--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Without civilization, we would not turn…" description: "\"Without civilization, we would not turn into animals, but vegetables.\" — Mason Cooley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cb/mason-cooley-92_animals_without-civilization-we-would-not-turn-i_3175594.png" --- # Without civilization, we would not turn into animals, but… ![“Without civilization, we would not turn into animals, but vegetables.” quote by Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cb/mason-cooley-92_animals_without-civilization-we-would-not-turn-i_3175594.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cb/mason-cooley-92_animals_without-civilization-we-would-not-turn-i_3175594.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cb/mason-cooley-92_animals_without-civilization-we-would-not-turn-i_3175594.png) > “Without civilization, we would not turn into animals, but vegetables.” [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Civilization provides structure that distinguishes humans from raw nature, preventing a regression to basic biological existence. **In simple terms:** Society keeps us from becoming mere plants. Key Takeaway Value social order. Themes civilization human nature progress Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - urban living - education - law - community building Key Concepts social contract cultural evolution Questions to Reflect On - How does civilization shape identity? - What freedoms are lost without it? A Different Perspective Society can also suppress individuality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Animals Vegetables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals-vegetables-3612514/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Civilization Turn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization-turn-5797485/) [Turn Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turn-animals-2582846/) [Vegetables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vegetables/) ## Related quotes > [FDA, which regulates the safety of vegetables, doesn't have those kinds of rules because Congress doesn't want it to. It's not that the vegetables…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-nestle/fda-which-regulates-the-safety-of-vegetables-doesn-t-have-those-kinds/) [Marion Nestle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-nestle/) > [“There is no greater wrecking ball to the planet than the industries that turn animals into food. No single choice that we make has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-agranoff/there-is-no-greater-wrecking-ball-to-the-planet-than-the-industries/) [David Agranoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-agranoff/) > [People think of animals as if they were vegetables, and that is not right. We have to change the way people think about animals.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/people-think-of-animals-as-if-they-were-vegetables-and-that-is-not/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Civilization must be destroyed. The hairy saints Of the North have earned thiscrumb by their complaints.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/civilization-must-be-destroyed-the-hairy-saints-of-the-north-have/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Last night we had three small zucchini for dinner that were grown within fifty feet of our back door. I estimate they cost somewhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/last-night-we-had-three-small-zucchini-for-dinner-that-were-grown/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [It is a great delusion to suppose that flesh-meat of any kind is essential to health. Considerably more than three parts of the work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-booth/it-is-a-great-delusion-to-suppose-that-flesh-meat-of-any-kind-is/) [Catherine Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-booth/) > [I think the best Thanksgiving we ever had was one where we didn't even have a turkey. Mom and Dad sat us kids down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/i-think-the-best-thanksgiving-we-ever-had-was-one-where-we-didn-t/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [“Vegetables come from the ground. So does my love. Eat it raw.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/vegetables-come-from-the-ground-so-does-my-love-eat-it-raw/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > ["Natural" is a very dangerous word to use about sexuality ... Our society's notions of normality are completely fake and meta-trendy, since they rely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-bright/natural-is-a-very-dangerous-word-to-use-about-sexuality-our-society-s/) [Susie Bright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-bright/) > [Cooking is 80 percent confidence, a skill best acquired starting from when the apron strings wrap around you twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/cooking-is-80-percent-confidence-a-skill-best-acquired-starting-from/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [I love a good steak. I like my meat. I love broccoli - it's one of my favorites - and corn, too. I mix…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-wozniacki/i-love-a-good-steak-i-like-my-meat-i-love-broccoli-it-s-one-of-my/) [Caroline Wozniacki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-wozniacki/) > [In the water bucket a melon and an eggplant nodding to each other](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yosa-buson/in-the-water-bucket-a-melon-and-an-eggplant-nodding-to-each-other/) [Yosa Buson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yosa-buson/) > [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/) > [Vegetables, which are the lowest in the scale of living things, are fed by roots, which, implanted in the native soil, select by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-anthelme-brillat-savarin/vegetables-which-are-the-lowest-in-the-scale-of-living-things-are-fed/) [Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-anthelme-brillat-savarin/) > [By eating many fruits and vegetables in place of fast food and junk food, people could avoid obesity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-murdock/by-eating-many-fruits-and-vegetables-in-place-of-fast-food-and-junk/) [David H. Murdock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-murdock/) ## More by Mason Cooley > [Nostalgia keeps dissolving the ironic narratives in which I have contained my past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/nostalgia-keeps-dissolving-the-ironic-narratives-in-which-i-have/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The modernist writers found despair inspirational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-modernist-writers-found-despair-inspirational/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Even the most abject have a sense of superiority based on powerful though undefined merits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/even-the-most-abject-have-a-sense-of-superiority-based-on-powerful/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Money comes to life as it is spent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/money-comes-to-life-as-it-is-spent/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Even the most fickle are faithful to a few bad habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/even-the-most-fickle-are-faithful-to-a-few-bad-habits/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Rage is exciting, but leaves me confused and exhausted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/rage-is-exciting-but-leaves-me-confused-and-exhausted/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Literary tradition is full of lies about poverty-the jolly beggar, the poor but happy milkmaid, the wholesome diet of porridge, etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/literary-tradition-is-full-of-lies-about-poverty-the-jolly-beggar-the/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Experience teaches us, but we scarcely know what.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/experience-teaches-us-but-we-scarcely-know-what/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The body has a mind of its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-body-has-a-mind-of-its-own/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [In retirement, I look for days off from my days off. Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/in-retirement-i-look-for-days-off-from-my-days-off-mason-cooley/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [My intentions go one way, my desires another. Thus I feel both self-indulgent and deprived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/my-intentions-go-one-way-my-desires-another-thus-i-feel-both-self/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The Puritan sours his pleasures by disguising them as duties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-puritan-sours-his-pleasures-by-disguising-them-as-duties/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Unlike the actual, the fictional explains itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/unlike-the-actual-the-fictional-explains-itself/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Vacations prove that a life of pleasure is overrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/vacations-prove-that-a-life-of-pleasure-is-overrated/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Outside literature, high-flown sentiments are merely exasperating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/outside-literature-high-flown-sentiments-are-merely-exasperating/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) [Explore all 1,401 Mason Cooley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## More Animals 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/) [Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“All these creatures spend their time explaining, realizing happily that they agree with each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/all-these-creatures-spend-their-time-explaining-realizing-happily/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [We're not very dangerous animals; we don't have a horn like a rhino or quills like a porcupine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/we-re-not-very-dangerous-animals-we-don-t-have-a-horn-like-a-rhino-or/) [Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/) > [We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/we-need-in-a-special-way-to-work-twice-as-hard-to-help-people/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [“Plenty of animals had pets, but few were more devoted than the mouse, who owned a baby corn snake—“A rescue snake, she’d be quick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/plenty-of-animals-had-pets-but-few-were-more-devoted-than-the-mouse/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [No creature can attain a higher grade of nature without ceasing to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/no-creature-can-attain-a-higher-grade-of-nature-without-ceasing-to/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) [Browse all 6,813 Animals quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Without civilization, we would not turn into animals, but vegetables.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mason Cooley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/without-civilization-we-would-not-turn-into-animals-but-vegetables/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animals" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/without-civilization-we-would-not-turn-into-animals-but-vegetables/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cb/mason-cooley-92_animals_without-civilization-we-would-not-turn-i_3175594.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cb/mason-cooley-92_animals_without-civilization-we-would-not-turn-i_3175594.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cb/mason-cooley-92_animals_without-civilization-we-would-not-turn-i_3175594.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Without civilization, we would not turn into animals, but vegetables.” — Mason Cooley", "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": "Mason Cooley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Without civilization, we would not turn...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/without-civilization-we-would-not-turn-into-animals-but-vegetables/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/without-civilization-we-would-not-turn-into-animals-but-vegetables/#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 } } ] } ```