--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The reason we personify things like cars…" description: "\"The reason we personify things like cars and computers is that just as monkeys live in an arboreal world and moles live in an underground world and wat..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a26/richard-dawkins-115_cars_the-reason-we-personify-things-like-cars_2566838.jpg" --- # The reason we personify things like cars and computers is… ![“The reason we personify things like cars and computers is that just as monkeys live in an arboreal world and moles live in an underground world and water striders live in a surface tension-dominated flatland, we live in a social world.” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a26/richard-dawkins-115_cars_the-reason-we-personify-things-like-cars_2566838.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a26/richard-dawkins-115_cars_the-reason-we-personify-things-like-cars_2566838.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a26/richard-dawkins-115_cars_the-reason-we-personify-things-like-cars_2566838.jpg) > “The reason we personify things like cars and computers is that just as monkeys live in an arboreal world and moles live in an underground world and water striders live in a surface tension-dominated flatland, we live in a social world.” [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. We understand ourselves by comparing to other species, highlighting our social nature. **In simple terms:** We see ourselves as social beings through analogies. Key Takeaway Recognize the social context of behavior. Themes biology anthropology psychology Mood analytical curious Type explanatory philosophical When to use this quote - education - team building - marketing - product design Key Concepts evolutionary theory social cognition Questions to Reflect On - How do animal metaphors shape our self‑view? - What limits arise from comparing humans to other species? A Different Perspective Analogies can oversimplify complex human behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Monkeys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monkeys/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Underground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/underground/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“People who personify excellence are people who invoke the same in others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sravani-saha-nakhro/people-who-personify-excellence-are-people-who-invoke-the-same-in/) [Sravani Saha Nakhro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sravani-saha-nakhro/) > [“Let's personify love, I'm sure it'd look like her”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ismaaciil-c-ubax/let-s-personify-love-i-m-sure-it-d-look-like-her/) [Ismaaciil C. Ubax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ismaaciil-c-ubax/) > [“If you want to bury an idea, personify it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-fahy/if-you-want-to-bury-an-idea-personify-it/) [Tom Fahy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-fahy/) > [I'm interested in ways of writing about the social world that don't assassinate the life that's in it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-back/i-m-interested-in-ways-of-writing-about-the-social-world-that-don-t/) [Les Back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-back/) > [We see ourselves as inhabiting a complex social world that has some capitalist things going on in it as well as some socialist ones,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-kauffman/we-see-ourselves-as-inhabiting-a-complex-social-world-that-has-some/) [Cynthia Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-kauffman/) > [I agree that it's a macho world, metal, but it's also a very, very social world, where people are loving music in respect for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floor-jansen/i-agree-that-it-s-a-macho-world-metal-but-it-s-also-a-very-very/) [Floor Jansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floor-jansen/) > [Achieving control over change, in respect to lifestyle, demands an engagement with the outer social world rather than a retreat from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-giddens/achieving-control-over-change-in-respect-to-lifestyle-demands-an/) [Anthony Giddens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-giddens/) > [Are there still other possibilities? Of course there are. 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In texts, tweets, and e-mails we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-dekoven-fishbane/and-the-transformation-in-our-social-world-in-terms-of-technology/) Mona Dekoven Fishbane > [“ideas are not free-floating in consciousness but are grounded in the social world in the most concrete ways.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-davison-hunter/ideas-are-not-free-floating-in-consciousness-but-are-grounded-in-the/) [James Davison Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-davison-hunter/) ## 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. 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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. 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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 Cars quotes > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. 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The last one I bought was a Honda CR-V which I didn't even take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-hopkins/i-hate-cars-that-much-i-don-t-even-own-one-the-last-one-i-bought-was/) [Katie Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-hopkins/) > [There are a lot of impractical things about owning a Porsche. But they're all offset by the driving experience. It really is unique. Lamborghinis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-o-leary/there-are-a-lot-of-impractical-things-about-owning-a-porsche-but-they/) [Kevin O'Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-o-leary/) > [“police cars, but since he was driving”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-cole/police-cars-but-since-he-was-driving/) [Bobby Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-cole/) > [“A car is one of the most interesting inventions, but driving is one of the most boring activities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-car-is-one-of-the-most-interesting-inventions-but-driving-is-one-of/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [No action hero is more closely associated with cars than James Bond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hammond/no-action-hero-is-more-closely-associated-with-cars-than-james-bond/) [Richard Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hammond/) > [Yeah, I'm the Brit who isn't Lewis Hamilton that woke up and realised he was good. 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