--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once a person exists, not everything…" description: "\"“Once a person exists, not everything compatible with his overall existence being a net plus can be done, even by those who created him. An existing pe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fb/robert-nozick-9938_life_once-a-person-exists-not-everything-comp_2136544.jpg" --- # Once a person exists, not everything compatible with his… ![“Once a person exists, not everything compatible with his overall existence being a net plus can be done, even by those who created him. An existing person has claims, even against those whose purpose in creating him was to violate those claims.” quote by Robert Nozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fb/robert-nozick-9938_life_once-a-person-exists-not-everything-comp_2136544.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fb/robert-nozick-9938_life_once-a-person-exists-not-everything-comp_2136544.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fb/robert-nozick-9938_life_once-a-person-exists-not-everything-comp_2136544.jpg) > ““Once a person exists, not everything compatible with his overall existence being a net plus can be done, even by those who created him. An existing person has claims, even against those whose purpose in creating him was to violate those claims.”” [Robert Nozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-nozick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Individuals possess inherent claims that cannot be overridden, even by creators, limiting what can be done to them. **In simple terms:** People have rights that even creators must respect. Key Takeaway Recognize and protect inherent personal claims. Themes rights ethics autonomy creation Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - legal debates - AI ethics - parental responsibility Key Concepts social contract philosophy human dignity Questions to Reflect On - What are the limits of creator authority? - How do we balance individual claims with societal needs? A Different Perspective Complexities arise when defining the scope of these claims. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Existence Net](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence-net-4428436/) [Existing Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existing-person-4428435/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Person Exists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person-exists-906704/) [Plus Created](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plus-created-4428437/) ## Related quotes > [It's almost like living a double life where I'm in a limbo space where Amanda Knox, a real person, exists, 'Foxy Knoxy,' an idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-knox/it-s-almost-like-living-a-double-life-where-i-m-in-a-limbo-space/) [Amanda Knox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-knox/) > [The soul is a living, dynamic part of each person. It exists as consciousness and therefore must be found in consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/the-soul-is-a-living-dynamic-part-of-each-person-it-exists-as/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [The work exists for the person as much as the person exists for the work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-k-greenleaf/the-work-exists-for-the-person-as-much-as-the-person-exists-for-the/) [Robert K. Greenleaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-k-greenleaf/) > [Universities are the cathedrals of the modern age. They shouldn't have to justify their existence by utilitarian criteria.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lodge/universities-are-the-cathedrals-of-the-modern-age-they-shouldn-t-have/) [David Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lodge/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Never belong to a crowd; Never belong to a nation; Never belong to a religion; Never belong to a race. Belong to the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/never-belong-to-a-crowd-never-belong-to-a-nation-never-belong-to-a/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Quantum physics fluctuates all the time. But now the fluctuations are not just particles coming into and out of existence, which happens all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/quantum-physics-fluctuates-all-the-time-but-now-the-fluctuations-are/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [It does not seem to me to be sufficiently recognized everywhere among the officials that the existence or non-existence of our people and Empire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-von-hindenburg/it-does-not-seem-to-me-to-be-sufficiently-recognized-everywhere-among/) [Paul von Hindenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-von-hindenburg/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) ## More by Robert Nozick > [The trouble with government regulation of the market is that it prohibits capitalistic acts between consenting adults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-nozick/the-trouble-with-government-regulation-of-the-market-is-that-it/) [Robert Nozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-nozick/) > [Some people steal from others, or defraud them, or enslave them, seizing their product and preventing them from living as they choose, or forcibly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-nozick/some-people-steal-from-others-or-defraud-them-or-enslave-them-seizing/) [Robert Nozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-nozick/) > [Some communities will be abandoned, others will struggle along, others will split, others will flourish, gain members, and be duplicated elsewhere. Each community must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-nozick/some-communities-will-be-abandoned-others-will-struggle-along-others/) [Robert Nozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-nozick/) > [Why are philosophers intent on forcing others to believe things? Is that a nice way to behave towards someone?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-nozick/why-are-philosophers-intent-on-forcing-others-to-believe-things-is/) [Robert Nozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-nozick/) > [“There are few books that set out what a mature person can believe - someone fully grown up, I mean. Aristotle's 'Ethics', Marcus Aurelius's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-nozick/there-are-few-books-that-set-out-what-a-mature-person-can-believe/) [Robert Nozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-nozick/) > [Intellectuals feel they are the most valuable people, the ones with the highest merit, and that society should reward people in accordance with their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-nozick/intellectuals-feel-they-are-the-most-valuable-people-the-ones-with/) [Robert Nozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-nozick/) > [Only the refusal to listen guarantees one against being ensnared by the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-nozick/only-the-refusal-to-listen-guarantees-one-against-being-ensnared-by/) [Robert Nozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-nozick/) > [Wisdom is not just knowing fundamental truths, if these are unconnected with the guidance of life or with a perspective on its meaning. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-nozick/wisdom-is-not-just-knowing-fundamental-truths-if-these-are/) [Robert Nozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-nozick/) > [You can't satisfy everybody; especially if there are those who will be dissatisfied unless not everybody is satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-nozick/you-can-t-satisfy-everybody-especially-if-there-are-those-who-will-be/) [Robert Nozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-nozick/) > [It is, from another angle, an attack on requiring proof in philosophy. And it's also the case, I guess, that my temperament is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-nozick/it-is-from-another-angle-an-attack-on-requiring-proof-in-philosophy/) [Robert Nozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-nozick/) > [I think philosophers can do things akin to theoretical scientists, in that, having read about empirical data, they too can think of what hypotheses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-nozick/i-think-philosophers-can-do-things-akin-to-theoretical-scientists-in/) [Robert Nozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-nozick/) > [The socialist society would have to forbid capitalist acts between consenting adults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-nozick/the-socialist-society-would-have-to-forbid-capitalist-acts-between/) [Robert Nozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-nozick/) > [Taxation of earnings from labor is on a par with forced labor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-nozick/taxation-of-earnings-from-labor-is-on-a-par-with-forced-labor/) [Robert Nozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-nozick/) > [It's the level that allows us each to live our own chosen lives. But I notice not everyone agrees with the primary importance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-nozick/it-s-the-level-that-allows-us-each-to-live-our-own-chosen-lives-but-i/) [Robert Nozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-nozick/) > [Our principles fix what our life stands for, our aims create the light our life is bathed in, and our rationality, both individual and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-nozick/our-principles-fix-what-our-life-stands-for-our-aims-create-the-light/) [Robert Nozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-nozick/) [Explore all 69 Robert Nozick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-nozick/) ## More Existence quotes > [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [It does not seem to me to be sufficiently recognized everywhere among the officials that the existence or non-existence of our people and Empire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-von-hindenburg/it-does-not-seem-to-me-to-be-sufficiently-recognized-everywhere-among/) [Paul von Hindenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-von-hindenburg/) > [Quantum physics fluctuates all the time. But now the fluctuations are not just particles coming into and out of existence, which happens all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/quantum-physics-fluctuates-all-the-time-but-now-the-fluctuations-are/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [Never belong to a crowd; Never belong to a nation; Never belong to a religion; Never belong to a race. Belong to the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/never-belong-to-a-crowd-never-belong-to-a-nation-never-belong-to-a/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Universities are the cathedrals of the modern age. They shouldn't have to justify their existence by utilitarian criteria.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lodge/universities-are-the-cathedrals-of-the-modern-age-they-shouldn-t-have/) [David Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lodge/) > [Just as everybody has the vote including women, I think children should, because as a child is conscious of itself then it has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/just-as-everybody-has-the-vote-including-women-i-think-children/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [To divide one's life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [The party in Alobar’s head, which agitation and anxiety were throwing, now was crashed by a notion: existence can be rearranged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-party-in-alobar-s-head-which-agitation-and-anxiety-were-throwing/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) [Browse all 7,646 Existence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Once a person exists, not everything compatible with his overall existence being a net plus can be done, even by those who created him. 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