--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are rational creatures, Professor Jove…" description: "\"“We are rational creatures, Professor Jove explained; hope is irrational. We thus set ourselves up for one dispiriting fall after the next. Anger and d..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccb/shalom-auslander-16035_anger_we-are-rational-creatures-professor-jove_1534407.jpg" --- # We are rational creatures, Professor Jove explained; hope… ![“We are rational creatures, Professor Jove explained; hope is irrational. We thus set ourselves up for one dispiriting fall after the next. Anger and depression are not diseases or dysfunctions or anomalies; they are perfectly rational responses to the myriad avoidable disappointments that begin in…” quote by Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccb/shalom-auslander-16035_anger_we-are-rational-creatures-professor-jove_1534407.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccb/shalom-auslander-16035_anger_we-are-rational-creatures-professor-jove_1534407.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccb/shalom-auslander-16035_anger_we-are-rational-creatures-professor-jove_1534407.jpg) > ““We are rational creatures, Professor Jove explained; hope is irrational. We thus set ourselves up for one dispiriting fall after the next. Anger and depression are not diseases or dysfunctions or anomalies; they are perfectly rational responses to the myriad avoidable disappointments that begin in a thoroughly irrational hope.”” [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hope often blinds us, leading to rational anger and depression when expectations fail. **In simple terms:** Hope can cause irrational disappointment and rational distress. Key Takeaway Recognize hope’s limits to manage expectations. Themes hope irrationality emotion expectation rationality Mood reflective somber Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - personal setbacks - relationship failures - career disappointments - health crises Key Concepts psychology philosophy human behavior Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance hope with realistic planning? - When does hope become harmful? A Different Perspective Hope can also motivate perseverance despite risk. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) [Depression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depression/) [Disappointment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disappointment/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Hope Irrational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope-irrational-5701545/) [Irrational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irrational/) [Irrational Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irrational-hope-5701546/) [Rational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rational/) [Rational Responses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rational-responses-5701547/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) ## Related quotes > [Anger and depression are not diseases or dysfunctions or anomalies; they are perfectly rational responses to the myriad avoidable disappointments that begin in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/anger-and-depression-are-not-diseases-or-dysfunctions-or-anomalies/) [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) > [What looks like resistance in many cases is rational responses to incentives and ingrained resource-allocation processes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-d-anthony/what-looks-like-resistance-in-many-cases-is-rational-responses-to/) [Scott D. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-d-anthony/) > [Hate is irrational. I am a rational person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/varg-vikernes/hate-is-irrational-i-am-a-rational-person/) [Varg Vikernes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/varg-vikernes/) > [We face a conflict between civilisation and culture, which used to be on the same side. Civilisation means rational reflection, material wellbeing, individual autonomy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/we-face-a-conflict-between-civilisation-and-culture-which-used-to-be/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [The soul has two parts, one rational and the other irrational. Let us now similarly divide the rational part, and let it be assumed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-soul-has-two-parts-one-rational-and-the-other-irrational-let-us/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [It is slightly chilling to realize there are rational, functional people up there employed to spot, nurture, and exploit those down here among us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/it-is-slightly-chilling-to-realize-there-are-rational-functional/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [I've always been sceptical about the notion that the market is a person you can engage in an argument with, and that that person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stiglitz/i-ve-always-been-sceptical-about-the-notion-that-the-market-is-a/) [Joseph Stiglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stiglitz/) > [I studied law before I became a filmmaker, and I actually have a great belief in the justice system and the rule of law.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-broomfield/i-studied-law-before-i-became-a-filmmaker-and-i-actually-have-a-great/) [Nick Broomfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-broomfield/) > [RATIONAL, adj. Devoid of all delusions save those of observation, experience and reflection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/rational-adj-devoid-of-all-delusions-save-those-of-observation/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [To believe in faeries is to step into an enchanted space where the rational mind meets the irrational heart, and all things become possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-froud/to-believe-in-faeries-is-to-step-into-an-enchanted-space-where-the/) [Brian Froud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-froud/) > [Man is in need if a symbolical life- badly in need. We only live banal, ordinary, rational or irrational things- but we have no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/man-is-in-need-if-a-symbolical-life-badly-in-need-we-only-live-banal/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [I'm also looking for the psychological elements that fuel commodity culture. For example, if we imbue girls with deep insecurity about their bodies through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-greenfield/i-m-also-looking-for-the-psychological-elements-that-fuel-commodity/) [Lauren Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-greenfield/) > [For you deal here above all with human life, and human life is sacred; no one may dare make an attempt upon it. Respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-paul-vi/for-you-deal-here-above-all-with-human-life-and-human-life-is-sacred/) [Pope Paul VI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-paul-vi/) > [It is not to be forgotten that what we call rational grounds for our beliefs are often extremely irrational attempts to justify our instincts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/it-is-not-to-be-forgotten-that-what-we-call-rational-grounds-for-our/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [ In \[the soul\] one part naturally rules, and the other is subject, and the virtue of the ruler we maintain to be different from… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/in-the-soul-one-part-naturally-rules-and-the-other-is-subject-and-the/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) ## More by Shalom Auslander > [“Every Jew was the last Jew; Tevye the Terminal, every single one. Yet, Kugel couldn't help but observe, in all that time - no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/every-jew-was-the-last-jew-tevye-the-terminal-every-single-one-yet/) [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) > [“I spent the best years of my life atoning for something I didn't do, something my parents didn't do, something done just about before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/i-spent-the-best-years-of-my-life-atoning-for-something-i-didn-t-do/) [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) > [“The Kugels, Kugel hated to admit, might just have to, in the event of genocide, rely on the kindness of strangers. Mother used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/the-kugels-kugel-hated-to-admit-might-just-have-to-in-the-event-of/) [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) > [Vans are the vehicles of murderers. Serial Killers. Rapists. Thieves. 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It would have been one thing to protect Anne Frank from the Nazis; he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/he-could-pull-this-off-he-was-sure-of-it-it-would-have-been-one-thing/) [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) > [“He took the diary from Mother's hand and turned it over. The heartbreaking something, he read, of a tragic whatever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/he-took-the-diary-from-mother-s-hand-and-turned-it-over-the/) [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) > [Write something dangerous. Say something you shouldn’t. Blow something up. But well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/write-something-dangerous-say-something-you-shouldn-t-blow-something/) [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) > [His intelligence only exacerbated the guilt Kugel felt for bringing him into the world. It was one thing to have condemned a child to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/his-intelligence-only-exacerbated-the-guilt-kugel-felt-for-bringing/) [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) > [Kugel was a firm believer that death was not always a bad thing - that life often reached such levels of crapitude that dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/kugel-was-a-firm-believer-that-death-was-not-always-a-bad-thing-that/) [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) > [“There is hurt in this world. There is pain. Hoping there won't be only makes it worse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/there-is-hurt-in-this-world-there-is-pain-hoping-there-won-t-be-only/) [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) > [“… It was the knowing that there had been a happier time, a place of joy and peace and security, that made the sudden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/it-was-the-knowing-that-there-had-been-a-happier-time-a-place-of-joy/) [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) > [...the greatest source of misery in the world, the greatest cause of anguish and hatred and sadness and death, was neither disease nor race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/the-greatest-source-of-misery-in-the-world-the-greatest-cause-of/) [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) > [“Remember your grandfather's last words, Jonah would tell his children: Life is nothing more than a little why.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/remember-your-grandfather-s-last-words-jonah-would-tell-his-children/) [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) [Explore all 39 Shalom Auslander quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) ## More Anger quotes > [“If I let myself think of it the pain and anger were still fresh, adrenalin racing down my limbs to pool, hot and itchy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-ladd/if-i-let-myself-think-of-it-the-pain-and-anger-were-still-fresh/) [Kylie Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-ladd/) > [I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-receive-something-we-might-euphemistically-call-an-inappropriately/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Anger is a rough water; if you can canalize it into a water mill, you can benefit from it. Anything bad can be transformed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/anger-is-a-rough-water-if-you-can-canalize-it-into-a-water-mill-you/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“When you feel terribly angry, you're possessed by anger ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-feel-terribly-angry-you-re-possessed-by-anger-ghost/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [My care will be in the heart n not in words My anger will be in Words n not in the Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/my-care-will-be-in-the-heart-n-not-in-words-my-anger-will-be-in-words/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-a-negro-in-this-country-and-to-be-relatively-conscious-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect was already in the cause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/the-present-contains-nothing-more-than-the-past-and-what-is-found-in/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/depression-is-merely-anger-without-enthusiasm/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [I always fight better when my opponent's angry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-haye/i-always-fight-better-when-my-opponent-s-angry/) [David Haye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-haye/) > [ “Where there are kashays (anger-pride-deceit-greed), there is worldly life. As long as anger-pride-deceit-greed exist; one is a sansaari \[living a worldly life\] regardless of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-are-kashays-anger-pride-deceit-greed-there-is-worldly/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) [Browse all 7,469 Anger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We are rational creatures, Professor Jove explained; hope is irrational. We thus set ourselves up for one dispiriting fall after the next. 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