--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The surest defense against Evil is…" description: "\"The surest defense against Evil is extreme individualism, originality of thinking, whimsicality, even - if you will - eccentricity. That is, something ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05e/joseph-brodsky-1225_creativity_the-surest-defense-against-evil-is-extre_2574592.png" --- # The surest defense against Evil is extreme individualism… ![“The surest defense against Evil is extreme individualism, originality of thinking, whimsicality, even - if you will - eccentricity. That is, something that can't be feigned, faked, imitated; something even a seasoned imposter couldn't be happy with.” quote by Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05e/joseph-brodsky-1225_creativity_the-surest-defense-against-evil-is-extre_2574592.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05e/joseph-brodsky-1225_creativity_the-surest-defense-against-evil-is-extre_2574592.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05e/joseph-brodsky-1225_creativity_the-surest-defense-against-evil-is-extre_2574592.png) > “The surest defense against Evil is extreme individualism, originality of thinking, whimsicality, even - if you will - eccentricity. That is, something that can't be feigned, faked, imitated; something even a seasoned imposter couldn't be happy with.” [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True originality cannot be faked; it requires genuine eccentricity that resists imitation. **In simple terms:** Real uniqueness cannot be pretended. Key Takeaway Cultivate authentic, unconventional thinking. Themes individualism authenticity creativity Mood defiant reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - artistic expression - personal branding - leadership - social critique Key Concepts originality whimsicality eccentricity Questions to Reflect On - How can you protect your unique voice? - What risks arise from extreme individualism? A Different Perspective Even authentic voices can be co-opted by trends. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Eccentricity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eccentricity/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Extremes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremes/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Imposter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imposter/) [Individualism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individualism/) [Originality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/originality/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“The surest defense against Evil is extreme individualism, originality of thinking, whimsicality, even—if you will—eccentricity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/the-surest-defense-against-evil-is-extreme-individualism-originality/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [In Jefferson's mind democracy was tantamount to extreme individualism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-croly/in-jefferson-s-mind-democracy-was-tantamount-to-extreme-individualism/) [Herbert Croly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-croly/) > [We can just as little afford to follow the doctrinaires of an extreme individualism as the doctrinaires of an extreme socialism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/we-can-just-as-little-afford-to-follow-the-doctrinaires-of-an-extreme/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Surrealism - in particular with Salvador Dali - was all about ego. It was all about extreme individualism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-jodorowsky/surrealism-in-particular-with-salvador-dali-was-all-about-ego-it-was/) [Alejandro Jodorowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-jodorowsky/) > [The only defense against evil, violent people is good people who are more skilled at violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-miller/the-only-defense-against-evil-violent-people-is-good-people-who-are/) [Rory Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-miller/) > [In the mighty and almost limitless potential of American industry-the brilliance and rugged determination of its leaders; the skill, energy and patriotism of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/in-the-mighty-and-almost-limitless-potential-of-american-industry-the/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [We can have intellectual individualism and the rich cultural diversities that we owe to exceptional minds only at the price of occasional eccentricity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-h-jackson/we-can-have-intellectual-individualism-and-the-rich-cultural/) [Robert H. 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Samson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-k-samson/) > [God really doesnt reside in any temple, he is just an imposter who stays outside it for sometime and meanwhile we fail to recognise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/god-really-doesnt-reside-in-any-temple-he-is-just-an-imposter-who/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [There are lots of imposters in this earth, and to very first there always comes a second, to every reality there always come a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-tosh/there-are-lots-of-imposters-in-this-earth-and-to-very-first-there/) [Peter Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-tosh/) ## More by Joseph Brodsky > [As long as the state permits itself to interfere in the affairs of literature, literature has the right to interfere with the affairs of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/as-long-as-the-state-permits-itself-to-interfere-in-the-affairs-of/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [For some odd reason, the expression 'death of a poet' always sounds somewhat more concrete than 'life of a poet.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/for-some-odd-reason-the-expression-death-of-a-poet-always-sounds/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [A poet is a combination of an instrument and a human being in one person, with the former gradually taking over the latter. 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To a part of speech”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/what-gets-left-of-a-man-amounts-to-a-part-to-his-spoken-part-to-a/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [“secrecy is a hotbed of vanity”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/secrecy-is-a-hotbed-of-vanity/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [“The instinctive preference was to read rather than to act. No wonder our actual lives were more or less a shambles”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/the-instinctive-preference-was-to-read-rather-than-to-act-no-wonder/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [Americans have been tremendously fortunate in poetry, regarding both the quantity and quality of poetry produced. Unfortunately, it remains in schools and universities; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/americans-have-been-tremendously-fortunate-in-poetry-regarding-both/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [Life—the way it really is—is a battle not between good and bad, but between bad and worse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/life-the-way-it-really-is-is-a-battle-not-between-good-and-bad-but/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [Poems, novels - these things belong to the nation, to the culture, and the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/poems-novels-these-things-belong-to-the-nation-to-the-culture-and-the/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [“If there is any substitute for love, it is memory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/if-there-is-any-substitute-for-love-it-is-memory/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) [Explore all 264 Joseph Brodsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) ## More Creativity quotes > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“The Soviet “creative intelligentsia” - that is, people accustomed to thinking one thing, saying another and doing a third - is as a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-amalrik/the-soviet-creative-intelligentsia-that-is-people-accustomed-to/) Andrei Amalrik > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [You don't get lucky. You create lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/you-don-t-get-lucky-you-create-lucky/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“You are the end of beauty and creativity one must have created so far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/you-are-the-end-of-beauty-and-creativity-one-must-have-created-so-far/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“I believe in magic. As a writer, I create them on blank paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonnia-kemmer/i-believe-in-magic-as-a-writer-i-create-them-on-blank-paper/) [Sonnia Kemmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonnia-kemmer/) > [Creativity is like chasing chickens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-niemann/creativity-is-like-chasing-chickens/) Christoph Niemann > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. It's a time when you really get to do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/you-always-hear-actors-say-theater-is-my-first-love-and-it-is-it-s-a/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [Create an environment for people to fail, to learn, and to grow. Their creativity and productivity will increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/create-an-environment-for-people-to-fail-to-learn-and-to-grow-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 13,625 Creativity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The surest defense against Evil is extreme individualism, originality of thinking, whimsicality, even - if you will - eccentricity. 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