--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: More and more frequently, we will find…" description: "\"“More and more frequently, we will find ourselves in the position of the lower animals—with a mental apparatus that is unequipped to deal thoroughly wi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d79/joseph-heath-31599_animals_more-and-more-frequently-we-will-find-ou_1175890.jpg" --- # More and more frequently, we will find ourselves in the… ![“More and more frequently, we will find ourselves in the position of the lower animals—with a mental apparatus that is unequipped to deal thoroughly with the intricacy and richness of the outside environment.” The irony is that, “unlike the animals, whose cognitive powers have always been…” quote by Joseph Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d79/joseph-heath-31599_animals_more-and-more-frequently-we-will-find-ou_1175890.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d79/joseph-heath-31599_animals_more-and-more-frequently-we-will-find-ou_1175890.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d79/joseph-heath-31599_animals_more-and-more-frequently-we-will-find-ou_1175890.jpg) > ““More and more frequently, we will find ourselves in the position of the lower animals—with a mental apparatus that is unequipped to deal thoroughly with the intricacy and richness of the outside environment.” The irony is that, “unlike the animals, whose cognitive powers have always been relatively deficient, we have created our own deficiency by constructing a radically more complex world.”” [Joseph Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human cognition evolved for simpler environments, yet modern complexity overwhelms our mental tools, creating a mismatch between our brains and the world. **In simple terms:** Our minds are ill‑suited for today’s complexity. Key Takeaway Recognize limits and simplify surroundings. Themes cognition technology complexity environment human limits Mood analytical concerned thought‑provoking Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - urban planning - education - mental health - policy making Key Concepts evolutionary psychology philosophy technology studies Questions to Reflect On - How can we design environments that match our cognition? - What trade‑offs exist between complexity and simplicity? A Different Perspective Simplification may sacrifice richness and innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [“More and more frequently, we will find ourselves in the position of the lower animals—with a mental apparatus that is unequipped to deal thoroughly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-cialdini/more-and-more-frequently-we-will-find-ourselves-in-the-position-of-2/) [Robert B. Cialdini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-cialdini/) > [Unlike other animals, all of which are undoubtedly oblivious to their eventual demise, humans are fully aware that their time on Earth is limited.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gad-saad/unlike-other-animals-all-of-which-are-undoubtedly-oblivious-to-their/) [Gad Saad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gad-saad/) > [There is nothing in the world like persuasive speech to fuddle the mental apparatus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-nothing-in-the-world-like-persuasive-speech-to-fuddle-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The facts which have caused us to believe in the dominance of the pleasure principle in mental life also find expression in the hypothesis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/the-facts-which-have-caused-us-to-believe-in-the-dominance-of-the/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“People are so particular. Unlike animals, which can be lions, eagles, or sharks, people are only people. (Though some people can easily be mistaken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/people-are-so-particular-unlike-animals-which-can-be-lions-eagles-or/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Man, unlike the animals, has never learned that the sole purpose of life is to enjoy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/man-unlike-the-animals-has-never-learned-that-the-sole-purpose-of/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [“Unlike the animals, who knew only the present, Man had acquired a past; and he was beginning to grope toward a future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/unlike-the-animals-who-knew-only-the-present-man-had-acquired-a-past/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Man is unique in that, unlike animals, he knows he is going to die, and unlike animals he can do something about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-comfort/man-is-unique-in-that-unlike-animals-he-knows-he-is-going-to-die-and/) [Ray Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-comfort/) > [There is no mode of action, no form of emotion, that we do not share with the lower animals. It is only by language…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/there-is-no-mode-of-action-no-form-of-emotion-that-we-do-not-share/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I have been studying the traits and dispositions of the "lower animals" (so called) and contrasting them with the traits and dispositions of man.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-been-studying-the-traits-and-dispositions-of-the-lower-animals/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Man should regard lower animals as being in the same dependent condition as minors under his government ... For a man to torture an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-buckner/man-should-regard-lower-animals-as-being-in-the-same-dependent/) [Ed Buckner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-buckner/) > [I cannot see the short, white curls Upon the forehead of an Ox, But what I see them dripping with That poor thing's blood,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-cannot-see-the-short-white-curls-upon-the-forehead-of-an-ox-but/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [For origin and development of human faculty we must look to these processes of association in lower animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thorndike/for-origin-and-development-of-human-faculty-we-must-look-to-these/) [Edward Thorndike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thorndike/) > [The behavior of men to the lower animals, and their behavior to each other, bear a constant relationship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/the-behavior-of-men-to-the-lower-animals-and-their-behavior-to-each/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [“That whereby man differs from the lower animals is but small. Most people throw it away; only”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/that-whereby-man-differs-from-the-lower-animals-is-but-small-most/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) ## More by Joseph Heath > [“The scientific method is famous for requiring objectivity and emotional detachment on the part of the investigator. Scientific experimentation also involves extensive manipulation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/the-scientific-method-is-famous-for-requiring-objectivity-and/) [Joseph Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/) > [“The environments that are the most hostile from the standpoint of rationality are those that are the most commercial.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/the-environments-that-are-the-most-hostile-from-the-standpoint-of/) [Joseph Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/) > [“The idea that people could get along fine with just markets, and no government, turned out to rest upon a version of what economists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/the-idea-that-people-could-get-along-fine-with-just-markets-and-no/) [Joseph Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/) > [“One of the downsides of working in philosophy is that it attracts a lot of people with mental-health problems.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/one-of-the-downsides-of-working-in-philosophy-is-that-it-attracts-a/) [Joseph Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/) > [“There may be important things right in front of you that you aren’t noticing due to the illusion of attention. 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We see patterns all around us, and each new day brings new evidence that confirms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/as-individuals-we-have-enormous-difficulty-thinking-the-negative-we/) [Joseph Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/) > [“if we adopted a different orientation toward the world, one that focused on liberation and freedom rather than manipulation and control, it would literally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/if-we-adopted-a-different-orientation-toward-the-world-one-that/) [Joseph Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/) > [“that, when it comes to humanity, “the perfection of our nature and capability of happiness, must be estimated by the degree of reason, virtue,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/that-when-it-comes-to-humanity-the-perfection-of-our-nature-and/) [Joseph Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/) > [“The search for a new type of rationality became just another form of antirationalism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/the-search-for-a-new-type-of-rationality-became-just-another-form-of/) [Joseph Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/) [Explore all 16 Joseph Heath quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“More and more frequently, we will find ourselves in the position of the lower animals—with a mental apparatus that is unequipped to deal thoroughly with the intricacy and richness of the outside environment.” The irony is that, “unlike the animals, whose cognitive powers have always been relatively deficient, we have created our own deficiency by constructing a radically more complex world.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joseph Heath" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/more-and-more-frequently-we-will-find-ourselves-in-the-position-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/more-and-more-frequently-we-will-find-ourselves-in-the-position-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d79/joseph-heath-31599_animals_more-and-more-frequently-we-will-find-ou_1175890.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d79/joseph-heath-31599_animals_more-and-more-frequently-we-will-find-ou_1175890.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d79/joseph-heath-31599_animals_more-and-more-frequently-we-will-find-ou_1175890.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“More and more frequently, we will find ourselves in the position of the lower animals—with a mental…” — Joseph Heath", "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": "Joseph Heath", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“More and more frequently, we will...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/more-and-more-frequently-we-will-find-ourselves-in-the-position-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/more-and-more-frequently-we-will-find-ourselves-in-the-position-of/#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 } } ] } ```