--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Identity negates possibility, denies…" description: "\"“Identity negates possibility, denies openness to other life. Identity kills, both metaphorically and very, very literally.”\" — John Holloway" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54a/john-holloway-28219_identity_identity-negates-possibility-denies-open_2664119.jpg" --- # Identity negates possibility, denies openness to other… ![“Identity negates possibility, denies openness to other life. Identity kills, both metaphorically and very, very literally.” quote by John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54a/john-holloway-28219_identity_identity-negates-possibility-denies-open_2664119.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54a/john-holloway-28219_identity_identity-negates-possibility-denies-open_2664119.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54a/john-holloway-28219_identity_identity-negates-possibility-denies-open_2664119.jpg) > ““Identity negates possibility, denies openness to other life. Identity kills, both metaphorically and very, very literally.”” [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Rigid identities restrict openness and can lead to literal and metaphorical destruction. **In simple terms:** Identity blocks possibility and can kill. Key Takeaway Question rigid identities. Themes identity openness conflict Mood critical thought‑provoking Type philosophical political When to use this quote - activism - policy debates - personal growth Key Concepts political theory social anthropology Questions to Reflect On - How does identity shape your worldview? - When is identity protective? A Different Perspective Identity can also provide community. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Identity Kills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity-kills-2451131/) [Identity Negates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity-negates-2451132/) [Kills Metaphorically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kills-metaphorically-2451133/) [Life Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-identity-509192/) ## Related quotes > [ Look at 4chan culture, which is the ultimate version of shedding your IRL \[in real life\] identity - you don't even keep a consistent… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-chu/look-at-4chan-culture-which-is-the-ultimate-version-of-shedding-your/) [Arthur Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-chu/) > [Work has been the central column for most of my life; it has always been my identity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-walter/work-has-been-the-central-column-for-most-of-my-life-it-has-always/) [Harriet Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-walter/) > [“Mammals require three essentials in life, identity, stimulation, and security, and by far the most important of these three psychological cornerstones is identity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sheldrick/mammals-require-three-essentials-in-life-identity-stimulation-and/) [David Sheldrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sheldrick/) > [“There are three key questions that must/should guide you in life; 1. What is your identity? 2. What is /are your value(s) to others?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wisdom-kwashie-mensah-wkm/there-are-three-key-questions-that-must-should-guide-you-in-life-1/) [WISDOM KWASHIE MENSAH (WKM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wisdom-kwashie-mensah-wkm/) > [If you build a life around an identity that springs from your own imagination, is it ever inauthentic?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-calloway/if-you-build-a-life-around-an-identity-that-springs-from-your-own/) [Caroline Calloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-calloway/) > [“I began asking myself questions like these: Am I listening for the still, small voice? Is my work still the center of my life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-p-buford/i-began-asking-myself-questions-like-these-am-i-listening-for-the/) [Bob P. Buford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-p-buford/) > [If anything becomes more fundamental than God to your happiness, meaning of life, and identity then it is an idol.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/if-anything-becomes-more-fundamental-than-god-to-your-happiness/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [Life is an identity we all live to notify with it !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nkem/life-is-an-identity-we-all-live-to-notify-with-it/) [Nkem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nkem/) > [“Nay even in the life, of the same individual there is succession and not absolute unity: a man is called the same, and yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diotima/nay-even-in-the-life-of-the-same-individual-there-is-succession-and/) [Diotima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diotima/) > [For the first few days of my life, I had an identity crisis, because my parents, Frank and Mandy Havlicek, could not decide on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-havlicek/for-the-first-few-days-of-my-life-i-had-an-identity-crisis-because-my/) [John Havlicek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-havlicek/) > [I look at my voice and my abilities as a gift. I don't feel that I can even take any credit for it, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmylou-harris/i-look-at-my-voice-and-my-abilities-as-a-gift-i-don-t-feel-that-i-can/) [Emmylou Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmylou-harris/) > [You have expressive nationalism, I mean very identity driven, which shaped each other a lot of that in the Middle East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subrahmanyam-jaishankar/you-have-expressive-nationalism-i-mean-very-identity-driven-which/) [Subrahmanyam Jaishankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subrahmanyam-jaishankar/) > [I think the next 50 years are going to present the human race with challenges that so far exceed the limitations of geopolitical boundaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/i-think-the-next-50-years-are-going-to-present-the-human-race-with/) [Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/) > [In the hearing world, I'm constantly having to lip-read and trying to understand what's going on. Sign language is so beautiful. It gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-ayling-ellis/in-the-hearing-world-i-m-constantly-having-to-lip-read-and-trying-to/) [Rose Ayling-Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-ayling-ellis/) > [I don't doubt that straight white men have identity issues and identity complexes and struggle with defining themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-simien/i-don-t-doubt-that-straight-white-men-have-identity-issues-and/) [Justin Simien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-simien/) ## More by John Holloway > [“A whole world of horror is contained in the process of definition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/a-whole-world-of-horror-is-contained-in-the-process-of-definition/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) > [“The struggle is lost from the beginning, long before the victorious party or army conquers state power and ‘betrays’ its promises. It is lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/the-struggle-is-lost-from-the-beginning-long-before-the-victorious/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) > [“The theory of crisis is not just a theory of fear but also a theory of hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/the-theory-of-crisis-is-not-just-a-theory-of-fear-but-also-a-theory/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) > [“Doing is inherently plural, collective, choral, communal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/doing-is-inherently-plural-collective-choral-communal/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) > [“We do not need to have a picture of what a true world would be like in order to feel that there is something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/we-do-not-need-to-have-a-picture-of-what-a-true-world-would-be-like/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) > [“We need no promise of a happy ending to justify our rejection of a world we feel to be wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/we-need-no-promise-of-a-happy-ending-to-justify-our-rejection-of-a/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) > [“Social self-determination does not and cannot exist in a capitalist society: capital, in all its forms, is the negation of self-determination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/social-self-determination-does-not-and-cannot-exist-in-a-capitalist/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) > [“The real determinant of society is hidden behind the state and the economy: it is the way in which our everyday activity is organised,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/the-real-determinant-of-society-is-hidden-behind-the-state-and-the/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) > [“Comradeship, dignity, amorosity, love, solidarity, fraternity, friendship, ethics: all these names stand in contrast to the commodified, monetised relations of capitalism, all describe relations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/comradeship-dignity-amorosity-love-solidarity-fraternity-friendship/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) > [“Identification is domination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/identification-is-domination/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) > [“Nonsubordination is the simple, unspectacular struggle to shape one's life. It is people's reluctance to give up the simple pleasures of life, their reluctance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/nonsubordination-is-the-simple-unspectacular-struggle-to-shape-one-s/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) > [“The rule of identity is the rule of amnesia.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/the-rule-of-identity-is-the-rule-of-amnesia/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) > [“In order to protect our jobs, our visas, our profits, our chances of receiving good grades, our sanity, we pretend not to see, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/in-order-to-protect-our-jobs-our-visas-our-profits-our-chances-of/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) > [“Definition merely adds the locks to a world that is assumed to be closed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/definition-merely-adds-the-locks-to-a-world-that-is-assumed-to-be/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) > [“We are the only creators, the only gods. Guilty gods, negated gods, damaged, schizophrenic gods, but above all self- changing gods.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/we-are-the-only-creators-the-only-gods-guilty-gods-negated-gods/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) [Explore all 19 John Holloway quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) ## More Identity quotes > [I don't doubt that straight white men have identity issues and identity complexes and struggle with defining themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-simien/i-don-t-doubt-that-straight-white-men-have-identity-issues-and/) [Justin Simien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-simien/) > [In the hearing world, I'm constantly having to lip-read and trying to understand what's going on. Sign language is so beautiful. 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