--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If God does not exist, are we provided…" description: "\"“If God does not exist, are we provided with any values or commands that could legitimise our behaviour.”\" — Jean-Paul Sartre" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/689/jean-paul-sartre-220_exist_if-god-does-not-exist-are-we-provided-wi_1143651.png" --- # If God does not exist, are we provided with any values or… ![“If God does not exist, are we provided with any values or commands that could legitimise our behaviour.” quote by Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/689/jean-paul-sartre-220_exist_if-god-does-not-exist-are-we-provided-wi_1143651.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/689/jean-paul-sartre-220_exist_if-god-does-not-exist-are-we-provided-wi_1143651.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/689/jean-paul-sartre-220_exist_if-god-does-not-exist-are-we-provided-wi_1143651.png) > ““If God does not exist, are we provided with any values or commands that could legitimise our behaviour.”” [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. Human beings must create their own values and moral frameworks in the absence of divine authority. **In simple terms:** We make our own morals without God. Key Takeaway Choose and live by self‑crafted principles. Themes existentialism morality autonomy Mood reflective serious Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - personal decision‑making - social activism - education - leadership Key Concepts subjectivity ethical responsibility Questions to Reflect On - What principles will you adopt to guide your actions? - How do you resolve moral disagreements without a common authority? A Different Perspective Without shared standards, conflict can arise over differing self‑made values. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Commands Legitimise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commands-legitimise-3200115/) [Does Exist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/does-exist/) [Exist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exist/) [Exist Provided](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exist-provided-3200114/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Infinite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infinite/) [Legitimise Behaviour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legitimise-behaviour-3200116/) ## Related quotes > [A God who makes no demands, is the functional equivalent of a God who does not exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-todd-christofferson/a-god-who-makes-no-demands-is-the-functional-equivalent-of-a-god-who/) [D. Todd Christofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-todd-christofferson/) > [“Does all that exist of itself, or is it only an emanation of myself, a logical development of my ego which alone has existed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/does-all-that-exist-of-itself-or-is-it-only-an-emanation-of-myself-a/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“He who does not feel me is not real to me, therefore SHE does not exist!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/habeeb-akande/he-who-does-not-feel-me-is-not-real-to-me-therefore-she-does-not-exist/) [Habeeb Akande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/habeeb-akande/) > [“From a social standpoint the man of science does not exist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/from-a-social-standpoint-the-man-of-science-does-not-exist/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [The supernatural does not exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-flammarion/the-supernatural-does-not-exist/) [Camille Flammarion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-flammarion/) > [Deadpool does not exist in any way, shape, or form without me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-liefeld/deadpool-does-not-exist-in-any-way-shape-or-form-without-me/) [Rob Liefeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-liefeld/) > [A man does not exist until he is drunk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/a-man-does-not-exist-until-he-is-drunk/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [God is necessary, and therefore must exist...But I know that he does not and cannot exist...Don't you understand that a man with these two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-is-necessary-and-therefore-must-exist-but-i-know-that-he-does-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“A higher power does exist. The forces of day-to-day reality seem to take hold and become the truth for you, yet truth is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-herrera/a-higher-power-does-exist-the-forces-of-day-to-day-reality-seem-to/) [Elizabeth Herrera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-herrera/) > [The perfect striker does not exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jupp-heynckes/the-perfect-striker-does-not-exist/) [Jupp Heynckes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jupp-heynckes/) > [True relaxation, which would do me the world of good, does not exist for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-klimt/true-relaxation-which-would-do-me-the-world-of-good-does-not-exist/) [Gustav Klimt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-klimt/) > [“...If God really does exist, and is not just a myth, it must have consequence for the whole of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-worth/if-god-really-does-exist-and-is-not-just-a-myth-it-must-have/) [Jennifer Worth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-worth/) > [Don't be afraid of what you don't know coz it does not exist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-be-afraid-of-what-you-don-t-know-coz-it-does-not-exist/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Love, it does exist, believe it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devania-annesya/love-it-does-exist-believe-it/) [Devania Annesya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devania-annesya/) > [God exists or God does not exist. Leave it for us. Your task is to learn how to live peacefully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/god-exists-or-god-does-not-exist-leave-it-for-us-your-task-is-to/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) ## 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. First I lost the memory of her eyes, then the memory of her long body. I kept her smile as long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/she-smiled-first-i-lost-the-memory-of-her-eyes-then-the-memory-of-her/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [Life is a useless passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/life-is-a-useless-passion/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [The more one is absorbed in fighting evil, the less one is tempted to place the good in question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/the-more-one-is-absorbed-in-fighting-evil-the-less-one-is-tempted-to/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [This is what I thought: for the most banal even to become an adventure, you must (and this is enough) begin to recount it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/this-is-what-i-thought-for-the-most-banal-even-to-become-an-adventure/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“I am free: there is absolutely no more reason for living, all the ones I have tried have given way and I can’t imagine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/i-am-free-there-is-absolutely-no-more-reason-for-living-all-the-ones/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“If I am not mistaken, if all the signs which have been amassed are precursors of a new overthrow in my life, well then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/if-i-am-not-mistaken-if-all-the-signs-which-have-been-amassed-are/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“I want to leave, go to some place where I will be really in my own niche, where I will fit in. . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/i-want-to-leave-go-to-some-place-where-i-will-be-really-in-my-own/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [...Uncalled-for aggression arouses the hatred of the civilian population...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/uncalled-for-aggression-arouses-the-hatred-of-the-civilian-population/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [The best work is not what is most difficult for you; it is what you do best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/the-best-work-is-not-what-is-most-difficult-for-you-it-is-what-you-do/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) [Explore all 728 Jean-Paul Sartre quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) ## More Exist quotes > [A vacuum can only exist, I imagine, by the things which enclose it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-fitzgerald/a-vacuum-can-only-exist-i-imagine-by-the-things-which-enclose-it/) [Zelda Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelda-fitzgerald/) > [No creature can attain a higher grade of nature without ceasing to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/no-creature-can-attain-a-higher-grade-of-nature-without-ceasing-to/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [You would not exist if you did not have something to bring to the table of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-hancock/you-would-not-exist-if-you-did-not-have-something-to-bring-to-the/) [Herbie Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-hancock/) > [I don't believe in moral victories. I don't think in pro ball they exist, and they shouldn't exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-witten/i-don-t-believe-in-moral-victories-i-don-t-think-in-pro-ball-they/) [Jason Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-witten/) > [She might be without country, without nation, but inside her there was still a being that could exist and be free, that could simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-maas/she-might-be-without-country-without-nation-but-inside-her-there-was/) [Sharon Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-maas/) > [“Must a people disappear for us to know they exist? Mano Dayak”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mano-dayak/must-a-people-disappear-for-us-to-know-they-exist-mano-dayak/) [Mano Dayak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mano-dayak/) > [A monkey is unaware that atoms exist. Likewise, our brainpower may not stretch to the deepest aspects of reality. The bedrock nature of space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/a-monkey-is-unaware-that-atoms-exist-likewise-our-brainpower-may-not/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [“And then again, maybe people and things are the same as emotions: Even when you can't see them or feel them or be with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-henriquez/and-then-again-maybe-people-and-things-are-the-same-as-emotions-even/) [Cristina Henriquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-henriquez/) > [When you rely on incentives, you undermine virtues. Then when you discover that you actually need people who want to do the right thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-schwartz/when-you-rely-on-incentives-you-undermine-virtues-then-when-you/) [Barry Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-schwartz/) > [When good media takes a bounded form, and comes once in a period of time, it begs to be consumed as a whole -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/when-good-media-takes-a-bounded-form-and-comes-once-in-a-period-of/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [“Human race had never planned to show up in this universe. I wonder whether current human efforts are relevant to its sustainability.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/human-race-had-never-planned-to-show-up-in-this-universe-i-wonder/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [If you ask why I do what I do - I want to make a difference. I don't just want to maintain the status…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-broad/if-you-ask-why-i-do-what-i-do-i-want-to-make-a-difference-i-don-t/) [Eli Broad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-broad/) > [Happiness, I do not know where to turn to discover you on earth, in the air or the sky; yet I know you exist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalia-de-castro/happiness-i-do-not-know-where-to-turn-to-discover-you-on-earth-in-the/) [Rosalia de Castro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalia-de-castro/) > [Is when you can not exist without your loves smile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff/is-when-you-can-not-exist-without-your-loves-smile/) [Jeff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff/) > [Liberty does not exist where rights are on one side and power on the other. To be liberty, rights must be armed with vital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-quintus-cincinnatus-lamar-ii/liberty-does-not-exist-where-rights-are-on-one-side-and-power-on-the/) [Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-quintus-cincinnatus-lamar-ii/) [Browse all 2,297 Exist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If God does not exist, are we provided with any values or commands that could legitimise our behaviour.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jean-Paul Sartre" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/if-god-does-not-exist-are-we-provided-with-any-values-or-commands/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Exist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/if-god-does-not-exist-are-we-provided-with-any-values-or-commands/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/689/jean-paul-sartre-220_exist_if-god-does-not-exist-are-we-provided-wi_1143651.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/689/jean-paul-sartre-220_exist_if-god-does-not-exist-are-we-provided-wi_1143651.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/689/jean-paul-sartre-220_exist_if-god-does-not-exist-are-we-provided-wi_1143651.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If God does not exist, are we provided with any values or commands that could legitimise our behaviour.” — Jean-Paul Sartre", "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": "Jean-Paul Sartre", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If God does not exist, are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/if-god-does-not-exist-are-we-provided-with-any-values-or-commands/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/if-god-does-not-exist-are-we-provided-with-any-values-or-commands/#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 } } ] } ```