--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even if we allow the dubious luxury of…" description: "\"“Even if we allow the dubious luxury of arbitrarily conjuring up a terminator to an infinite regress and giving it a name, simply because we need one, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/richard-dawkins-115_creativity_even-if-we-allow-the-dubious-luxury-of-a_1533907.jpg" --- # Even if we allow the dubious luxury of arbitrarily… ![“Even if we allow the dubious luxury of arbitrarily conjuring up a terminator to an infinite regress and giving it a name, simply because we need one, there is absolutely no reason to endow that terminator with any of the properties normally ascribed to God: omnipotence, omniscience, goodness…” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/richard-dawkins-115_creativity_even-if-we-allow-the-dubious-luxury-of-a_1533907.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/richard-dawkins-115_creativity_even-if-we-allow-the-dubious-luxury-of-a_1533907.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/richard-dawkins-115_creativity_even-if-we-allow-the-dubious-luxury-of-a_1533907.jpg) > ““Even if we allow the dubious luxury of arbitrarily conjuring up a terminator to an infinite regress and giving it a name, simply because we need one, there is absolutely no reason to endow that terminator with any of the properties normally ascribed to God: omnipotence, omniscience, goodness, creativity of design, to say nothing of such human attributes as listening to prayers, forgiving sins and reading innermost thoughts.”” [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Assigning divine attributes to a hypothetical terminator is unwarranted; such beings lack the qualities of a deity. **In simple terms:** God‑like traits don’t apply to arbitrary constructs. Key Takeaway Avoid anthropomorphizing abstract concepts. Themes philosophy theology logic Mood analytical inquisitive Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - debates on AI - theological arguments - philosophical discourse Key Concepts anthropomorphism infinite regress ontology Questions to Reflect On - What limits do we face when using divine metaphors? - How does this affect scientific discourse? A Different Perspective Even if useful, such analogies can mislead understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [God Omnipotence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-omnipotence-676796/) [Omnipotence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/omnipotence/) [Omnipotence Omniscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/omnipotence-omniscience-1245543/) [Terminator Infinite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terminator-infinite-5698486/) [Terminator Properties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terminator-properties-5698485/) ## Related quotes > [Long ago man formed an ideal conception of omnipotence and omniscience which he embodied in his gods. Whatever seemed unattainable to his desires -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/long-ago-man-formed-an-ideal-conception-of-omnipotence-and/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [ “If God did not arrange \[the world\] this way, then there must be an independent factor in the universe. And if there is such,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-h-clark/if-god-did-not-arrange-the-world-this-way-then-there-must-be-an/) [Gordon H. Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-h-clark/) > [“When you come to look into this argument from design, it is a most astonishing thing that people can believe that this world, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/when-you-come-to-look-into-this-argument-from-design-it-is-a-most-2/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“God' is a funny word, it implies omnipotence and omniscience. Let me assure, I am neither.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-mcclellan/god-is-a-funny-word-it-implies-omnipotence-and-omniscience-let-me/) [Brian McClellan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-mcclellan/) > [Omnipotence and omniscience are the end of power and knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/omnipotence-and-omniscience-are-the-end-of-power-and-knowledge/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [God in his omnipotence could not give more, in His wisdom He knew not how to give more, in His riches He had not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/god-in-his-omnipotence-could-not-give-more-in-his-wisdom-he-knew-not/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [It is the final proof of God's omnipotence that he need not exist in order to save us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/it-is-the-final-proof-of-god-s-omnipotence-that-he-need-not-exist-in/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) > [Whenever your kids are out of control, you can take comfort from the thought that even God's omnipotence did not extend to His kids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/whenever-your-kids-are-out-of-control-you-can-take-comfort-from-the/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [It is God’s omnipotence, His consuming holiness, and His right to judge that make Him worthy to be feared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-jeremiah/it-is-god-s-omnipotence-his-consuming-holiness-and-his-right-to-judge/) [David Jeremiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-jeremiah/) > [Our wickedness shall not overpower the unspeakable goodness and mercy of God; our dullness shall not overpower God's wisdom, nor our infirmity God's omnipotence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-kronstadt/our-wickedness-shall-not-overpower-the-unspeakable-goodness-and-mercy/) [John of Kronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-kronstadt/) > [The world's a stage where God's omnipotence, His justice, knowledge, love, and providence Do act the parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-world-s-a-stage-where-god-s-omnipotence-his-justice-knowledge/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Could God have justified Himself before human history, so full of suffering, without placing Christ's Cross at the center of that history? . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/could-god-have-justified-himself-before-human-history-so-full-of/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [“Karen Owens has captured this witty little paradox in equally engaging verse:   Can omniscient God, who Knows the future, find The omnipotence to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/karen-owens-has-captured-this-witty-little-paradox-in-equally/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [It is not known why the Lord made the human body as he did, since one might suppose that omnipotence could have made it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/it-is-not-known-why-the-lord-made-the-human-body-as-he-did-since-one/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [I think Kafka was right when he said that for a modern, secular, nonreligious man, state bureaucracy is the only remaining contact with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/i-think-kafka-was-right-when-he-said-that-for-a-modern-secular/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) ## More by Richard Dawkins > [At the deepest level, all living things that have ever been looked at have the same DNA code. And many of the same genes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/at-the-deepest-level-all-living-things-that-have-ever-been-looked-at/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“The fundamentalist Kurt Wise proclaims that all the evidence in the universe would not change his mind. The true scientist, however passionately he may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-fundamentalist-kurt-wise-proclaims-that-all-the-evidence-in-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Religions do make claims about the universe--the same kinds of claims that scientists make, except they're usually false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/religions-do-make-claims-about-the-universe-the-same-kinds-of-claims/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“much of the Bible is not systematically evil but just plain weird, as you would expect of a chaotically cobbled-together anthology of disjointed documents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/much-of-the-bible-is-not-systematically-evil-but-just-plain-weird-as/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The recurrent laryngeal nerve - which runs from the head to the voice box - goes all the way down into the chest, loops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-recurrent-laryngeal-nerve-which-runs-from-the-head-to-the-voice/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The Roman Catholic Church is an institution for whose gains the phrase "ill-gotten" might have been specially invented. And of all its money-making rip-offs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-roman-catholic-church-is-an-institution-for-whose-gains-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to because we may then at least have the chance to upset their designs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/let-us-understand-what-our-own-selfish-genes-are-up-to-because-we-may/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [What's going to happen when I die? I may be buried, or I may be cremated, I may give my body to science. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/what-s-going-to-happen-when-i-die-i-may-be-buried-or-i-may-be/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Or why it is acceptable to train fast runners and high jumpers but not to breed them. I can think of some answers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/or-why-it-is-acceptable-to-train-fast-runners-and-high-jumpers-but/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [We have seen that living things are too improbable and too beautifully 'designed' to have come into existence by chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-have-seen-that-living-things-are-too-improbable-and-too/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“We will not go quietly away. If in the future that requires violence”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-will-not-go-quietly-away-if-in-the-future-that-requires-violence/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [It's a truly disgusting idea that the creator of the universe - capable of inventing the laws of physics and designing the evolutionary process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/it-s-a-truly-disgusting-idea-that-the-creator-of-the-universe-capable/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) [Explore all 1,239 Richard Dawkins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## More Creativity quotes > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“The Soviet “creative intelligentsia” - that is, people accustomed to thinking one thing, saying another and doing a third - is as a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-amalrik/the-soviet-creative-intelligentsia-that-is-people-accustomed-to/) [Andrei Amalrik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-amalrik/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [You don't get lucky. You create lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/you-don-t-get-lucky-you-create-lucky/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“You are the end of beauty and creativity one must have created so far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/you-are-the-end-of-beauty-and-creativity-one-must-have-created-so-far/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“I believe in magic. As a writer, I create them on blank paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonnia-kemmer/i-believe-in-magic-as-a-writer-i-create-them-on-blank-paper/) [Sonnia Kemmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonnia-kemmer/) > [Creativity is like chasing chickens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-niemann/creativity-is-like-chasing-chickens/) [Christoph Niemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-niemann/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. It's a time when you really get to do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/you-always-hear-actors-say-theater-is-my-first-love-and-it-is-it-s-a/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [Create an environment for people to fail, to learn, and to grow. Their creativity and productivity will increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/create-an-environment-for-people-to-fail-to-learn-and-to-grow-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 13,625 Creativity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Even if we allow the dubious luxury of arbitrarily conjuring up a terminator to an infinite regress and giving it a name, simply because we need one, there is absolutely no reason to endow that terminator with any of the properties normally ascribed to God: omnipotence, omniscience, goodness, creativity of design, to say nothing of such human attributes as listening to prayers, forgiving sins and reading innermost thoughts.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Dawkins" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/even-if-we-allow-the-dubious-luxury-of-arbitrarily-conjuring-up-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Creativity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/even-if-we-allow-the-dubious-luxury-of-arbitrarily-conjuring-up-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/richard-dawkins-115_creativity_even-if-we-allow-the-dubious-luxury-of-a_1533907.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/richard-dawkins-115_creativity_even-if-we-allow-the-dubious-luxury-of-a_1533907.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/richard-dawkins-115_creativity_even-if-we-allow-the-dubious-luxury-of-a_1533907.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Even if we allow the dubious luxury of arbitrarily conjuring up a terminator to an infinite regress and…” — Richard Dawkins", "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": "Richard Dawkins", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Even if we allow the dubious...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/even-if-we-allow-the-dubious-luxury-of-arbitrarily-conjuring-up-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/even-if-we-allow-the-dubious-luxury-of-arbitrarily-conjuring-up-a/#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 } } ] } ```