--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If your plane is being hijacked by an…" description: "\"If your plane is being hijacked by an armed man who, though prepared to take risks, presumably wants to go on living, there is room for bargaining.\" — ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8aa/richard-dawkins-115_bargaining_if-your-plane-is-being-hijacked-by-an-ar_3006168.jpg" --- # If your plane is being hijacked by an armed man who… ![“If your plane is being hijacked by an armed man who, though prepared to take risks, presumably wants to go on living, there is room for bargaining.” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8aa/richard-dawkins-115_bargaining_if-your-plane-is-being-hijacked-by-an-ar_3006168.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8aa/richard-dawkins-115_bargaining_if-your-plane-is-being-hijacked-by-an-ar_3006168.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8aa/richard-dawkins-115_bargaining_if-your-plane-is-being-hijacked-by-an-ar_3006168.jpg) > “If your plane is being hijacked by an armed man who, though prepared to take risks, presumably wants to go on living, there is room for bargaining.” [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. When faced with a dangerous situation, negotiation may be possible if the aggressor values life. **In simple terms:** Even a hijacker may bargain if he wants to live. Key Takeaway Consider dialogue before violence. Themes conflict negotiation survival Mood tense strategic Type ethical practical When to use this quote - hostage crises - law enforcement - terrorism - diplomacy Key Concepts ethics risk assessment human behavior Questions to Reflect On - What signals indicate willingness to negotiate? - How can you prepare for unpredictable threats? A Different Perspective Assuming rationality may fail with irrational actors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man/) [Negotiation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negotiation/) [Risks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risks/) ## Related quotes > [I immediately called the command center of the Department of Justice to let them know that my wife was on a plane that had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-olson/i-immediately-called-the-command-center-of-the-department-of-justice/) [Ted Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-olson/) > [There is simply no comparison between a man who is armed and one who is not. It is simply unreasonable to expect that an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/there-is-simply-no-comparison-between-a-man-who-is-armed-and-one-who/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [Urban survival rule 22: Never annoy an armed man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelley-armstrong/urban-survival-rule-22-never-annoy-an-armed-man/) [Kelley Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelley-armstrong/) > [An armed man, especially if he is armed with a firearm, is dangerous as long as he is conscious. Take no chances. Put him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-cooper/an-armed-man-especially-if-he-is-armed-with-a-firearm-is-dangerous-as/) [Jeff Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-cooper/) > [“The sergeant comes nearer. “It’s revolution,” he says quietly, “and who isn’t for us is against us.” Willy laughs. “Bloody fine revolution, no mistake!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/the-sergeant-comes-nearer-it-s-revolution-he-says-quietly-and-who-isn/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [“An armed man is a little republic unto himself”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-baum/an-armed-man-is-a-little-republic-unto-himself/) [Dan Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-baum/) > [An armed man will kill an unarmed man with monotonous regularity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-smith/an-armed-man-will-kill-an-unarmed-man-with-monotonous-regularity/) [Clint Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-smith/) > [For an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/for-an-unarmed-man-may-be-attacked-with-greater-confidence-than-an/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Such polite manners for an armed man who was kidnapping me. Danilo could take a few lessons from him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-bridges/such-polite-manners-for-an-armed-man-who-was-kidnapping-me-danilo/) [robin bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-bridges/) > [ “\[Tuco is in a bubble bath. The One Armed Man enters the room.\] One Armed Man: I've been looking for you for 8 months.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-leone/tuco-is-in-a-bubble-bath-the-one-armed-man-enters-the-room-one-armed/) [Sergio Leone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-leone/) > [An armed man need not fight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/an-armed-man-need-not-fight/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [The laws that forbid the carrying of arms... serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-beccaria/the-laws-that-forbid-the-carrying-of-arms-serve-rather-to-encourage/) [Cesare Beccaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-beccaria/) > [“1a) Never throw shit at an armed man. 1b) Never stand next to someone who is throwing shit at an armed man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-niven/1a-never-throw-shit-at-an-armed-man-1b-never-stand-next-to-someone/) [Larry Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-niven/) > [Get what you can with words, because words are free, but the words of an armed man ring that much sweeter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/get-what-you-can-with-words-because-words-are-free-but-the-words-of/) [Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/) > [She said it had been hijacked shortly after takeoff. By this time, the plane had been in the air - again, I'm presuming that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-olson/she-said-it-had-been-hijacked-shortly-after-takeoff-by-this-time-the/) [Ted Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-olson/) ## 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 Bargaining quotes > [It is not a process of bargaining or give-and-take. The peace process is not about giving concessions. We will not allow any step which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/recep-tayyip-erdogan/it-is-not-a-process-of-bargaining-or-give-and-take-the-peace-process/) [Recep Tayyip Erdogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/recep-tayyip-erdogan/) > [When by habit a man cometh to have a bargaining soul, its wings are cut, so that it can never soar. It bindeth reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-george-savile-8th-baronet/when-by-habit-a-man-cometh-to-have-a-bargaining-soul-its-wings-are/) [Sir George Savile, 8th Baronet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-george-savile-8th-baronet/) > [Many people do not realize that where unions have bargaining rights employers cannot raise wages or improve benefit plans any more than they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-e-wilson/many-people-do-not-realize-that-where-unions-have-bargaining-rights/) [Charles E. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-e-wilson/) > [I think it is disgraceful. I think it is completely disgusting that you've got a candidate for prime minster who seems to think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-sturgeon/i-think-it-is-disgraceful-i-think-it-is-completely-disgusting-that/) [Nicola Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-sturgeon/) > [If you have free universal health care and free education supported by public school taxes, then you have more bargaining power with your bosses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lind/if-you-have-free-universal-health-care-and-free-education-supported/) [Michael Lind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lind/) > [As developing countries became bigger traders, it was clear that the old way of doing business wouldn't fly. To get them back to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-altman/as-developing-countries-became-bigger-traders-it-was-clear-that-the/) [Daniel Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-altman/) > [As governor I would have made sure that I bargained fairly but firmly, been able to get the changes that were needed to balance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-burke/as-governor-i-would-have-made-sure-that-i-bargained-fairly-but-firmly/) [Mary Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-burke/) > [“Employment bargains your life and time for a piece of currency”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/employment-bargains-your-life-and-time-for-a-piece-of-currency/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [We need a system where all of our teams have the opportunity to compete and to make a few dollars. That's not a bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-stern/we-need-a-system-where-all-of-our-teams-have-the-opportunity-to/) [David Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-stern/) > [If you do not get what you want, it is a sure sign that you did not seriously want it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/if-you-do-not-get-what-you-want-it-is-a-sure-sign-that-you-did-not/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [Unions are for 'collective bargaining,' not individual bargaining. It follows that most of the achievements of a union, even if they were more impressive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mancur-olson/unions-are-for-collective-bargaining-not-individual-bargaining-it/) [Mancur Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mancur-olson/) > [Bargaining makes you come up with the best ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trey-parker/bargaining-makes-you-come-up-with-the-best-ideas/) [Trey Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trey-parker/) > [That which man dreams of and to Which he aspires, unless fulfilled in his own lifetime, can produce no actual satisfaction to him. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haile-selassie/that-which-man-dreams-of-and-to-which-he-aspires-unless-fulfilled-in/) [Haile Selassie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haile-selassie/) > [ We didn't see \[the NBA lockout\] as a victory at all. It was far from what we set it out to accomplish in bargaining,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-silver/we-didn-t-see-the-nba-lockout-as-a-victory-at-all-it-was-far-from/) Adam Silver > [A man of faith does not bargain or stipulate with God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/a-man-of-faith-does-not-bargain-or-stipulate-with-god/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) Browse all 154 Bargaining quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If your plane is being hijacked by an armed man who, though prepared to take risks, presumably wants to go on living, there is room for bargaining.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Dawkins" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/if-your-plane-is-being-hijacked-by-an-armed-man-who-though-prepared/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bargaining" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/if-your-plane-is-being-hijacked-by-an-armed-man-who-though-prepared/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8aa/richard-dawkins-115_bargaining_if-your-plane-is-being-hijacked-by-an-ar_3006168.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8aa/richard-dawkins-115_bargaining_if-your-plane-is-being-hijacked-by-an-ar_3006168.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8aa/richard-dawkins-115_bargaining_if-your-plane-is-being-hijacked-by-an-ar_3006168.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If your plane is being hijacked by an armed man who, though prepared to take risks, presumably wants to go…” — 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": "If your plane is being hijacked...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/if-your-plane-is-being-hijacked-by-an-armed-man-who-though-prepared/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/if-your-plane-is-being-hijacked-by-an-armed-man-who-though-prepared/#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 } } ] } ```