--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Conformity—the natural instinct to…" description: "\"Conformity—the natural instinct to passively yield to that vague something recognized as authority.\" — Mark Twain" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a1/mark-twain-22_authority_conformity-the-natural-instinct-to-passi_1008742.png" --- # Conformity—the natural instinct to passively yield to that… ![“Conformity—the natural instinct to passively yield to that vague something recognized as authority.” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a1/mark-twain-22_authority_conformity-the-natural-instinct-to-passi_1008742.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a1/mark-twain-22_authority_conformity-the-natural-instinct-to-passi_1008742.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a1/mark-twain-22_authority_conformity-the-natural-instinct-to-passi_1008742.png) > “Conformity—the natural instinct to passively yield to that vague something recognized as authority.” [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People tend to obey authority without questioning, even when it conflicts with personal judgment. **In simple terms:** Blind obedience to authority is common. Key Takeaway Question authority before complying. Themes conformity authority individualism social pressure critical thinking Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - workplace policies - peer pressure - political rallies - educational settings Key Concepts social psychology obedience groupthink Questions to Reflect On - When should you follow authority? - How can you maintain individuality? A Different Perspective It may not account for beneficial cooperation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Conformity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformity/) [Instinct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instinct/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Passively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passively/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) ## Related quotes > [Not actively surviving is passively dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ori-hofmekler/not-actively-surviving-is-passively-dying/) [Ori Hofmekler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ori-hofmekler/) > [“I often wish I could just passively watch people without being expected to participate myself, like television.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-e-thomas/i-often-wish-i-could-just-passively-watch-people-without-being/) [M.E. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-e-thomas/) > [A man who is really earnest must begin with himself, he must be passively aware of all his thoughts, feelings and actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-man-who-is-really-earnest-must-begin-with-himself-he-must-be/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [“We can passively take our place in the negative chain, accepting the harm to ourselves and passing it on to others. Or we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-archera-huxley/we-can-passively-take-our-place-in-the-negative-chain-accepting-the/) Laura Archera Huxley > [What I think makes people nerds is just being obsessive. I think that's what nerdiness really is - its people who don't just passively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-posehn/what-i-think-makes-people-nerds-is-just-being-obsessive-i-think-that/) [Brian Posehn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-posehn/) > [A culture is like an immune system. It operates through the laws of systems, just like a body. If a body has an infection,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cloud/a-culture-is-like-an-immune-system-it-operates-through-the-laws-of/) [Henry Cloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cloud/) > [Feelings come to us, passively; love comes from us, actively, by our free choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/feelings-come-to-us-passively-love-comes-from-us-actively-by-our-free/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [People are just passively accepting what you tell them, so if you are on TV there is that greater responsibility to be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derren-brown/people-are-just-passively-accepting-what-you-tell-them-so-if-you-are/) [Derren Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derren-brown/) > [“To let oneself be carried on passively is unthinkable. ‘That’s your course, world,’ one says, ‘mine is this.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/to-let-oneself-be-carried-on-passively-is-unthinkable-that-s-your/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [The most important thing I learned is that when you are actively learning about someone else you are passively teaching them about yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/the-most-important-thing-i-learned-is-that-when-you-are-actively/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [When you exercise your will power you release the power of life energy - not when you merely wish passively to be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/when-you-exercise-your-will-power-you-release-the-power-of-life/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [“So perhaps the best resource is to meet everything passively, to make yourself an inert mass, to stare at others with the eyes of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/so-perhaps-the-best-resource-is-to-meet-everything-passively-to-make/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [I still like to get carried away - but passively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-plant/i-still-like-to-get-carried-away-but-passively/) [Robert Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-plant/) > [It is dangerous to maintain equality at the cost of placing the pieces passively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatoly-karpov/it-is-dangerous-to-maintain-equality-at-the-cost-of-placing-the/) [Anatoly Karpov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatoly-karpov/) > [To let oneself be carried on passively is unthinkable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/to-let-oneself-be-carried-on-passively-is-unthinkable/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) ## More by Mark Twain > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. Behind him stretched the illimitable continent of heaven, steeped in a glory of light and color; before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-creator-sat-upon-the-throne-thinking-behind-him-stretched-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It's easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-easy-to-quit-smoking-i-ve-done-it-hundreds-of-times/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It is never wrong to do the right thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-never-wrong-to-do-the-right-thing/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-accustomed-to-american-food-and-american-domestic-cookery-would/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There is nothing training can't cannot do. Nothing is above its reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-nothing-training-can-t-cannot-do-nothing-is-above-its-reach/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I never write Metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-write-metropolis-for-seven-cents-because-i-can-get-the-same/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The higher animals get their teeth without pain or inconvenience. 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You perceive that they are pure and puerile insanities, the silly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-perceive-now-that-these-things-are-all-impossible-except-in-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Lord save us all from a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/lord-save-us-all-from-a-hope-tree-that-has-lost-the-faculty-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Explore all 3,277 Mark Twain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More Authority quotes > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. 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Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Miracles are like candles lit up until the sun rises, and then blown out. Therefore, I am amused when I hear sects and churches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/miracles-are-like-candles-lit-up-until-the-sun-rises-and-then-blown/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [The execution was set for the 29th of March, at nine in the morning. This delay was due to a desire on the part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-execution-was-set-for-the-29th-of-march-at-nine-in-the-morning/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I started with the belief that every person who came to the laboratory was free to accept or to reject the dictates of authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-milgram/i-started-with-the-belief-that-every-person-who-came-to-the/) [Stanley Milgram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-milgram/) > [The rationale which accompanies that imposition of male authority euphemistically referred to as 'the battle of the sexes' bears a certain resemblance to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/the-rationale-which-accompanies-that-imposition-of-male-authority/) [Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/) > [“We are at the mercy of whoever wields authority over the things we either desire or detest. 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