--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I say a murder is abstract. You pull the…" description: "\"I say a murder is abstract. You pull the trigger and after that you do not understand anything that happens.\" — Jean-Paul Sartre" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/208/jean-paul-sartre-220_abstract_i-say-a-murder-is-abstract-you-pull-the_3042948.png" --- # I say a murder is abstract. You pull the trigger and after… ![“I say a murder is abstract. You pull the trigger and after that you do not understand anything that happens.” quote by Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/208/jean-paul-sartre-220_abstract_i-say-a-murder-is-abstract-you-pull-the_3042948.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/208/jean-paul-sartre-220_abstract_i-say-a-murder-is-abstract-you-pull-the_3042948.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/208/jean-paul-sartre-220_abstract_i-say-a-murder-is-abstract-you-pull-the_3042948.png) > “I say a murder is abstract. You pull the trigger and after that you do not understand anything that happens.” [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Murder creates a disconnection from reality, leaving the perpetrator unable to comprehend subsequent events. **In simple terms:** Killing alienates you from understanding what follows. Key Takeaway Recognize the emotional numbness after harming others. Themes morality psychology alienation Mood distressed reflective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - legal consequences - personal reflection - therapy - conflict resolution Key Concepts existentialism ethical responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How does violence affect your perception of reality? - Can empathy be restored after a violent act? A Different Perspective The quote may overgeneralize the mental state of all who kill. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens/) [Murder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murder/) [Murder Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murder-abstract-5024640/) [Philosophical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophical/) [Pull Trigger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pull-trigger/) [Say Murder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-murder-1278525/) [Triggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triggers/) [Understand Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand-happens-582601/) ## Related quotes > [“Might it also be that creating narratives around murder allows a measure of comfort? Murder in the abstract is terrifying; in the details, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-maguire/might-it-also-be-that-creating-narratives-around-murder-allows-a/) [Emily Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-maguire/) > [Think about the physical act of pulling a trigger. The amount of pressure it takes to pull a trigger or the speed it takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-ventimiglia/think-about-the-physical-act-of-pulling-a-trigger-the-amount-of/) [Milo Ventimiglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-ventimiglia/) > [How many times have people used a pen or paintbrush because they couldn’t pull the trigger?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/how-many-times-have-people-used-a-pen-or-paintbrush-because-they/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Finance is a gun. Politics is knowing when to pull the trigger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-puzo/finance-is-a-gun-politics-is-knowing-when-to-pull-the-trigger/) [Mario Puzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-puzo/) > [If you're going to kill someone there isn't much reason to get all worked up about it and angry - you just pull the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-allchin/if-you-re-going-to-kill-someone-there-isn-t-much-reason-to-get-all/) [Jim Allchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-allchin/) > [Guns require a finger to pull the trigger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perry/guns-require-a-finger-to-pull-the-trigger/) [Rick Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perry/) > [And Kingsley being Kingsley, he smiled as he pretended to pull the trigger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-de-la-cruz/and-kingsley-being-kingsley-he-smiled-as-he-pretended-to-pull-the/) [Melissa de la Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-de-la-cruz/) > [Next in importance to having a good aim is to recognize when to pull the trigger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/next-in-importance-to-having-a-good-aim-is-to-recognize-when-to-pull/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [Sure, the killer was my son, but I didn't teach him to pull the trigger of the gun. It's the killer on this TV…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-johnson/sure-the-killer-was-my-son-but-i-didn-t-teach-him-to-pull-the-trigger/) [Jack Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-johnson/) > [Gun control? It's the best thing you can do for crooks and gangsters. I want you to have nothing. I'm a bad guy; I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-gravano/gun-control-it-s-the-best-thing-you-can-do-for-crooks-and-gangsters-i/) [Sammy Gravano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-gravano/) > [When it gets to this point, it's just hard to pull the trigger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-yzerman/when-it-gets-to-this-point-it-s-just-hard-to-pull-the-trigger/) [Steve Yzerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-yzerman/) > [You never pull the trigger until you know you can win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ailes/you-never-pull-the-trigger-until-you-know-you-can-win/) [Roger Ailes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ailes/) > [If you're not gonna pull the trigger, don't point the gun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baker/if-you-re-not-gonna-pull-the-trigger-don-t-point-the-gun/) [James Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baker/) > [If somebody I don't like gets in the crosshairs, I pull the trigger. But I don't hunt for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-boone-pickens/if-somebody-i-don-t-like-gets-in-the-crosshairs-i-pull-the-trigger/) [T. Boone Pickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-boone-pickens/) > [I suddenly dreamt that I picked up the revolver and aimed it straight at my heart my heart, and not my head; and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/i-suddenly-dreamt-that-i-picked-up-the-revolver-and-aimed-it-straight/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) ## More by Jean-Paul Sartre > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“All these creatures spend their time explaining, realizing happily that they agree with each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/all-these-creatures-spend-their-time-explaining-realizing-happily/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“she has suddenly emptied herself of me, and all other consciousness in the world has also emptied itself of me. It seems funny. Yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/she-has-suddenly-emptied-herself-of-me-and-all-other-consciousness-in/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [ \[Stéphane Mallarmé\] theory of the hermetic is a mistake, but he can be only difficult to read when he has difficult things to say. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/st-phane-mallarm-theory-of-the-hermetic-is-a-mistake-but-he-can-be/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [I can always choose, but I ought to know that if I do not choose, I am still choosing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/i-can-always-choose-but-i-ought-to-know-that-if-i-do-not-choose-i-am/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [When the rich wage war, it's the poor who die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/when-the-rich-wage-war-it-s-the-poor-who-die/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“She smiled. 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It's sort of an abstract silliness, that sometimes the joke isn't the star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-carvey/describing-comic-sensibility-is-near-impossible-it-s-sort-of-an/) [Dana Carvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-carvey/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The word of the Lord never comes to us as an opinion, no attempt is made to support it by argument, it comes as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-w-ivins/the-word-of-the-lord-never-comes-to-us-as-an-opinion-no-attempt-is/) [Anthony W. Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-w-ivins/) > [A mobile is an abstract sculpture made chiefly out of sheet metal, steel rods, wire and wood. 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