--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What makes you think human beings are…" description: "\"“What makes you think human beings are sentient and aware? There’s no evidence for it. Human beings never think for themselves, they find it too uncomf..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/259/michael-crichton-694_sentient_what-makes-you-think-human-beings-are-se_3183419.jpg" --- # What makes you think human beings are sentient and aware?… ![“What makes you think human beings are sentient and aware? There’s no evidence for it. Human beings never think for themselves, they find it too uncomfortable. For the most part, members of our species simply repeat what they are told—and become upset if they are exposed to any different view.” quote by Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/259/michael-crichton-694_sentient_what-makes-you-think-human-beings-are-se_3183419.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/259/michael-crichton-694_sentient_what-makes-you-think-human-beings-are-se_3183419.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/259/michael-crichton-694_sentient_what-makes-you-think-human-beings-are-se_3183419.jpg) > ““What makes you think human beings are sentient and aware? There’s no evidence for it. Human beings never think for themselves, they find it too uncomfortable. For the most part, members of our species simply repeat what they are told—and become upset if they are exposed to any different view.”” [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human consciousness is questioned as a product of conditioning, suggesting we lack true independent thought. **In simple terms:** Humans often just repeat what they’re taught. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about free will. Themes consciousness skepticism social conditioning Mood critical inquisitive Type philosophical skeptical When to use this quote - debates on AI - education reform - media literacy - personal introspection Key Concepts philosophy of mind cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - Do we ever think beyond what we’re taught? - Can true awareness exist without external influence? A Different Perspective Overlooks innate creativity and self‑reflection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beings Sentient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beings-sentient-3215180/) [Beings Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beings-think-287138/) [Sentient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentient/) [Sentient Aware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentient-aware-5842966/) [Think Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-human/) ## Related quotes > [“What makes you think human beings are sentient and aware? There's no evidence for it. Human beings never think for themselves, they find it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/what-makes-you-think-human-beings-are-sentient-and-aware-there-s-no/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [We want to give you the roses when you're dead. That's how human beings think. I try not to think like a human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-hopkins/we-want-to-give-you-the-roses-when-you-re-dead-that-s-how-human/) [Bernard Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-hopkins/) > [Man thinks, and at once becomes the master of the beings that do not think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/man-thinks-and-at-once-becomes-the-master-of-the-beings-that-do-not/) [Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/) > [Despite the fact that human beings think that they have escaped the evolutionary paradigm, they've done nothing of the kind, and so we should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-weinstein/despite-the-fact-that-human-beings-think-that-they-have-escaped-the/) [Bret Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-weinstein/) > [We are all great beings... I think people have lost the sense of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barry/we-are-all-great-beings-i-think-people-have-lost-the-sense-of-that/) [Pat Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barry/) > [If the Martians ever find out how human beings think, they'll kill themselves laughing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-ellis/if-the-martians-ever-find-out-how-human-beings-think-they-ll-kill/) [Albert Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-ellis/) > [It is inconceivable to me that a million or three million or half a million human beings will think and feel precisely the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/it-is-inconceivable-to-me-that-a-million-or-three-million-or-half-a/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“We are intellectual beings- we can think, reason and solve problems;like God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moroaswi-tumiso-victor/we-are-intellectual-beings-we-can-think-reason-and-solve-problems/) [Moroaswi Tumiso Victor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moroaswi-tumiso-victor/) > [Deluded beings think that if they get in a battle with a Zen Master or with a Don Juan, that it's going enhance their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/deluded-beings-think-that-if-they-get-in-a-battle-with-a-zen-master/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“The best indication of what human beings will do is not what they think, but what the record says similar groups have done in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/the-best-indication-of-what-human-beings-will-do-is-not-what-they/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [Human beings only think and reason with logic if whatever topic that's being debated does not challenge/ridicule their belief system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paballo-nhambiri/human-beings-only-think-and-reason-with-logic-if-whatever-topic-that/) [Paballo Nhambiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paballo-nhambiri/) > [“I’ve heard it said that conversations are the way human beings think together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debby-irving/i-ve-heard-it-said-that-conversations-are-the-way-human-beings-think/) [Debby Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debby-irving/) > [We're such imperfect beings. I think that's more often the case than not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/we-re-such-imperfect-beings-i-think-that-s-more-often-the-case-than/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [Human beings are what I think of as "biomythic" animals: we're controlled largely by the stories we tell. When we get the story wrong,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/human-beings-are-what-i-think-of-as-biomythic-animals-we-re/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [Perhaps the majority of human beings never think of standing by themselves, and choosing their own employments, till the sentence has been regularly promulgated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/perhaps-the-majority-of-human-beings-never-think-of-standing-by/) [William Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/) ## More by Michael Crichton > [They are focused on whether they can do something. They never think whether they should do something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/they-are-focused-on-whether-they-can-do-something-they-never-think/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [This is the gift of your species and this is the danger, because you do not choose to control your imaginings. You imagine wonderful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/this-is-the-gift-of-your-species-and-this-is-the-danger-because-you/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [“it is important to recognize that the behavior of the two antagonists mirrors each other, like a Rorschach inkblot. The value of a Rorschach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/it-is-important-to-recognize-that-the-behavior-of-the-two-antagonists/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [Exercise invigorates the body and sharpens the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/exercise-invigorates-the-body-and-sharpens-the-mind/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [Social control is best managed through fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/social-control-is-best-managed-through-fear/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [They always say they didn't. I never heard of one who said, 'You know, I deserve this.' Never happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/they-always-say-they-didn-t-i-never-heard-of-one-who-said-you-know-i/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [Friendships are nice. So is competence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/friendships-are-nice-so-is-competence/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [I can tell you that second hand smoke is not a health hazard to anyone and never was, and the EPA has always known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/i-can-tell-you-that-second-hand-smoke-is-not-a-health-hazard-to/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [As the practical value of altering consciousness becomes recognized, procedures to effect these alterations will become increasingly ordinary and unremarkable. The whole concept of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/as-the-practical-value-of-altering-consciousness-becomes-recognized/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [In any case, you read with exasperation or amusement the multiple errors in a story-and then turn the page to national or international affairs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/in-any-case-you-read-with-exasperation-or-amusement-the-multiple/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [Books aren't written - they're rewritten. Including your own. It is one of the hardest things to accept, especially after the seventh rewrite hasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/books-aren-t-written-they-re-rewritten-including-your-own-it-is-one/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [The purpose of life is to stay alive. Watch any animal in nature--all it tries to do is stay alive. It doesn't care about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/the-purpose-of-life-is-to-stay-alive-watch-any-animal-in-nature-all/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [One of the things that Americans, as a multiracial society, feel is a tremendous sensitivity to racial comments of all kinds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/one-of-the-things-that-americans-as-a-multiracial-society-feel-is-a/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [Nobody smart knows what they want to do until they get into their twenties or thirties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/nobody-smart-knows-what-they-want-to-do-until-they-get-into-their/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [This fascination with computer models is something I understand very well. Richard Feynmann called it a disease. I fear he is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/this-fascination-with-computer-models-is-something-i-understand-very/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) [Explore all 386 Michael Crichton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) ## More Sentient quotes > [I have never really been fond of animals. I certainly wasn't an 'animal lover' when I became involved in the movement. I just came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/i-have-never-really-been-fond-of-animals-i-certainly-wasn-t-an-animal/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [“Sentience is not an end in itself. It is a means to the end of staying alive. Sentient beings use sensations of pain and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francione-gary-l/sentience-is-not-an-end-in-itself-it-is-a-means-to-the-end-of-staying/) [Francione, Gary L](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francione-gary-l/) > [My wish for humanity is to invent a way to communicate between us and whatever comes next. And in the end that we the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugata-mitra/my-wish-for-humanity-is-to-invent-a-way-to-communicate-between-us-and/) [Sugata Mitra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugata-mitra/) > [“He said that the world was sentient to its core and secret and black beyond men's imagining and that its nature did not reside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-said-that-the-world-was-sentient-to-its-core-and-secret-and-black/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [The sentient beast has long been a staple of fantasy fiction and its antecedents in myth and folktale.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-di-filippo/the-sentient-beast-has-long-been-a-staple-of-fantasy-fiction-and-its/) [Paul Di Filippo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-di-filippo/) > [Expectation loiters in the DNA of every sentient being; when you tell yourself or a loved one, 'Don't get your hopes up,' you're fighting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/expectation-loiters-in-the-dna-of-every-sentient-being-when-you-tell/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [Animals are sentient, intelligent, perceptive, funny and entertaining. We owe them a duty of care as we do to children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-morpurgo/animals-are-sentient-intelligent-perceptive-funny-and-entertaining-we/) [Michael Morpurgo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-morpurgo/) > [That machines will surpass us in intelligence is inevitable. What it means is unknowable. Will they be sentient? What will they care about in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/that-machines-will-surpass-us-in-intelligence-is-inevitable-what-it/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) > [Today is the first day of the rest of your short, brutish existence as a sentient creature before being snuffed out into utter nothingness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-groening/today-is-the-first-day-of-the-rest-of-your-short-brutish-existence-as/) [Matt Groening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-groening/) > [“Sentience is a means to the end of continued existence. Sentient beings, by virtue of their being sentient, have an interest in remaining alive;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/sentience-is-a-means-to-the-end-of-continued-existence-sentient/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [Part of being a sentient human is the ability to anticipate others' mental states - to say "Fred's going to hate this but Jane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/part-of-being-a-sentient-human-is-the-ability-to-anticipate-others/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [I absolutely don't think a sentient artificial intelligence is going to wage war against the human species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-wilson/i-absolutely-don-t-think-a-sentient-artificial-intelligence-is-going/) [Daniel H. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-wilson/) > [This is what I think now: that the natural state of the sentient adult is a qualified unhappiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/this-is-what-i-think-now-that-the-natural-state-of-the-sentient-adult/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [We are responsible for the world in which we find ourselves, if only because we are the only sentient force which can change it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/we-are-responsible-for-the-world-in-which-we-find-ourselves-if-only/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [“To say that a sentient being is not harmed by death denies that the being has the very interest that sentience serves to perpetuate.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/to-say-that-a-sentient-being-is-not-harmed-by-death-denies-that-the/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 78 Sentient quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentient/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What makes you think human beings are sentient and aware? There’s no evidence for it. Human beings never think for themselves, they find it too uncomfortable. 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