---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are not where we are, he ﬁnds, but in…"
description: "\"“We are not where we are, he ﬁnds, but in a false position. Through an inﬁrmity of our natures, we suppose a case, and put ourselves into it, and hence..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/343/paul-auster-351_nature_we-are-not-where-we-are-he-nds-but-in-a_2404702.jpg"
---

#  We are not where we are, he ﬁnds, but in a false position…

![“We are not where we are, he ﬁnds, but in a false position. Through an inﬁrmity of our natures, we suppose a case, and put ourselves into it, and hence are in two cases at the same time, and it is doubly difﬁcult to get out” quote by paul auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/343/paul-auster-351_nature_we-are-not-where-we-are-he-nds-but-in-a_2404702.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/343/paul-auster-351_nature_we-are-not-where-we-are-he-nds-but-in-a_2404702.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/343/paul-auster-351_nature_we-are-not-where-we-are-he-nds-but-in-a_2404702.jpg)

> ““We are not where we are, he ﬁnds, but in a false position. Through an inﬁrmity of our natures, we suppose a case, and put ourselves into it, and hence are in two cases at the same time, and it is doubly difﬁcult to get out””

[paul auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

People often find themselves in false positions, creating dual realities that are hard to escape.

**In simple terms:** False assumptions trap us in conflicting states.

Key Takeaway

Question assumptions to free yourself.

Themes

identity perception duality conflict

Mood

introspective thoughtful

Type

philosophical psychological

When to use this quote

- personal decision‑making
- psychotherapy
- creative writing
- conflict resolution

Key Concepts

existentialism cognitive bias

Questions to Reflect On

- What false positions do you hold?
- How can you resolve conflicting self‑views?

A Different Perspective

Escaping may require confronting uncomfortable truths.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[False Position](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/false-position-494806/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Natures Suppose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natures-suppose-1235715/) [Position Inﬁrmity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/position-in-rmity-6033258/) [Suppose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suppose/) [Suppose Case](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suppose-case-6033259/)

## Related quotes

> [For the most part, we are not where we are, but in a false position. Through an infirmity of our natures, we suppose a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/for-the-most-part-we-are-not-where-we-are-but-in-a-false-position/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [“He was, I take it, the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen, but as a lover he would have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/he-was-i-take-it-the-most-perfect-reasoning-and-observing-machine-2/)

[Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/)

> [Awkwardness is the consciousness of a false position.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/awkwardness-is-the-consciousness-of-a-false-position/)

[Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/)

> [There is no misery quite so wearing as the misery of a false position. It seems to slay the body and the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-mary-teresa-craigie/there-is-no-misery-quite-so-wearing-as-the-misery-of-a-false-position/)

[Pearl Mary Teresa Craigie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-mary-teresa-craigie/)

> [I live in L.A. so I worry my kids aren't that connected to Britain, I suppose I don't want them to become American kids.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mckidd/i-live-in-l-a-so-i-worry-my-kids-aren-t-that-connected-to-britain-i/)

[Kevin McKidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mckidd/)

> [Our lives are full of supposes. Suppose this should happen, or suppose that should happen; what could we do; how could we bear it?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-whitall-smith/our-lives-are-full-of-supposes-suppose-this-should-happen-or-suppose/)

[Hannah Whitall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-whitall-smith/)

> [The work of deciding cases goes on every day in hundreds of courts throughout the land. Any judge, one might suppose, would find it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-n-cardozo/the-work-of-deciding-cases-goes-on-every-day-in-hundreds-of-courts/)

[Benjamin N. Cardozo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-n-cardozo/)

> [It's only those who do nothing that make no mistakes, I suppose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/it-s-only-those-who-do-nothing-that-make-no-mistakes-i-suppose/)

[Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/)

> [My ma and pa are both very artistic, so I suppose it's in my blood. But my ma's the one who was into theater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grey-damon/my-ma-and-pa-are-both-very-artistic-so-i-suppose-it-s-in-my-blood-but/)

[Grey Damon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grey-damon/)

> [Even a cup of coffee tastes so much sweeter because you've come once again out of the, literally, out of the edge of death,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-koch/even-a-cup-of-coffee-tastes-so-much-sweeter-because-you-ve-come-once/)

[Christopher Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-koch/)

> [What am I suppose to do when the best part of me was always you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-micah-rosales/what-am-i-suppose-to-do-when-the-best-part-of-me-was-always-you/)

[Maria Micah Rosales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-micah-rosales/)

> [It would have been an interesting run if we hadn't gotten along! It was good casting, I suppose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominic-west/it-would-have-been-an-interesting-run-if-we-hadn-t-gotten-along-it/)

[Dominic West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominic-west/)

> [I suppose I'm led to do so by the fact of what happened to my contemporaries - people whom I've admired, people who I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-woodcock/i-suppose-i-m-led-to-do-so-by-the-fact-of-what-happened-to-my/)

[George Woodcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-woodcock/)

> [Yeah, I'm the Brit who isn't Lewis Hamilton that woke up and realised he was good. I got that tag because I was young,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenson-button/yeah-i-m-the-brit-who-isn-t-lewis-hamilton-that-woke-up-and-realised/)

[Jenson Button](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenson-button/)

> [He's psychologically damaged, I suppose, if you stand back and look objectively at him, but then, who isn't?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-darrow/he-s-psychologically-damaged-i-suppose-if-you-stand-back-and-look/)

[Paul Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-darrow/)

## More by paul auster

> [“On his best walks, he was able to feel that he was nowhere. And this, finally, was all he ever asked of things: to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/on-his-best-walks-he-was-able-to-feel-that-he-was-nowhere-and-this/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [“No es que escribir me produzca un gran placer, pero es mucho peor si no lo hago.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/no-es-que-escribir-me-produzca-un-gran-placer-pero-es-mucho-peor-si/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [You see, the interesting thing about books, as opposed, say, to films, is that it's always just one person encountering the book, it's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/you-see-the-interesting-thing-about-books-as-opposed-say-to-films-is/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [I'm not a man deeply interested in technology. It eludes me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-m-not-a-man-deeply-interested-in-technology-it-eludes-me/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [The joke is the purest, most essential form of storytelling. Every word has to count.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/the-joke-is-the-purest-most-essential-form-of-storytelling-every-word/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [“What people saw when he appeared before them, then, was not really him, but a person he had invented, an artificial creature he could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/what-people-saw-when-he-appeared-before-them-then-was-not-really-him/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [I had made an empirical discovery and it carried all the weight of a mathematical proof.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-had-made-an-empirical-discovery-and-it-carried-all-the-weight-of-a/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [As long as there's one person to believe it, there's no story that can't be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/as-long-as-there-s-one-person-to-believe-it-there-s-no-story-that-can/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [Writing has always had a tactile quality for me. It's a physical experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/writing-has-always-had-a-tactile-quality-for-me-it-s-a-physical/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [People look at the same passage, and one person will say this is the best thing he's ever read, and another person will say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/people-look-at-the-same-passage-and-one-person-will-say-this-is-the/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [I was very moved to see that the name of the boat was Hamlet - an imaginary character becomes so important to people, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-was-very-moved-to-see-that-the-name-of-the-boat-was-hamlet-an/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [Our lifelong certainties about the world can be demolished in a single second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/our-lifelong-certainties-about-the-world-can-be-demolished-in-a/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [The ideal reader's the same, and I suppose this person has never had a face or a gender or an age. It's just some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/the-ideal-reader-s-the-same-and-i-suppose-this-person-has-never-had-a/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [“Most lives vanish. A person dies, and little by little all traces of that life disappear. An inventor survives in his inventions, an architect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/most-lives-vanish-a-person-dies-and-little-by-little-all-traces-of/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [“and cut down many trees. When the Humans”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/and-cut-down-many-trees-when-the-humans/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

[Explore all 582 paul auster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

## More Nature quotes

> [It is indeed a surprising and fortunate fact that nature can be expressed by relatively low-order mathematical functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-carnap/it-is-indeed-a-surprising-and-fortunate-fact-that-nature-can-be/)

[Rudolf Carnap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-carnap/)

> [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/)

[Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/)

> [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Borrow trouble for yourself, if that's your nature, but don't lend it to your neighbours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/borrow-trouble-for-yourself-if-that-s-your-nature-but-don-t-lend-it/)

[Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/)

> [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/)

[Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/)

> [“Men mistook measurement for understanding. And they always had to put themselves at the center of everything. That was their greatest conceit. The earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/men-mistook-measurement-for-understanding-and-they-always-had-to-put/)

[Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/)

> [“She was, he knew- and had known very early, he supposed- one of those rare and always lovely humans whose moral nature was so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-williams/she-was-he-knew-and-had-known-very-early-he-supposed-one-of-those/)

[John Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-williams/)

> [“When the water covers the earth the sun will vanish the darkess and the cold will come.When the last dragon and the last Elf…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silvana-de-mari/when-the-water-covers-the-earth-the-sun-will-vanish-the-darkess-and/)

[Silvana de Mari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silvana-de-mari/)

> [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/)

[Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/)

> [“It is not the force of the wind, but the depth of the roots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/it-is-not-the-force-of-the-wind-but-the-depth-of-the-roots/)

[Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/)

> [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/)

[William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/)

> [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/)

> [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/)

[Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/)

[Browse all 47,383 Nature quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“We are not where we are, he ﬁnds, but in a false position. Through an inﬁrmity of our natures, we suppose a case, and put ourselves into it, and hence are in two cases at the same time, and it is doubly difﬁcult to get out”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "paul auster"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/we-are-not-where-we-are-he-nds-but-in-a-false-position-through-an-in/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Nature"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/we-are-not-where-we-are-he-nds-but-in-a-false-position-through-an-in/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/343/paul-auster-351_nature_we-are-not-where-we-are-he-nds-but-in-a_2404702.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/343/paul-auster-351_nature_we-are-not-where-we-are-he-nds-but-in-a_2404702.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/343/paul-auster-351_nature_we-are-not-where-we-are-he-nds-but-in-a_2404702.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“We are not where we are, he ﬁnds, but in a false position. Through an inﬁrmity of our natures, we suppose a…” — paul auster",
                "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": "paul auster",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“We are not where we are,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/we-are-not-where-we-are-he-nds-but-in-a-false-position-through-an-in/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/we-are-not-where-we-are-he-nds-but-in-a-false-position-through-an-in/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
