---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To save one life, Mr Tagomi had to take…"
description: "\"“To save one life, Mr Tagomi had to take two. The logical, balanced mind cannot make sense of that”\" — Philip K. Dick"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/philip-k-dick-502_life_to-save-one-life-mr-tagomi-had-to-take-t_3018039.jpg"
---

#  To save one life, Mr Tagomi had to take two. The logical…

![“To save one life, Mr Tagomi had to take two. The logical, balanced mind cannot make sense of that” quote by Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/philip-k-dick-502_life_to-save-one-life-mr-tagomi-had-to-take-t_3018039.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/philip-k-dick-502_life_to-save-one-life-mr-tagomi-had-to-take-t_3018039.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/philip-k-dick-502_life_to-save-one-life-mr-tagomi-had-to-take-t_3018039.jpg)

> ““To save one life, Mr Tagomi had to take two. The logical, balanced mind cannot make sense of that””

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

## About This Quote

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

A moral dilemma where saving one life requires sacrificing another, challenging logical reasoning.

**In simple terms:** Saving one may cost another; ethics are complex.

Key Takeaway

Weigh consequences before acting.

Themes

ethics dilemmas logic

Mood

serious thought‑provoking

Type

philosophical ethical

When to use this quote

- medical triage
- war
- emergency response

Key Concepts

utilitarianism moral philosophy decision making

Questions to Reflect On

- What values guide your tough choices?
- Can logic ever fully resolve moral conflicts?

A Different Perspective

Some argue that outcomes justify means, ignoring individual rights.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/)

## Related quotes

> [If you're not balanced, your mind's not balanced... my fuse went.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-bruno/if-you-re-not-balanced-your-mind-s-not-balanced-my-fuse-went/)

[Frank Bruno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-bruno/)

> [The man who gives way to anger, or hatred, or any other passion, cannot work; he only breaks himself to pieces, and does nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-man-who-gives-way-to-anger-or-hatred-or-any-other-passion-cannot/)

[Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/)

> [A well-balanced mind is the best remedy against affliction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/a-well-balanced-mind-is-the-best-remedy-against-affliction/)

[Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/)

> [The dimension that counts for the creative person is the space he creates within himself. This inner space is closer to the infinite than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-tobey/the-dimension-that-counts-for-the-creative-person-is-the-space-he/)

[Mark Tobey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-tobey/)

> [To me, health is a balanced mind. A balanced mind knows how to get enough rest, how to eat properly, how to exercise. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/to-me-health-is-a-balanced-mind-a-balanced-mind-knows-how-to-get/)

[Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/)

> [It is the calm, forgiving, equable, well-balanced mind that does the greatest amount of work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/it-is-the-calm-forgiving-equable-well-balanced-mind-that-does-the/)

[Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/)

> [Moreover, such a body freed from nervous tension and over-fatigue is the ideal shelter provided by nature for housing a well-balanced mind that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-pilates/moreover-such-a-body-freed-from-nervous-tension-and-over-fatigue-is/)

[Joseph Pilates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-pilates/)

> [Remember that poise and power are inseparably associated. The calm and balanced mind is the strong and great mind; the hurried and agitated mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-d-wattles/remember-that-poise-and-power-are-inseparably-associated-the-calm-and/)

[Wallace D. Wattles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-d-wattles/)

> [“When I was as young as you are now I learned how to save my own life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-donoghue/when-i-was-as-young-as-you-are-now-i-learned-how-to-save-my-own-life/)

[Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/)

> [“In moments such as these, it’s the minor seconds that count. Seconds that can make or break you. Seconds that can save your life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-a-rogers/in-moments-such-as-these-it-s-the-minor-seconds-that-count-seconds/)

[Rebecca A. Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-a-rogers/)

> [Please think for yourself. Don't believe a man with a suit can save your life. You're more powerful than any government or ideal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/please-think-for-yourself-don-t-believe-a-man-with-a-suit-can-save/)

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

> [“Perry,” he said quietly, his fingers trailing down the side of my face, “you’ll never have to save my life. You gave me life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karina-halle/perry-he-said-quietly-his-fingers-trailing-down-the-side-of-my-face/)

[Karina Halle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karina-halle/)

> [“These words and these stories can save a life. Who knows – maybe even your own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-leblanc/these-words-and-these-stories-can-save-a-life-who-knows-maybe-even/)

[Jeanette LeBlanc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-leblanc/)

> [Sometimes rules are there to save your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-liman/sometimes-rules-are-there-to-save-your-life/)

[Doug Liman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-liman/)

> [Perhaps that's what all human relationships boiled down to: Would you save my life? or would you take it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/perhaps-that-s-what-all-human-relationships-boiled-down-to-would-you/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

## More by Philip K. Dick

> [So we and our elaborately evolving computers may meet each other halfway. Someday a human being, named perhaps Fred White, may shoot a robot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/so-we-and-our-elaborately-evolving-computers-may-meet-each-other/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [Even if all life on our planet is destroyed, there must be other life somewhere which we know nothing of. It is impossible that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/even-if-all-life-on-our-planet-is-destroyed-there-must-be-other-life/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [“That is not how you do it; you do not solve one problem with another, greater problem.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/that-is-not-how-you-do-it-you-do-not-solve-one-problem-with-another/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [For each person there is a sentence—a series of words—which has the power to destroy them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/for-each-person-there-is-a-sentence-a-series-of-words-which-has-the/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [I want to write about people I love, and put them into a fictional world spun out of my own mind, not the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/i-want-to-write-about-people-i-love-and-put-them-into-a-fictional/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [Why does a man cry? he wondered. Not like a woman; not for that. Not for sentiment. A man cries over the loss of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/why-does-a-man-cry-he-wondered-not-like-a-woman-not-for-that-not-for/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [The day came. The wrath descended. Sin, guilt, and retribution? The manic psychoses of those entities we referred to as states, institutions, systems -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/the-day-came-the-wrath-descended-sin-guilt-and-retribution-the-manic/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [The church of my choice is the free, open world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/the-church-of-my-choice-is-the-free-open-world/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [“I see,' Rick said. He felt numb. Completely. Throughout his entire body.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/i-see-rick-said-he-felt-numb-completely-throughout-his-entire-body/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [“What is identity? he asked himself. Where does the act end? Nobody knows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/what-is-identity-he-asked-himself-where-does-the-act-end-nobody-knows/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [You're killing yourself with cynicism. Your idols got taken away from you one by one and now you have nothing to give your love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/you-re-killing-yourself-with-cynicism-your-idols-got-taken-away-from/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [What scared me the most was when my father would put on the gasmask. His face would disappear... This was not a human being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/what-scared-me-the-most-was-when-my-father-would-put-on-the-gasmask/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [“A man is an angel that has become deranged, Joe Fernwright thought. Once they – all of them – had been genuine angels, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/a-man-is-an-angel-that-has-become-deranged-joe-fernwright-thought/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [“When do I see a photograph, when a reflection?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/when-do-i-see-a-photograph-when-a-reflection/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [My major preoccupation is the question, 'What is reality?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/my-major-preoccupation-is-the-question-what-is-reality/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

[Explore all 489 Philip K. Dick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

## More Life quotes

> [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/)

[Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/)

> [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/)

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

> [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/)

[Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/)

> [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/)

[Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/)

> [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/)

[Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/)

> [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/)

[Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/)

> [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/)

Deanna L. Lawlis

> [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/)

[Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/)

> [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/)

[Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/)

> [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/)

[Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/)

> [“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/)

> [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/)

[Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/)

> [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/)

[Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/)

> [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/)

[Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/)

[Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“To save one life, Mr Tagomi had to take two. The logical, balanced mind cannot make sense of that”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Philip K. Dick"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/to-save-one-life-mr-tagomi-had-to-take-two-the-logical-balanced-mind/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Life"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/to-save-one-life-mr-tagomi-had-to-take-two-the-logical-balanced-mind/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/philip-k-dick-502_life_to-save-one-life-mr-tagomi-had-to-take-t_3018039.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/philip-k-dick-502_life_to-save-one-life-mr-tagomi-had-to-take-t_3018039.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/philip-k-dick-502_life_to-save-one-life-mr-tagomi-had-to-take-t_3018039.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“To save one life, Mr Tagomi had to take two. The logical, balanced mind cannot make sense of that” — Philip K. Dick",
                "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": "Philip K. Dick",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“To save one life, Mr Tagomi...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/to-save-one-life-mr-tagomi-had-to-take-two-the-logical-balanced-mind/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/to-save-one-life-mr-tagomi-had-to-take-two-the-logical-balanced-mind/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
