--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We do not know what awaits each of us…" description: "\"We do not know what awaits each of us after death, but we know that we will die. Clearly, it must be possible to live ethically-with a genuine concern ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ed/sam-harris-457_after-death_we-do-not-know-what-awaits-each-of-us-af_785925.jpg" --- # We do not know what awaits each of us after death, but we… ![“We do not know what awaits each of us after death, but we know that we will die. Clearly, it must be possible to live ethically-with a genuine concern for the happiness of other sentient beings-without presuming to know things about which we are patently ignorant. Consider it: every person you…” quote by Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ed/sam-harris-457_after-death_we-do-not-know-what-awaits-each-of-us-af_785925.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ed/sam-harris-457_after-death_we-do-not-know-what-awaits-each-of-us-af_785925.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ed/sam-harris-457_after-death_we-do-not-know-what-awaits-each-of-us-af_785925.jpg) > “We do not know what awaits each of us after death, but we know that we will die. Clearly, it must be possible to live ethically-with a genuine concern for the happiness of other sentient beings-without presuming to know things about which we are patently ignorant. Consider it: every person you have ever met, every person you will pass in the street today, is going to die. Living long enough, each will suffer the loss of his friends and family. All are going to lose everything they love in this world. Why would one want to be anything but kind to them in the meantime?” [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. We cannot know afterlife details, yet we can act ethically toward all sentient beings, acknowledging universal mortality. **In simple terms:** We should be kind because everyone will die. Key Takeaway Practice compassion regardless of unknowns. Themes ethics mortality compassion Mood reflective serious Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - daily interactions - policy making - community building Key Concepts existential humility moral philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What does mortality teach about moral priorities? - How can we cultivate compassion amid uncertainty? A Different Perspective Kindness may be challenged by personal bias or conflict of interest. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [After death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/after-death/) [Awaits Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awaits-death-1144491/) [Concern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concern/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Dies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dies/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Ethically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethically/) [Ethically Genuine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethically-genuine-6046062/) [Family and friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family-and-friends/) [Friends and family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friends-and-family/) [Genuine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genuine/) [Genuine concern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genuine-concern/) [Ignorant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorant/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Live Ethically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-ethically-6046061/) [Living long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-long/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Loses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loses/) [Loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss/) [Mets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mets/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Presuming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presuming/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Sentient beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentient-beings/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [This world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/this-world/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [One night awaits all, and death's path must be trodden once and for all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/one-night-awaits-all-and-death-s-path-must-be-trodden-once-and-for-all/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Neither dead nor alive, the hostage is suspended by an incalculable outcome. It is nothis destiny that awaits for him, nor his own death,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/neither-dead-nor-alive-the-hostage-is-suspended-by-an-incalculable/) [Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/) > [Either a peaceful old age awaits me, or death flies round me with black wings. \[Lat., Seu me tranquilla senectus Exspectat, seu mors atris…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/either-a-peaceful-old-age-awaits-me-or-death-flies-round-me-with/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Every one of the world's "great" religions utterly trivializes the immensity and beauty of the cosmos. Books like the Bible and the Koran get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/every-one-of-the-world-s-great-religions-utterly-trivializes-the/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [It's time to wake up to the reality that ignoring the genuine concerns of the 'fringe,' until it becomes the majority, is patently ridiculous.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margarita-simonyan/it-s-time-to-wake-up-to-the-reality-that-ignoring-the-genuine/) [Margarita Simonyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margarita-simonyan/) > [“Unconditional love is not affirming another in every decision they make especially when those choices are unhealthy. Unconditional love will risk offending in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-m-rose/unconditional-love-is-not-affirming-another-in-every-decision-they/) [Michael M. Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-m-rose/) > [Whatever our hands touch - We leave fingerprints! On walls, on furniture On doorknobs, dishes, books. There's no escape.As we touch we leave our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whatever-our-hands-touch-we-leave-fingerprints-on-walls-on-furniture/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The quality of everything we do: our physical actions, our verbal actions, and even our mental actions, depends on our motivation. That's why it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/the-quality-of-everything-we-do-our-physical-actions-our-verbal/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [“To Move from Woe to Wow with an Unhappy Customer. . . Apologize • Thank your customer for raising the issue. • Apologize sincerely–never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/to-move-from-woe-to-wow-with-an-unhappy-customer-apologize-thank-your/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [Well they're very, very genuine concerns at present as to the status of the 800 people who are to be sent by Australia to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-bishop/well-they-re-very-very-genuine-concerns-at-present-as-to-the-status/) [Julie Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-bishop/) > [“A discreet person . . . • is strong, yet humble; • expresses genuine concern and interest; • exercises caution to avoid unnecessary risks;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/a-discreet-person-is-strong-yet-humble-expresses-genuine-concern-and/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [At the trial of Chelsea Manning, the government could point to no case of specific damage that had been caused by the massive revelation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/at-the-trial-of-chelsea-manning-the-government-could-point-to-no-case/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [I met an American lady many years ago, much distant. Then I told her about my own difficult experiences and I showed some genuine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/i-met-an-american-lady-many-years-ago-much-distant-then-i-told-her/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [It is this obsession with GDP and FDI growth and a facile belief that this growth in the GDP would trickle down to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prashant-bhushan/it-is-this-obsession-with-gdp-and-fdi-growth-and-a-facile-belief-that/) [Prashant Bhushan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prashant-bhushan/) > [The most compassionate form of giving is done with no thought or expectation of reward, and grounded in genuine concern for others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/the-most-compassionate-form-of-giving-is-done-with-no-thought-or/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) ## 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 After death quotes > [The world of imagination is the world of eternity. It is the divine bosom into which we shall all go after death of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/the-world-of-imagination-is-the-world-of-eternity-it-is-the-divine/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [After death there is nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/after-death-there-is-nothing/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [For days after death hair and fingernails continue to grow, but phone calls taper off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-carson/for-days-after-death-hair-and-fingernails-continue-to-grow-but-phone/) [Johnny Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-carson/) > [ Now they \[the Powers\] have started the aggression, and the extinction of our nation is imminent. If we just fold our arms and yield… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/empress-dowager-cixi/now-they-the-powers-have-started-the-aggression-and-the-extinction-of/) [Empress Dowager Cixi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/empress-dowager-cixi/) > [You're a religious man, ... You believe in God and life after death. I also believe. When we come to the other world and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/you-re-a-religious-man-you-believe-in-god-and-life-after-death-i-also/) [Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/) > [And after death something new begins, over which all the powers of the world of death can have no more control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/and-after-death-something-new-begins-over-which-all-the-powers-of-the/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [If the Soul sees, after death , what passes on this earth , and watches over the welfare of those it loves, then must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/if-the-soul-sees-after-death-what-passes-on-this-earth-and-watches/) [Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) > [When we see the many grave-stones which have fallen in, which have been defaced by the footsteps of the congregation, which lie buried under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/when-we-see-the-many-grave-stones-which-have-fallen-in-which-have/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [It is for all men that come into the world once to die; and after death the judgment! And since death is a debt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rumbold/it-is-for-all-men-that-come-into-the-world-once-to-die-and-after/) [Richard Rumbold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rumbold/) > [What we should be after death, we have to attain in life, i.e. holiness and bliss. Here on earth the Kingdom of God begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paracelsus/what-we-should-be-after-death-we-have-to-attain-in-life-i-e-holiness/) [Paracelsus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paracelsus/) > [(After death.) So few people who come across, possess awareness of any kind. All they bring along with them are worthless values. All they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-matheson/after-death-so-few-people-who-come-across-possess-awareness-of-any/) [Richard Matheson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-matheson/) > [I think I have fairly heard and fairly weighed the evidence on both sides, and I remain an utter disbeliever in almost all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-russel-wallace/i-think-i-have-fairly-heard-and-fairly-weighed-the-evidence-on-both/) [Alfred Russel Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-russel-wallace/) > [I want people to emphasize life before death as opposed to life after death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayaan-hirsi-ali/i-want-people-to-emphasize-life-before-death-as-opposed-to-life-after/) [Ayaan Hirsi Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayaan-hirsi-ali/) > [I thought of the priest who'd told me that many religions hold that it is easier to be closely connected to people we love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-thought-of-the-priest-who-d-told-me-that-many-religions-hold-that/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [“And a soul would run by a living being, touch them softly on the shoulder or cheek, and continue on its way to heaven.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/and-a-soul-would-run-by-a-living-being-touch-them-softly-on-the/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) [Browse all 303 After death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/after-death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We do not know what awaits each of us after death, but we know that we will die. Clearly, it must be possible to live ethically-with a genuine concern for the happiness of other sentient beings-without presuming to know things about which we are patently ignorant. Consider it: every person you have ever met, every person you will pass in the street today, is going to die. Living long enough, each will suffer the loss of his friends and family. All are going to lose everything they love in this world. 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