--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once we have surrendered our senses and…" description: "\"Once we have surrendered our senses and nervous systems to the private manipulation of those who would try to benefit from taking a lease on our eyes a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9e/marshall-mcluhan-641_atmosphere_once-we-have-surrendered-our-senses-and_1669988.png" --- # Once we have surrendered our senses and nervous systems to… ![“Once we have surrendered our senses and nervous systems to the private manipulation of those who would try to benefit from taking a lease on our eyes and ears and nerves, we don't really have any rights left. Leasing our eyes and ears and nerves to commercial interests is like handing over the…” quote by Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9e/marshall-mcluhan-641_atmosphere_once-we-have-surrendered-our-senses-and_1669988.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9e/marshall-mcluhan-641_atmosphere_once-we-have-surrendered-our-senses-and_1669988.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9e/marshall-mcluhan-641_atmosphere_once-we-have-surrendered-our-senses-and_1669988.png) > “Once we have surrendered our senses and nervous systems to the private manipulation of those who would try to benefit from taking a lease on our eyes and ears and nerves, we don't really have any rights left. Leasing our eyes and ears and nerves to commercial interests is like handing over the common speech to a private corporation, or like giving the earth's atmosphere to a company as a monopoly.” [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When private entities control our sensory inputs, we lose personal autonomy, turning fundamental human experiences into commodified services. **In simple terms:** Loss of autonomy through commercial control of senses. Key Takeaway Guard personal media consumption and support open platforms. Themes media control privacy commercialization Mood cautious critical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - online advertising - smartphone usage - data privacy policies - media literacy education Key Concepts media theory digital rights surveillance capitalism Questions to Reflect On - What sensory data are you willing to share? - How can societies protect collective speech? A Different Perspective Resistance may be limited by pervasive technology dependence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atmosphere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atmosphere/) [Benefits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benefits/) [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/company/) [Corporations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporations/) [Ears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ears/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Handing over](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/handing-over/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Lease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lease/) [Lease Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lease-eyes-848492/) [Leasing Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leasing-eyes-848494/) [Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left/) [Manipulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manipulation/) [Monopoly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monopoly/) [Nerves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nerves/) [Nerves Commercial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nerves-commercial-848495/) [Nervous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nervous/) [Nervous system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nervous-system/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Senses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/senses/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) [Speech Private](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech-private-848496/) [Surrendered Senses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surrendered-senses-848493/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Ur Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ur-eyes/) ## Related quotes > [We're muddying the waters when we are having a discussion about what's going on on YouTube and Twitter and whether that's a matter of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-fantano/we-re-muddying-the-waters-when-we-are-having-a-discussion-about-what/) [Anthony Fantano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-fantano/) > [The freedom of speech of private individuals includes the right to not agree, not to listen, and not to finance one's own antagonists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/the-freedom-of-speech-of-private-individuals-includes-the-right-to/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [I hate handing over money to people for doing what I could just as easily do myself, it makes me nervous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-hate-handing-over-money-to-people-for-doing-what-i-could-just-as/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Give parents the tiniest of confidences and they'll use them as crowbars to jimmy you open and rearrange your life with no perspective. Sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/give-parents-the-tiniest-of-confidences-and-they-ll-use-them-as/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [There are many who are living far below their possibilities because they are continually handing over their individualities to others. Do you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-many-who-are-living-far-below-their-possibilities-because/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [...the consciousness of being at war, and therefore in danger, makes the handing-over of all power to a small caste seem the natural, unavoidable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-consciousness-of-being-at-war-and-therefore-in-danger-makes-the/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Adamant," Doren said proudly, handing over the shield. "We fished it out of the tar pit where we found the shirt of mail." "Probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-mull/adamant-doren-said-proudly-handing-over-the-shield-we-fished-it-out/) [Brandon Mull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-mull/) > [Memoir is about handing over you life to someone and saying, This is what I went through, this is who I am, and maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/memoir-is-about-handing-over-you-life-to-someone-and-saying-this-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And we remember the end of our combat mission and the emergence of a new dawn -- the precision of our efforts against al…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/and-we-remember-the-end-of-our-combat-mission-and-the-emergence-of-a/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [We owe our troops more than rhetoric; we owe them a real plan. The Administration has yet to put forward a strategy for achieving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-cardoza/we-owe-our-troops-more-than-rhetoric-we-owe-them-a-real-plan-the/) [Dennis Cardoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-cardoza/) > [We have to uphold the EU's core values. These days, people are nervous and uncertain because of security threats. In this kind of atmosphere,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-jourova/we-have-to-uphold-the-eu-s-core-values-these-days-people-are-nervous/) [Vera Jourova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-jourova/) > [We Facebook users have been building a treasure lode of big data that government and corporate researchers have been mining to predict and influence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/we-facebook-users-have-been-building-a-treasure-lode-of-big-data-that/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [I had fun last night," I told Patch, flicking off my chin strap and handing over my helmet. "I'm officially on love with your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/i-had-fun-last-night-i-told-patch-flicking-off-my-chin-strap-and/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [I find that what doubt does, or fear, is it makes you come up with as many ideas as you possibly can. And on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-redmayne/i-find-that-what-doubt-does-or-fear-is-it-makes-you-come-up-with-as/) [Eddie Redmayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-redmayne/) > [We must support initiatives that provide clear, concrete measures and milestones that our troops need for defeating the insurgency, building up Iraqi security forces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrod-brown/we-must-support-initiatives-that-provide-clear-concrete-measures-and/) [Sherrod Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrod-brown/) ## More by Marshall McLuhan > [Even mud gives the illusion of depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/even-mud-gives-the-illusion-of-depth/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Language always preserves a play or figure/ground relation between experience, and perception and its replay in expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/language-always-preserves-a-play-or-figure-ground-relation-between/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Electronic man has no physical body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/electronic-man-has-no-physical-body/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [I am curious to know what would happen if art were suddenly seen for what it is, namely, exact information of how to rearrange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/i-am-curious-to-know-what-would-happen-if-art-were-suddenly-seen-for/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [With the arrival of electric technology, man has extended, or set outside himself, a live model of the central nervous system itself. 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The worldpool of information fathered by the electric media--movies, Telstar, flight--far surpassesany possible influence mom and dad can now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-family-circle-has-widened-the-worldpool-of-information-fathered/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Like primitive, we now live in a global village of our own making, a simultaneous happening. It doesn't necessarily mean harmony and peace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/like-primitive-we-now-live-in-a-global-village-of-our-own-making-a/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Professionalism is environmental. Amateurism is anti-environmental. Professionalism merges the individual into patterns of total environment. Amateurism seeks the development of the total awareness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/professionalism-is-environmental-amateurism-is-anti-environmental/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The visual power of the phonetic alphabet is the translate other languages into itself is part of its power to invade right hemisphere (oral)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-visual-power-of-the-phonetic-alphabet-is-the-translate-other/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [New media may at first appear as mere codes of transmission for older achievement and established patterns of thought. 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It lives mythically and in depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/youth-instinctively-understand-the-present-environment-the-electric/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Our motor car is our supreme form of privacy when we are away from home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/our-motor-car-is-our-supreme-form-of-privacy-when-we-are-away-from/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The scientist rigorously defends his right to be ignorant of almost everything except his specialty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-scientist-rigorously-defends-his-right-to-be-ignorant-of-almost/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) [Explore all 433 Marshall McLuhan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) ## More Atmosphere quotes > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Man will not always stay on Earth; the pursuit of light and space will lead him to penetrate the bounds of the atmosphere, timidly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/man-will-not-always-stay-on-earth-the-pursuit-of-light-and-space-will/) [Konstantin Tsiolkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/) > [Pause before you get home and prepare your heart. A peaceful heart leads to a peaceful atmosphere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-burns/pause-before-you-get-home-and-prepare-your-heart-a-peaceful-heart/) [Jim Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-burns/) > [Sometimes a minute is really the difference between success and failure. 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Many prepare themselves for work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-leland/establish-an-atmosphere-that-energizes-you-some-creative-people/) [Nita Leland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-leland/) > [Each year we pump at least six billion tons of heat-trapping carbon into the innermost layer of our atmosphere, whose outer extent is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-gelbspan/each-year-we-pump-at-least-six-billion-tons-of-heat-trapping-carbon/) [Ross Gelbspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-gelbspan/) > [It was clear to me that the White House's solemn atmosphere would not civilize Trump. But the merciless nepotism with which he conducts politics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/it-was-clear-to-me-that-the-white-house-s-solemn-atmosphere-would-not/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [“Bjerknes had come up with equations capable of describing the behavior of the atmosphere. 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