--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Philosophy teaches a man that he can't…" description: "\"Philosophy teaches a man that he can't take it with him; taxes teach him he can't leave it behind either.\" — Mignon McLaughlin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6b/mignon-mclaughlin-742_behinds_philosophy-teaches-a-man-that-he-can-t-t_446884.png" --- # Philosophy teaches a man that he can't take it with him… ![“Philosophy teaches a man that he can't take it with him; taxes teach him he can't leave it behind either.” quote by Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6b/mignon-mclaughlin-742_behinds_philosophy-teaches-a-man-that-he-can-t-t_446884.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6b/mignon-mclaughlin-742_behinds_philosophy-teaches-a-man-that-he-can-t-t_446884.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6b/mignon-mclaughlin-742_behinds_philosophy-teaches-a-man-that-he-can-t-t_446884.png) > “Philosophy teaches a man that he can't take it with him; taxes teach him he can't leave it behind either.” [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life’s inevitable responsibilities persist beyond death, and even taxes are unavoidable. **In simple terms:** You can’t escape duties after death. Key Takeaway Accept and plan for inevitable obligations. Themes mortality responsibility taxes Mood reflective serious Type philosophical humorous When to use this quote - estate planning - financial budgeting - legacy discussions - tax preparation Key Concepts existentialism social contract Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance enjoyment with inevitable duties? - What responsibilities matter most to you? A Different Perspective Even with planning, some obligations remain unpredictable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Taxes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taxes/) ## Related quotes > [Philosophy teaches how man thinks he thinks; but drinking shows how he really thinks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-daumal/philosophy-teaches-how-man-thinks-he-thinks-but-drinking-shows-how-he/) [Rene Daumal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-daumal/) > [“We have taxes upon every article that enters into the mouth, or covers the back, or is placed under the foot; taxes upon everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/we-have-taxes-upon-every-article-that-enters-into-the-mouth-or-covers/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [Philosophy teaches us to look at the world again. It brings out at a theoretical level what all plain, common, ordinary people, in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-critchley/philosophy-teaches-us-to-look-at-the-world-again-it-brings-out-at-a/) [Simon Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-critchley/) > [Philosophy teaches us to bear with equanimity the misfortunes of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/philosophy-teaches-us-to-bear-with-equanimity-the-misfortunes-of/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“I knew that the languages which one learns there are necessary to understand the works of the ancients; and that the delicacy of fiction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-knew-that-the-languages-which-one-learns-there-are-necessary-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“philosophy teaches us and unsettles us by confronting us with what we already know; there's an irony: the difficulty consisted in this course is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-sandel/philosophy-teaches-us-and-unsettles-us-by-confronting-us-with-what-we/) [Michael J. Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-sandel/) > [“To read these books, in this way, as an exercise in self-knowledge, carries certain risks. Risks that are both personal and political. Risks that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-sandel/to-read-these-books-in-this-way-as-an-exercise-in-self-knowledge/) [Michael Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-sandel/) > [“I had not then learned the philosophy which teaches that he who would attempt enterprises of great command, must begin his government by laying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-reynolds/i-had-not-then-learned-the-philosophy-which-teaches-that-he-who-would/) William Reynolds > [It's living - a broad spectrum of living - that teaches you how to live, not philosophy. Philosophy teaches you how to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-rendell/it-s-living-a-broad-spectrum-of-living-that-teaches-you-how-to-live/) [Ruth Rendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-rendell/) > [Esoteric philosophy teaches that the physical form, the body, of the individual is made new at birth; but the soul is ancient, the stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/normandi-ellis/esoteric-philosophy-teaches-that-the-physical-form-the-body-of-the/) [Normandi Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/normandi-ellis/) > [Philosophy teaches you to think big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-chandrasekhar/philosophy-teaches-you-to-think-big/) [Jay Chandrasekhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-chandrasekhar/) > [ \[We need not think\] that there is any Contradiction, when Philosophy teaches that to be done by Nature; which Religion, and the Sacred Scriptures,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nehemiah-grew/we-need-not-think-that-there-is-any-contradiction-when-philosophy/) Nehemiah Grew > [“Philosophy teaches us to feel uncertain about the things that seems to us self-evident. Propaganda, on the other hand, teaches us to accept as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/philosophy-teaches-us-to-feel-uncertain-about-the-things-that-seems/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Adversity teaches a man a lot about himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-poirier/adversity-teaches-a-man-a-lot-about-himself/) [Dustin Poirier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-poirier/) > [If astronomy teaches anything, it teaches that man is but a detail in the evolution of the universe, and the resemblant though diverse details…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percival-lowell/if-astronomy-teaches-anything-it-teaches-that-man-is-but-a-detail-in/) [Percival Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percival-lowell/) ## More by Mignon McLaughlin > [As we are human, we can't do what we can't do; as we're neurotic, we can't do what we can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/as-we-are-human-we-can-t-do-what-we-can-t-do-as-we-re-neurotic-we-can/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [Naturally, the neurotic wants you to love him twice as much, for he's going to cut it in half anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/naturally-the-neurotic-wants-you-to-love-him-twice-as-much-for-he-s/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [We have a terror of seeming to exert ourselves, lest it be noticed that we exerted ourselves and did not succeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/we-have-a-terror-of-seeming-to-exert-ourselves-lest-it-be-noticed/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [The three horrors of modern life - talk without meaning, desire without love, work without satisfaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/the-three-horrors-of-modern-life-talk-without-meaning-desire-without/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [We are never more self-righteous than when giving up what we should have shunned all along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/we-are-never-more-self-righteous-than-when-giving-up-what-we-should/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [The time to begin most things is ten years ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/the-time-to-begin-most-things-is-ten-years-ago/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [One of life's few really reliable pleasures: to have a family you love, and to leave them for a week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/one-of-life-s-few-really-reliable-pleasures-to-have-a-family-you-love/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [So long as God reveals Himself, or doesn't, He is behaving like God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/so-long-as-god-reveals-himself-or-doesn-t-he-is-behaving-like-god/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [The total history of almost anyone would shock almost everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/the-total-history-of-almost-anyone-would-shock-almost-everyone/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [There are children born to be children, and others who must mark time till they can take their natural places as adults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/there-are-children-born-to-be-children-and-others-who-must-mark-time/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [In life, as in restaurants, we swallow a lot of indigestible stuff just because it comes with the dinner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/in-life-as-in-restaurants-we-swallow-a-lot-of-indigestible-stuff-just/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [Neurotics always feel as though they were going way up or way down, which is odd in people going sideways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/neurotics-always-feel-as-though-they-were-going-way-up-or-way-down/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [Even in the same family, one child will always instinctively know when to ask for things, and another won't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/even-in-the-same-family-one-child-will-always-instinctively-know-when/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [People find it hard to be both comic and serious, though life manages it easily enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/people-find-it-hard-to-be-both-comic-and-serious-though-life-manages/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [No good neurotic finds it difficult to be both opinionated and indecisive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/no-good-neurotic-finds-it-difficult-to-be-both-opinionated-and/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) [Explore all 383 Mignon McLaughlin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) ## More Behinds quotes > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. 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If you use your words to gossip or babble about what you are going to do before you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-choquette/behind-every-word-flows-energy-if-you-use-your-words-to-gossip-or/) [Sonia Choquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-choquette/) > [With the realization of God comes all power. If the little wave knew that behind it is the great ocean, it could say, "I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/with-the-realization-of-god-comes-all-power-if-the-little-wave-knew/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [Conservatism is not about leaving people behind. 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Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) Browse all 6,789 Behinds quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Philosophy teaches a man that he can't take it with him; taxes teach him he can't leave it behind either.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mignon McLaughlin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/philosophy-teaches-a-man-that-he-can-t-take-it-with-him-taxes-teach/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Behinds" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/philosophy-teaches-a-man-that-he-can-t-take-it-with-him-taxes-teach/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6b/mignon-mclaughlin-742_behinds_philosophy-teaches-a-man-that-he-can-t-t_446884.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6b/mignon-mclaughlin-742_behinds_philosophy-teaches-a-man-that-he-can-t-t_446884.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6b/mignon-mclaughlin-742_behinds_philosophy-teaches-a-man-that-he-can-t-t_446884.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Philosophy teaches a man that he can't take it with him; taxes teach him he can't leave it behind either.” — Mignon McLaughlin", "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": "Mignon McLaughlin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Philosophy teaches a man that he...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/philosophy-teaches-a-man-that-he-can-t-take-it-with-him-taxes-teach/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/philosophy-teaches-a-man-that-he-can-t-take-it-with-him-taxes-teach/#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 } } ] } ```