--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Perhaps violence, like pornography, is…" description: "\"Perhaps violence, like pornography, is some kind of an evolutionary standby system, a last-resort device for throwing a wild joker into the game?\" — J...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec8/j-g-ballard-2711_devices_perhaps-violence-like-pornography-is-som_2279694.jpg" --- # Perhaps violence, like pornography, is some kind of an… ![“Perhaps violence, like pornography, is some kind of an evolutionary standby system, a last-resort device for throwing a wild joker into the game?” quote by J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec8/j-g-ballard-2711_devices_perhaps-violence-like-pornography-is-som_2279694.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec8/j-g-ballard-2711_devices_perhaps-violence-like-pornography-is-som_2279694.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec8/j-g-ballard-2711_devices_perhaps-violence-like-pornography-is-som_2279694.jpg) > “Perhaps violence, like pornography, is some kind of an evolutionary standby system, a last-resort device for throwing a wild joker into the game?” [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Violence is portrayed as a primitive, fallback mechanism that surfaces when social order breaks down. **In simple terms:** Violence is an emergency response. Key Takeaway Recognize and manage instinctive aggression. Themes violence evolution social order control psychology Mood tense critical Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - conflict resolution - media analysis - political discourse Key Concepts evolutionary psychology cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - When does instinct override ethics? - How can societies channel aggression constructively? A Different Perspective Violence can be rationalized as natural, ignoring moral responsibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Devices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devices/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Joker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joker/) [Joker Game](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joker-game-5316092/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [Like Pornography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-pornography-288038/) [Pornography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pornography/) [Pornography Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pornography-kind-2125843/) [Resorts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resorts/) [Throwing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/throwing/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) [Violence Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence-like-1259671/) [Wild Joker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wild-joker-1068466/) ## Related quotes > [“You're a lover of the wild and a joker of the heart, but are you mine?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-kooks/you-re-a-lover-of-the-wild-and-a-joker-of-the-heart-but-are-you-mine/) [The Kooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-kooks/) > [“There’s a lot of dirty theology out there, the religious counterpart to dirty politics and dirty business, I suppose. You might call it spiritual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-d-mclaren/there-s-a-lot-of-dirty-theology-out-there-the-religious-counterpart/) [Brian D. McLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-d-mclaren/) > [If you own pornography of any kind, for the love of your future spouse, trash it immediately.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-evert/if-you-own-pornography-of-any-kind-for-the-love-of-your-future-spouse/) [Jason Evert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-evert/) > [“Meat is like pornography: before it was someone's fun, it was someone's life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melinda-vadas/meat-is-like-pornography-before-it-was-someone-s-fun-it-was-someone-s/) [Melinda Vadas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melinda-vadas/) > [“The truth is a strange thing. Like pornography, you know it when you see it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tayari-jones/the-truth-is-a-strange-thing-like-pornography-you-know-it-when-you/) [Tayari Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tayari-jones/) > [Posting information is like pornography, a slick, impersonal exhibition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/posting-information-is-like-pornography-a-slick-impersonal-exhibition/) [William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/) > [I have to admit to you, I am the person who's done probably the least analysis on the selfie, because it's a bit like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-cotton/i-have-to-admit-to-you-i-am-the-person-who-s-done-probably-the-least/) [Charlotte Cotton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-cotton/) > [Things like pornography perpetuates this idea that women are just there as objects of male desire and are not complex people with their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marielle-heller/things-like-pornography-perpetuates-this-idea-that-women-are-just/) [Marielle Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marielle-heller/) > [ \[Jazz singing\] is like pornography. You can't say what it is, but you know it when you see it. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-elling/jazz-singing-is-like-pornography-you-can-t-say-what-it-is-but-you/) [Kurt Elling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-elling/) > [I don't like to degrade women, but I like pornography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-fiasco/i-don-t-like-to-degrade-women-but-i-like-pornography/) [Lupe Fiasco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-fiasco/) > [“Like pornography, postmodernism is hard to define but easy to spot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-cashill/like-pornography-postmodernism-is-hard-to-define-but-easy-to-spot/) [Jack Cashill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-cashill/) > [ “Like pornography, junk \[food\] might be tough to define but you know it when you see it.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bittman/like-pornography-junk-food-might-be-tough-to-define-but-you-know-it/) [Mark Bittman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bittman/) > [Sentimentality, like pornography, is fragmented emotion; a natural consequence of a high visual gradient in any culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/sentimentality-like-pornography-is-fragmented-emotion-a-natural/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Meaning is like pornography, you know it when you see it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/meaning-is-like-pornography-you-know-it-when-you-see-it/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [Intelligence is like pornography. I can't define it, but I know if when I see it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/intelligence-is-like-pornography-i-can-t-define-it-but-i-know-if-when/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) ## More by J. G. Ballard > [Science and technology multiply around us. To an increasing extent they dictate the languages in which we speak and think. Either we use those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/science-and-technology-multiply-around-us-to-an-increasing-extent/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [There are some people, who place enormous value on their home and feel that it defines them, that a stain on the carpet is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/there-are-some-people-who-place-enormous-value-on-their-home-and-feel/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [A reality that is electronic... Once everybody's got a computer terminal in their home, to satisfy all their needs, all the domestic needs, there'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/a-reality-that-is-electronic-once-everybody-s-got-a-computer-terminal/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [If you're against globalisation, it doesn't achieve much by sort of bombing the head offices of Shell or Nestle. You unsettle people much more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/if-you-re-against-globalisation-it-doesn-t-achieve-much-by-sort-of/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [The suburbs dream of violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/the-suburbs-dream-of-violence/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [I made a very slatternly mother, notably unkeen on housework, unaware that homes need to be cleaned now and then, and too often to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/i-made-a-very-slatternly-mother-notably-unkeen-on-housework-unaware/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [I was in Shanghai when the Japanese invaded China. I was there in Shanghai when, the morning after Pearl Harbor, they seized Shanghai.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/i-was-in-shanghai-when-the-japanese-invaded-china-i-was-there-in/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [Electronic aids, particularly domestic computers, will helpthe inner migration, the opting out of reality. Reality is no longer going to be the stuff out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/electronic-aids-particularly-domestic-computers-will-helpthe-inner/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [Perhaps the future belongs to magic, and it's we women who control magic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/perhaps-the-future-belongs-to-magic-and-it-s-we-women-who-control/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [Any fool can write a novel but it takes real genius to sell it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/any-fool-can-write-a-novel-but-it-takes-real-genius-to-sell-it/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [I work for three or four hours a day, in the late morning and early afternoon. Then I go out for a walk and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/i-work-for-three-or-four-hours-a-day-in-the-late-morning-and-early/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [Even one's own home is a kind of anthology of advertisers, manufacturers, motifs and presentation techniques. There's nothing 'natural' about one's home these days.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/even-one-s-own-home-is-a-kind-of-anthology-of-advertisers/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [I was born in the city's general hospital on November 15, 1930, and we lived at 31 Amherst Avenue in the western suburbs. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/i-was-born-in-the-city-s-general-hospital-on-november-15-1930-and-we/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [I suspect that many of the great cultural shifts that prepare the way for political change are largely aesthetic. A Buick radiator grille is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/i-suspect-that-many-of-the-great-cultural-shifts-that-prepare-the-way/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [Orwell's '1984' convinced me, rightly or wrongly, that Marxism was only a quantum leap away from tyranny. By contrast, Huxley's 'Brave New World' suggested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/orwell-s-1984-convinced-me-rightly-or-wrongly-that-marxism-was-only-a/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) [Explore all 151 J. G. Ballard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) ## More Devices quotes > [The market may never coalesce around one basic design, or even around two or three dominant devices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/the-market-may-never-coalesce-around-one-basic-design-or-even-around/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [Televisions are devices with screens that things appear on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/televisions-are-devices-with-screens-that-things-appear-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [If, as I anticipate, a wide array of personal, portable information/communication devices becomes increasingly important and widespread for information-intensive users, it will be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/if-as-i-anticipate-a-wide-array-of-personal-portable-information/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [I would warn against holsters with devices for quick-draw. Devices always fail when you need them most.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-powell/i-would-warn-against-holsters-with-devices-for-quick-draw-devices/) [William Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-powell/) > [As we go through this transition where a lot more people will be reading on devices, nobody is paying enough attention to make sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/as-we-go-through-this-transition-where-a-lot-more-people-will-be/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [In early drafts, one of the trickiest things for me to do was to realize that the techniques and devices that make readable and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-rooney/in-early-drafts-one-of-the-trickiest-things-for-me-to-do-was-to/) [Kathleen Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-rooney/) > [We are beginning to see intimations of this in the implantation of computer devices into the human body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/we-are-beginning-to-see-intimations-of-this-in-the-implantation-of/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [Truth is, people like buying things for $0.99 and $1.99 for their digital devices. We know that from iTunes. We know that from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lee/truth-is-people-like-buying-things-for-0-99-and-1-99-for-their/) [Jennifer Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lee/) > [I think we're probably only about halfway through the number of revelations. I'm pretty certain there will be quite detailed stuff on other uses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-a-watson/i-think-we-re-probably-only-about-halfway-through-the-number-of/) [Tom A. Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-a-watson/) > [The documentary style is an incredibly flexible and useful one. 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