them against their will to your own pattern, all thought control and conditioning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-berlin/all-forms-of-tampering-with-human-beings-getting-at-them-shaping-them/) [Isaiah Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-berlin/) > [The case against the notion of historical objectivity is like the case against international law, or international morality; that it does not exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-berlin/the-case-against-the-notion-of-historical-objectivity-is-like-the/) [Isaiah Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-berlin/) > [“True pluralism, as Berlin understands it, is much more tough-minded and intellectually bold: it rejects the view that all conflicts of values can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-berlin/true-pluralism-as-berlin-understands-it-is-much-more-tough-minded-and/) [Isaiah Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-berlin/) > [Liberty and equality, spontaneity and security, happiness and knowledge, mercy and justice - all these are ultimate human values, sought for themselves alone; yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-berlin/liberty-and-equality-spontaneity-and-security-happiness-and-knowledge/) [Isaiah Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-berlin/) > [To understand is to perceive patterns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-berlin/to-understand-is-to-perceive-patterns/) [Isaiah Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-berlin/) > [“The view that the truth is one and undivided, and the same for all men everywhere at all times, whether one finds it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-berlin/the-view-that-the-truth-is-one-and-undivided-and-the-same-for-all-men/) [Isaiah Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-berlin/) > [The most passionate, consistent, extreme and implacable enemy of the Enlightenment and ... all forms of rationalism ... was Johann Georg Hamann. His influence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-berlin/the-most-passionate-consistent-extreme-and-implacable-enemy-of-the/) [Isaiah Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-berlin/) [Explore all 64 Isaiah Berlin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-berlin/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“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/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I wish my life and decisions to depend upon myself, not on external forces of whatever kind. I wish to be the instrument of my own, not other men's, acts of will. I wish to be the subject, not an object...I wish to be somebody, not nobody; a doer - deciding, not being decided for, slef-directed and not acted upon by external nature or by other men as if I were a thing, or an animal, or a slave incapable of playing a human role, that is, of conceiving goals and policies of my own and realizing them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Isaiah Berlin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-berlin/i-wish-my-life-and-decisions-to-depend-upon-myself-not-on-external/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-berlin/i-wish-my-life-and-decisions-to-depend-upon-myself-not-on-external/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/416/isaiah-berlin-10150_animal_i-wish-my-life-and-decisions-to-depend-u_1179616.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/416/isaiah-berlin-10150_animal_i-wish-my-life-and-decisions-to-depend-u_1179616.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/416/isaiah-berlin-10150_animal_i-wish-my-life-and-decisions-to-depend-u_1179616.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I wish my life and decisions to depend upon myself, not on external forces of whatever kind. I wish to be…” — Isaiah Berlin", "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": "Isaiah Berlin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-berlin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I wish my life and decisions...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-berlin/i-wish-my-life-and-decisions-to-depend-upon-myself-not-on-external/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-berlin/i-wish-my-life-and-decisions-to-depend-upon-myself-not-on-external/#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 } } ] } ```