--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Imagine what it would be like for our…" description: "\"“Imagine what it would be like for our descendants to experience the fall of civilization. Imagine failures of reasonableness so total that our largest..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbe/sam-harris-457_end-of-the-world_imagine-what-it-would-be-like-for-our-de_1713649.jpg" --- # Imagine what it would be like for our descendants to… ![“Imagine what it would be like for our descendants to experience the fall of civilization. Imagine failures of reasonableness so total that our largest bombs finally fall upon our largest cities in defense of our religious differences. What would it be like for the unlucky survivors of such a…” quote by Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbe/sam-harris-457_end-of-the-world_imagine-what-it-would-be-like-for-our-de_1713649.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbe/sam-harris-457_end-of-the-world_imagine-what-it-would-be-like-for-our-de_1713649.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbe/sam-harris-457_end-of-the-world_imagine-what-it-would-be-like-for-our-de_1713649.jpg) > ““Imagine what it would be like for our descendants to experience the fall of civilization. Imagine failures of reasonableness so total that our largest bombs finally fall upon our largest cities in defense of our religious differences. What would it be like for the unlucky survivors of such a holocaust to look back upon the hurtling career of human stupidity that led them over the precipice? A view from the end of the world would surely find that the six billion of us currently alive did much to pave the way to the Apocalypse.”” [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human folly may lead to catastrophic wars, and future generations could inherit a devastated world. **In simple terms:** Human stupidity could cause global destruction. Key Takeaway Act responsibly to prevent catastrophe. Themes war apocalypse human nature Mood urgent grave Type political ethical When to use this quote - policy making - environmental activism - education - peacebuilding Key Concepts ethics political science Questions to Reflect On - What actions can you take to promote rational discourse? - How can societies prioritize peace over dogma? A Different Perspective Optimism and cooperation can counteract destructive trends. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apocalypse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apocalypse/) [End of the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-of-the-world/) [End World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-world/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Holocaust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holocaust/) [Human stupidity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-stupidity/) [Imagine Failures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine-failures-1269920/) [Survivors Holocaust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survivors-holocaust-1175020/) ## Related quotes > [I have the greatest respect for the survivors of the Holocaust. We can't even imagine what these people went through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-barenboim/i-have-the-greatest-respect-for-the-survivors-of-the-holocaust-we-can/) [Daniel Barenboim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-barenboim/) > [“I have known many survivors for whom the Holocaust is the central theme of their lives. They have no other. I have tried to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-known-many-survivors-for-whom-the-holocaust-is-the-central/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I do a lot of research. For 'I Am Legend', I did a lot of research about survivors. If everybody is dead around you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-braga/i-do-a-lot-of-research-for-i-am-legend-i-did-a-lot-of-research-about/) [Alice Braga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-braga/) > [Do you know why most survivors of the Holocaust are vegan? It's because they know what it's like to be treated like an animal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/do-you-know-why-most-survivors-of-the-holocaust-are-vegan-it-s/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [I went to Israel for two months in 1970 and worked on a kibbutz. It affected me on levels that I hadn't anticipated, working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-claremont/i-went-to-israel-for-two-months-in-1970-and-worked-on-a-kibbutz-it/) [Chris Claremont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-claremont/) > [The book I'm looking for,' says the blurred figure, who holds out a volume similar to yours, 'is the one that gives the sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-book-i-m-looking-for-says-the-blurred-figure-who-holds-out-a/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [Anticipating the end of the world is humanity's oldest passtime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/anticipating-the-end-of-the-world-is-humanity-s-oldest-passtime/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“Cock of the Rock: so what if i don’t know what apocalypse means!!! it’s not like it’s the end of the world! Tsukishima: i…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/powerhh/cock-of-the-rock-so-what-if-i-don-t-know-what-apocalypse-means-it-s/) [Powerhh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/powerhh/) > [“And that date, too, is far off?' 'Far off; when it comes, think your end in this world is at hand!' 'How and what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-george-bulwer-lytton/and-that-date-too-is-far-off-far-off-when-it-comes-think-your-end-in/) [Edward George Bulwer-Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-george-bulwer-lytton/) > [Do not expect too much of the end of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/do-not-expect-too-much-of-the-end-of-the-world/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [“That’s the thing about the End of the World. It doesn’t send out Save the Date cards before it destroys everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-meyers/that-s-the-thing-about-the-end-of-the-world-it-doesn-t-send-out-save/) [Jessica Meyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-meyers/) > [The awkward moment when you predict the end of the world and nothing happens :P](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-awkward-moment-when-you-predict-the-end-of-the-world-and-nothing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“People have always been good at imagining the end of the world, which is much easier to picture than the strange sidelong paths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/people-have-always-been-good-at-imagining-the-end-of-the-world-which/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [Funerals and weddings were commonplace, and nothing could have been so interesting to them as the coming of the end of the world ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-eggleston/funerals-and-weddings-were-commonplace-and-nothing-could-have-been-so/) [Edward Eggleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-eggleston/) > [The end of the world begins the moment you die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/the-end-of-the-world-begins-the-moment-you-die/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) ## More by Sam Harris > [“Moderates in every faith are obliged to loosely interpret (or simply ignore) much of their canons in the interests of living in the modern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/moderates-in-every-faith-are-obliged-to-loosely-interpret-or-simply/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [There is no question but that nominally religious scientists like Francis Collins and Kenneth R. Miller are doing lasting harm to our discourse by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/there-is-no-question-but-that-nominally-religious-scientists-like/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [We have Christians against Muslims against Jews, and no matter how liberal your theology, merely identifying yourself as a Christian or a Jew lends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/we-have-christians-against-muslims-against-jews-and-no-matter-how/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“Your principal concern appears to be that the Creator of the universe will take offense at something people do while naked. This prudery of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/your-principal-concern-appears-to-be-that-the-creator-of-the-universe/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“As manuals for contemplative understanding, the Bible and the Koran are worse than useless. Whatever wisdom can be found in their pages is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/as-manuals-for-contemplative-understanding-the-bible-and-the-koran/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [About 120 million of us place the big bang 2,500 years after the Babylonians and Sumerians learned to brew beer. If our polls are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/about-120-million-of-us-place-the-big-bang-2-500-years-after-the/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“If your golf instructor were to insist that you shave your head, sleep no more than four hours each night, renounce sex, and subsist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/if-your-golf-instructor-were-to-insist-that-you-shave-your-head-sleep/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [The fact that one can lose one's sense of self in an ocean of tranquility does not mean that one's consciousness is immaterial or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-fact-that-one-can-lose-one-s-sense-of-self-in-an-ocean-of/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [The second commandment is "Thou shall not construct any graven images." Is this really the pinnacle of what we can achieve morally? The second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-second-commandment-is-thou-shall-not-construct-any-graven-images/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“But the reality of consciousness appears irreducible. Only consciousness can know itself—and directly, through first-person experience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/but-the-reality-of-consciousness-appears-irreducible-only/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“Whether or not one likes Huntington's formulation, one thing is clear: the evil that has finally reached our shores is not merely the evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/whether-or-not-one-likes-huntington-s-formulation-one-thing-is-clear/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [The problem is that religion tends to give people bad reasons to be good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-problem-is-that-religion-tends-to-give-people-bad-reasons-to-be/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [Muslim moderates, wherever they are, must be given every tool necessary to win a war of ideas with their co-religionists. Otherwise, we will have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/muslim-moderates-wherever-they-are-must-be-given-every-tool-necessary/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [The idea that any one of our religions represents the infallible word of the One True God requires an encyclopedic ignorance of history, mythology,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-idea-that-any-one-of-our-religions-represents-the-infallible-word/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“What could possibly cause billions of human beings to reconsider their religious beliefs? And yet, it is obvious that an utter revolution in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/what-could-possibly-cause-billions-of-human-beings-to-reconsider/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) [Explore all 543 Sam Harris quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) ## More Apocalypse quotes > [People always wonder when the world is going to end. I believe that the world will end when everyone stops loving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nichole-fickes/people-always-wonder-when-the-world-is-going-to-end-i-believe-that/) [Nichole Fickes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nichole-fickes/) > [A South Korean inventor has finally created the robot that mankind has been waiting for. Scientists who have been worried about the robot apocalypse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pesca/a-south-korean-inventor-has-finally-created-the-robot-that-mankind/) [Mike Pesca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pesca/) > [The end of the world begins the moment you die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/the-end-of-the-world-begins-the-moment-you-die/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [If it makes you feel any better, this isn't my first apocalypse. There is hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/if-it-makes-you-feel-any-better-this-isn-t-my-first-apocalypse-there/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Funerals and weddings were commonplace, and nothing could have been so interesting to them as the coming of the end of the world ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-eggleston/funerals-and-weddings-were-commonplace-and-nothing-could-have-been-so/) [Edward Eggleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-eggleston/) > [“The world did not end with a bang, nor did it end with a whimper. It was more of a chomp. And a slurp.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rudolph/the-world-did-not-end-with-a-bang-nor-did-it-end-with-a-whimper-it/) [J. Rudolph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rudolph/) > [Nuclear apocalypse-who do you need? Actors are probably not top of the list. What can I do for you? I can pretend to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-bale/nuclear-apocalypse-who-do-you-need-actors-are-probably-not-top-of-the/) [Christian Bale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-bale/) > [“It was a comfortable, familiar apocalypse,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-barnes/it-was-a-comfortable-familiar-apocalypse/) [Adrian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-barnes/) > [In the New Testament alone there are Gospels, acts, epistles, and an apocalypse. Gospels contain literary forms like miracles, parables, pronouncements, proverbs, farewell discourses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-blomberg/in-the-new-testament-alone-there-are-gospels-acts-epistles-and-an/) [Craig Blomberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-blomberg/) > [The day came. The wrath descended. Sin, guilt, and retribution? The manic psychoses of those entities we referred to as states, institutions, systems -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/the-day-came-the-wrath-descended-sin-guilt-and-retribution-the-manic/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [“People have always been good at imagining the end of the world, which is much easier to picture than the strange sidelong paths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/people-have-always-been-good-at-imagining-the-end-of-the-world-which/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [The awkward moment when you predict the end of the world and nothing happens :P](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-awkward-moment-when-you-predict-the-end-of-the-world-and-nothing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I once fed a dog-fight operator to the dogs he had abused for so long, and do you want to know something? It felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-nye/i-once-fed-a-dog-fight-operator-to-the-dogs-he-had-abused-for-so-long/) [Cedric Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-nye/) > [“You and I are victims of the same disease. We're fighting the same war, just different battles in different theaters, and it's way too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/you-and-i-are-victims-of-the-same-disease-we-re-fighting-the-same-war/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [I've been around long enough now and have learned to be flexible enough to know that every movie isn't going to be Apocalypse Now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-fishburne/i-ve-been-around-long-enough-now-and-have-learned-to-be-flexible/) [Laurence Fishburne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-fishburne/) [Browse all 820 Apocalypse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apocalypse/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Imagine what it would be like for our descendants to experience the fall of civilization. Imagine failures of reasonableness so total that our largest bombs finally fall upon our largest cities in defense of our religious differences. What would it be like for the unlucky survivors of such a holocaust to look back upon the hurtling career of human stupidity that led them over the precipice? A view from the end of the world would surely find that the six billion of us currently alive did much to pave the way to the Apocalypse.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sam Harris" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/imagine-what-it-would-be-like-for-our-descendants-to-experience-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Apocalypse" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/imagine-what-it-would-be-like-for-our-descendants-to-experience-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbe/sam-harris-457_end-of-the-world_imagine-what-it-would-be-like-for-our-de_1713649.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbe/sam-harris-457_end-of-the-world_imagine-what-it-would-be-like-for-our-de_1713649.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbe/sam-harris-457_end-of-the-world_imagine-what-it-would-be-like-for-our-de_1713649.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Imagine what it would be like for our descendants to experience the fall of civilization. Imagine failures…” — Sam Harris", "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": "Sam Harris", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Imagine what it would be like...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/imagine-what-it-would-be-like-for-our-descendants-to-experience-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/imagine-what-it-would-be-like-for-our-descendants-to-experience-the/#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 } } ] } ```