--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Is life worth living? This is a question…" description: "\"Is life worth living? This is a question for an embryo not for a man.\" — Samuel Butler" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/118/samuel-butler-823_embryo_is-life-worth-living-this-is-a-question_16600.jpg" --- # Is life worth living? This is a question for an embryo not… ![“Is life worth living? This is a question for an embryo not for a man.” quote by Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/118/samuel-butler-823_embryo_is-life-worth-living-this-is-a-question_16600.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/118/samuel-butler-823_embryo_is-life-worth-living-this-is-a-question_16600.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/118/samuel-butler-823_embryo_is-life-worth-living-this-is-a-question_16600.jpg) > “Is life worth living? This is a question for an embryo not for a man.” [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It questions the value of existence, suggesting that the unborn lack the capacity to contemplate life's worth, unlike an adult who can reflect on it. **In simple terms:** Embryos cannot assess life's value. Key Takeaway Life's worth is a reflective judgment. Themes existentialism value of life human consciousness mortality ethical reflection Mood thoughtful provocative Type philosophical provocative When to use this quote - philosophical debate - ethical discussions on abortion - personal crisis - literary analysis Key Concepts meaning of existence subjective value human agency Practical Applications - stimulate ethical discourse - inform bioethical policy Questions to Reflect On - What criteria do we use to judge life's worth? - How does consciousness affect our valuation of existence? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Embryo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embryo/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life worth living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-worth-living/) [Worth living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worth-living/) ## Related quotes > [Even in civilized communities, the embryo man passes through the hunter stage of development.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/even-in-civilized-communities-the-embryo-man-passes-through-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [It's faith in something and enthusiasm for something that makes a life worth living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-faith-in-something-and-enthusiasm-for-something-that-makes-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [...because a life without meaning, without drive or focus, without dreams or goals, isn't a life worth living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-colfer/because-a-life-without-meaning-without-drive-or-focus-without-dreams/) [Chris Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-colfer/) > [The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it." "This life is worth living, we can say, since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-great-use-of-life-is-to-spend-it-for-something-that-will-outlast/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“Make your life worth living!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/varsha-dixit/make-your-life-worth-living/) [Varsha Dixit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/varsha-dixit/) > [“It's the process of making-do, of the life I've lived between breakdowns and break-ups, that has made life worth living. I could not bear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-santiago-baca/it-s-the-process-of-making-do-of-the-life-i-ve-lived-between/) [Jimmy Santiago Baca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-santiago-baca/) > [“Is life worth living? Like everybody else, I have many times asked that question, usually deciding negatively, because I am most likely to ask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-fort/is-life-worth-living-like-everybody-else-i-have-many-times-asked-that/) [Charles Fort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-fort/) > [Everyone can access the parts of themselves that are great. I'm just a girl from New York City who decided to do this, after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/everyone-can-access-the-parts-of-themselves-that-are-great-i-m-just-a/) [Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/) > [“If Bobby can get a place to live, I think, then I can get a life worth living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-vizzini/if-bobby-can-get-a-place-to-live-i-think-then-i-can-get-a-life-worth/) [Ned Vizzini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-vizzini/) > [The unexamined life is not worth living for a human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-unexamined-life-is-not-worth-living-for-a-human-being/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Between the marketplace and government there exists all of that which makes life worth living-family life, spiritual life, the art and culture that make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/between-the-marketplace-and-government-there-exists-all-of-that-which/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [“I don’t want safety or guarantees— I want a life worth living. I want to jump off a skyscraper And fashion a parachute on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-wetch/i-don-t-want-safety-or-guarantees-i-want-a-life-worth-living-i-want/) [Justin Wetch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-wetch/) > [What makes life worth living? Better surely, to yield to the stain of suicide blood in me and seek forgetfulness in the embrace of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zane-grey/what-makes-life-worth-living-better-surely-to-yield-to-the-stain-of/) [Zane Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zane-grey/) > [A life worth living might be measured in many ways, but the one way that stands above all others is living a life of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-life-worth-living-might-be-measured-in-many-ways-but-the-one-way/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Make your life worth living for, by living for the One who values it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anya-vonderluft/make-your-life-worth-living-for-by-living-for-the-one-who-values-it/) [Anya vonderLuft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anya-vonderluft/) ## More by Samuel Butler > [I am the enfant terrible of literature and science. If I cannot, and I know I cannot, get the literary and scientific bigwigs to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/i-am-the-enfant-terrible-of-literature-and-science-if-i-cannot-and-i/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [If you follow reason far enough it always leads to conclusions that are contrary to reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/if-you-follow-reason-far-enough-it-always-leads-to-conclusions-that/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [All animals, except man, know that the principal business of life is to enjoy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/all-animals-except-man-know-that-the-principal-business-of-life-is-to/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [The advantage of doing one's praising for oneself is that one can lay it on so thick and exactly in the right places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/the-advantage-of-doing-one-s-praising-for-oneself-is-that-one-can-lay/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Spare the rod and spoil the child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Opinions have vested interests just as men have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/opinions-have-vested-interests-just-as-men-have/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [“we must judge men not so much by what they, as by what they make us feel that they have it in them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/we-must-judge-men-not-so-much-by-what-they-as-by-what-they-make-us/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [If I die prematurely I shall be saved from being bored to death at my own success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/if-i-die-prematurely-i-shall-be-saved-from-being-bored-to-death-at-my/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Vaccination is the medical sacrament corresponding to baptism. Whether it is or is not more efficacious I do not know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/vaccination-is-the-medical-sacrament-corresponding-to-baptism-whether/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [“Having, then, once introduced an element of inconsistency into his system, he was far too consistent not to be inconsistent consistently, and he lapsed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/having-then-once-introduced-an-element-of-inconsistency-into-his/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Brigands demand your money or your life; women require both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/brigands-demand-your-money-or-your-life-women-require-both/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [A man who lets himself be bored is even more contemptible than the bore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/a-man-who-lets-himself-be-bored-is-even-more-contemptible-than-the/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [It is not sufficiently considered in the hour of exultation, that all human excellence is comparative; that no man performs much but in proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/it-is-not-sufficiently-considered-in-the-hour-of-exultation-that-all/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [“The oldest books are still only just out to those who have not read them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/the-oldest-books-are-still-only-just-out-to-those-who-have-not-read/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [It seems to be the fate of man to seek all his consolations in futurity. The time present is seldom able to fill desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/it-seems-to-be-the-fate-of-man-to-seek-all-his-consolations-in/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) [Explore all 355 Samuel Butler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) ## More Embryo quotes > [BTW A 24 week old embryo is not a human being. You're not a human being until you're in my phone book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/btw-a-24-week-old-embryo-is-not-a-human-being-you-re-not-a-human/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [The simple reason no embryo can develop without at least one X chromosome is that it's the X, not the Y, that is loaded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/the-simple-reason-no-embryo-can-develop-without-at-least-one-x/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [I'm still an embryo with a long long way to go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-m-still-an-embryo-with-a-long-long-way-to-go/) [Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/) > [Even in civilized communities, the embryo man passes through the hunter stage of development.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/even-in-civilized-communities-the-embryo-man-passes-through-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“I believe that this hairless embryo with the aching oversized braincase and the opposable thumb—this animal barely up from the apes—will endure, will endure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-heinlein/i-believe-that-this-hairless-embryo-with-the-aching-oversized/) [Robert Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-heinlein/) > [“ERV envelope genes possess unique properties that make them suitable for use in forming the placenta: they are fusogenic proteins and they have immunosuppresive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-g-cordingley/erv-envelope-genes-possess-unique-properties-that-make-them-suitable/) [Michael G Cordingley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-g-cordingley/) > [It's important to us to see the development and growth. At the end of the day, it's our baby. Genetically it's ours. It's our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-rancic/it-s-important-to-us-to-see-the-development-and-growth-at-the-end-of/) [Bill Rancic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-rancic/) > [It is therefore proper to acknowledge that the first filaments of the chick preexist in the egg and have a deeper origin, exactly as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcello-malpighi/it-is-therefore-proper-to-acknowledge-that-the-first-filaments-of-the/) [Marcello Malpighi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcello-malpighi/) > [“Just as the embryo recapitulates in brief the evolution of the species, so did Suzanne recapitulate all the styles of her lovers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/just-as-the-embryo-recapitulates-in-brief-the-evolution-of-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Life is rather a state of embryo, a preparation for life; a man is not completely born till he has passed through death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/life-is-rather-a-state-of-embryo-a-preparation-for-life-a-man-is-not/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [When I saw the embryo, I suddenly realized there was such a small difference between it and my daughters. I thought, we can't keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinya-yamanaka/when-i-saw-the-embryo-i-suddenly-realized-there-was-such-a-small/) [Shinya Yamanaka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shinya-yamanaka/) > [People forget we come from an embryo and we're part sperm and part ovary. We have both sides in us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-rodriguez/people-forget-we-come-from-an-embryo-and-we-re-part-sperm-and-part/) [Michelle Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-rodriguez/) > [Is it or is it not ethical to create an embryo, and to create a person for the purpose of getting an organ to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-fauci/is-it-or-is-it-not-ethical-to-create-an-embryo-and-to-create-a-person/) [Anthony Fauci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-fauci/) > [“Without your pain you are nothing but a spiritual embryo.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/without-your-pain-you-are-nothing-but-a-spiritual-embryo/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [ I'm old enough to make you look like an embryo. \[Thorn\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/i-m-old-enough-to-make-you-look-like-an-embryo-thorn/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) [Browse all 29 Embryo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embryo/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Is life worth living? 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