--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The group, whether We or You or Them, is…" description: "\"“The group, whether We or You or Them, is not a new individual or organism or hyperorganism on the social scene; it has no agency of its own, it has no..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b47/r-d-laing-2-35450_bloodless_the-group-whether-we-or-you-or-them-is-n_568021.png" --- # The group, whether We or You or Them, is not a new… ![“The group, whether We or You or Them, is not a new individual or organism or hyperorganism on the social scene; it has no agency of its own, it has no consciousness of its own. Yet we may shed our own blood and the blood of others for this bloodless presence.” quote by R.D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b47/r-d-laing-2-35450_bloodless_the-group-whether-we-or-you-or-them-is-n_568021.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b47/r-d-laing-2-35450_bloodless_the-group-whether-we-or-you-or-them-is-n_568021.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b47/r-d-laing-2-35450_bloodless_the-group-whether-we-or-you-or-them-is-n_568021.png) > ““The group, whether We or You or Them, is not a new individual or organism or hyperorganism on the social scene; it has no agency of its own, it has no consciousness of its own. Yet we may shed our own blood and the blood of others for this bloodless presence.”” [R.D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Groups lack individual agency or consciousness, yet people sacrifice for them. **In simple terms:** People die for groups that have no mind. Key Takeaway Recognize the power of collective identity. Themes identity sacrifice group dynamics Mood critical reflective Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - political movements - religious cults - military units - team sports Key Concepts social psychology collective behavior Questions to Reflect On - What drives people to die for abstract entities? - How can we protect individuals from harmful group pressures? A Different Perspective Groups can be manipulated to demand extreme loyalty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bloodless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bloodless/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) ## Related quotes > [The tendency of life is not the preservation of the species, but solely the preservation of each individual organism, as long as it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-sidis/the-tendency-of-life-is-not-the-preservation-of-the-species-but/) [Boris Sidis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-sidis/) > [Basic characteristics of an individual organism: to divide, to unite, to merge into the universal, to abide in the particular, to transform itself, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/basic-characteristics-of-an-individual-organism-to-divide-to-unite-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think of people as members of an audience. But an audience acts independently of every individual. It's an organism on its own. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/i-think-of-people-as-members-of-an-audience-but-an-audience-acts/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) > [There is no example in historyof a revolutionary movement involving such gigantic masses being so bloodless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky-1879-1940/there-is-no-example-in-historyof-a-revolutionary-movement-involving/) Leon Trotsky (1879\_1940 > [Kafka often describes himself as a bloodless figure: a human being who doesn't really participate in the life of his fellow human beings, someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reiner-stach/kafka-often-describes-himself-as-a-bloodless-figure-a-human-being-who/) [Reiner Stach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reiner-stach/) > [“Bloodless revolutions are rare.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/bloodless-revolutions-are-rare/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [As the words of my book, 'The Bloodless Revolution,' accumulated, I envisaged a parallel growth: the stack of pages they would have to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tristram-stuart/as-the-words-of-my-book-the-bloodless-revolution-accumulated-i/) [Tristram Stuart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tristram-stuart/) > ['Bloodless' reminded me a bit of 'Les Miserables' when it first came out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-wilkinson/bloodless-reminded-me-a-bit-of-les-miserables-when-it-first-came-out/) [Colm Wilkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-wilkinson/) > [“What ticks in the clock, beats here with strong strokes of the hammer. It is Bloodless, who drank life from human thought and thereby…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-christian-andersen/what-ticks-in-the-clock-beats-here-with-strong-strokes-of-the-hammer/) [Hans Christian Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-christian-andersen/) > [The solitude of writing is a solitude without which writing could not be produced, or would crumble, drained bloodless by the search for something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/the-solitude-of-writing-is-a-solitude-without-which-writing-could-not/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) > [“It is far too late for bloodless hands.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-h-septimius-2/it-is-far-too-late-for-bloodless-hands/) [A.H. Septimius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-h-septimius-2/) > [Books are good enough in their own way, but they are a mighty bloodless substitute for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/books-are-good-enough-in-their-own-way-but-they-are-a-mighty/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [America is the first country... that can actually have a bloodless revolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/america-is-the-first-country-that-can-actually-have-a-bloodless/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [I do hope to be an adult actor. But if it doesn't work out, I've been thinking about doing something in the medical therapy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-kress/i-do-hope-to-be-an-adult-actor-but-if-it-doesn-t-work-out-i-ve-been/) [Nathan Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-kress/) > [Senseless is the breast and cold Which relenting love would fold; Bloodless are the veins and chill Which the pulse of pain did fill;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/senseless-is-the-breast-and-cold-which-relenting-love-would-fold/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) ## More by R.D. Laing > [“What we call ‘normal’ is a product of repression, denial, splitting, projection, introjection and other forms of destructive action on experience. It is radically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing-2/what-we-call-normal-is-a-product-of-repression-denial-splitting/) [R.D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing-2/) > [“We have all been processed on Procrustean beds. At least some of us have managed to hate what they have made of us. Inevitably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing-2/we-have-all-been-processed-on-procrustean-beds-at-least-some-of-us/) [R.D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing-2/) > [“The Lotus opens. Movement from earth, through water, from fire to air. Out and in beyond life and death now, beyond inner and outer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing-2/the-lotus-opens-movement-from-earth-through-water-from-fire-to-air/) [R.D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing-2/) > [“What an interesting finger let me suck it. It's not an interesting finger take it away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing-2/what-an-interesting-finger-let-me-suck-it-it-s-not-an-interesting/) [R.D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing-2/) > [“Sanity today appears to rest very largely on a capacity to adapt to the external world—the interpersonal world, and the realm of human collectivities.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing-2/sanity-today-appears-to-rest-very-largely-on-a-capacity-to-adapt-to/) [R.D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing-2/) > [“If I could turn you on, if I could drive you out of your wretched mind, if I could tell you I would let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing-2/if-i-could-turn-you-on-if-i-could-drive-you-out-of-your-wretched-mind/) [R.D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing-2/) > [“This writing is not exempt. It remains like all writing an absurd and revolting effort to make an impression on a world that will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing-2/this-writing-is-not-exempt-it-remains-like-all-writing-an-absurd-and/) [R.D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing-2/) > [“I am not fond of the word psychological. There is no such thing as the psychological. Let us say that one can improve the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing-2/i-am-not-fond-of-the-word-psychological-there-is-no-such-thing-as-the/) [R.D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing-2/) > [“Under the heading of "defense mechanisms,” psychoanalysis describes a number of ways in which a person becomes alienated from himself. For example, repression, denial,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing-2/under-the-heading-of-defense-mechanisms-psychoanalysis-describes-a/) [R.D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing-2/) > [“What we call 'normal' is a product of repression, denial, splitting, projection, introjection and other forms of destructive action on experience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing-2/what-we-call-normal-is-a-product-of-repression-denial-splitting-3/) [R.D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing-2/) > [“The greatest psychopathologist has been Freud. Freud was a hero. He descended to the “Underworld” and met there stark terrors. He carried with him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing-2/the-greatest-psychopathologist-has-been-freud-freud-was-a-hero-he/) [R.D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing-2/) > [“Since the self, in maintaining its isolation and detachment does not commit itself to a creative relationship with the other and is preoccupied with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing-2/since-the-self-in-maintaining-its-isolation-and-detachment-does-not/) [R.D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing-2/) [Explore all 13 R.D. Laing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing-2/) ## More Bloodless quotes > [Senseless is the breast and cold Which relenting love would fold; Bloodless are the veins and chill Which the pulse of pain did fill;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/senseless-is-the-breast-and-cold-which-relenting-love-would-fold/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [Kafka often describes himself as a bloodless figure: a human being who doesn't really participate in the life of his fellow human beings, someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reiner-stach/kafka-often-describes-himself-as-a-bloodless-figure-a-human-being-who/) [Reiner Stach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reiner-stach/) > [“It is far too late for bloodless hands.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-h-septimius-2/it-is-far-too-late-for-bloodless-hands/) [A.H. Septimius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-h-septimius-2/) > [There is no example in historyof a revolutionary movement involving such gigantic masses being so bloodless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky-1879-1940/there-is-no-example-in-historyof-a-revolutionary-movement-involving/) Leon Trotsky (1879\_1940 > [I do hope to be an adult actor. But if it doesn't work out, I've been thinking about doing something in the medical therapy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-kress/i-do-hope-to-be-an-adult-actor-but-if-it-doesn-t-work-out-i-ve-been/) [Nathan Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-kress/) > [America is the first country... that can actually have a bloodless revolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/america-is-the-first-country-that-can-actually-have-a-bloodless/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Books are good enough in their own way, but they are a mighty bloodless substitute for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/books-are-good-enough-in-their-own-way-but-they-are-a-mighty/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The solitude of writing is a solitude without which writing could not be produced, or would crumble, drained bloodless by the search for something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/the-solitude-of-writing-is-a-solitude-without-which-writing-could-not/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) > [“What ticks in the clock, beats here with strong strokes of the hammer. It is Bloodless, who drank life from human thought and thereby…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-christian-andersen/what-ticks-in-the-clock-beats-here-with-strong-strokes-of-the-hammer/) [Hans Christian Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-christian-andersen/) > ['Bloodless' reminded me a bit of 'Les Miserables' when it first came out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-wilkinson/bloodless-reminded-me-a-bit-of-les-miserables-when-it-first-came-out/) [Colm Wilkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-wilkinson/) > [As the words of my book, 'The Bloodless Revolution,' accumulated, I envisaged a parallel growth: the stack of pages they would have to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tristram-stuart/as-the-words-of-my-book-the-bloodless-revolution-accumulated-i/) [Tristram Stuart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tristram-stuart/) > [“Bloodless revolutions are rare.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/bloodless-revolutions-are-rare/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [Now terror begins inside a bloodless vein I was just a product of the street youth rage Born in this world without a voice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-the-veil-ft-kellin-quinn/now-terror-begins-inside-a-bloodless-vein-i-was-just-a-product-of-the/) Pierce The Veil Ft Kellin Quinn > [“Their drills are bloodless battles and their battles are bloody drills.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaughn-heppner/their-drills-are-bloodless-battles-and-their-battles-are-bloody-drills/) [Vaughn Heppner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaughn-heppner/) > [ “\[T\]here's a thin line separating the delicate from the bloodless, in art as in food.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-chaudhuri/t-here-s-a-thin-line-separating-the-delicate-from-the-bloodless-in/) [Amit Chaudhuri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-chaudhuri/) [Browse all 24 Bloodless quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bloodless/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The group, whether We or You or Them, is not a new individual or organism or hyperorganism on the social scene; it has no agency of its own, it has no consciousness of its own. 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