--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How absurd men are! They never use the…" description: "\"How absurd men are! They never use the liberties they have, they demand those they do not have. They have freedom of thought, they demand freedom of sp..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/soren-kierkegaard-578_absurd_how-absurd-men-are-they-never-use-the-li_973509.jpg" --- # How absurd men are! They never use the liberties they… ![“How absurd men are! They never use the liberties they have, they demand those they do not have. They have freedom of thought, they demand freedom of speech.” quote by Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/soren-kierkegaard-578_absurd_how-absurd-men-are-they-never-use-the-li_973509.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/soren-kierkegaard-578_absurd_how-absurd-men-are-they-never-use-the-li_973509.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/soren-kierkegaard-578_absurd_how-absurd-men-are-they-never-use-the-li_973509.jpg) > “How absurd men are! They never use the liberties they have, they demand those they do not have. They have freedom of thought, they demand freedom of speech.” [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often claim rights they never truly exercise, demanding freedoms they don’t value. **In simple terms:** People demand freedoms they don’t use. Key Takeaway Align claimed freedoms with actual practice. Themes freedom responsibility hypocrisy Mood reflective critical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - political discourse - personal relationships - activism - public policy Key Concepts existentialism social contract Questions to Reflect On - Do you truly exercise the freedoms you claim? - How can societies encourage responsible use of liberty? A Different Perspective Rights without responsibility can erode genuine liberty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Freedom of speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-of-speech/) [Freedom of thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-of-thought/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) ## Related quotes > [People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they seldom use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/people-demand-freedom-of-speech-to-make-up-for-the-freedom-of-thought-2/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/people-demand-freedom-of-speech-as-a-compensation-for-the-freedom-of/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kierkegaard-research-centre/people-demand-freedom-of-speech-to-make-up-for-the-freedom-of-thought/) Kierkegaard Research Centre > [People hardly ever make use of the freedom they have, for example, freedom of thought; instead they demand freedom of speech as a compensation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/people-hardly-ever-make-use-of-the-freedom-they-have-for-example/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [“People hardly ever make use of the freedom which they have, for example, freedom of thought; instead they demand freedom of speech as compensation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-ren-kierkegaard/people-hardly-ever-make-use-of-the-freedom-which-they-have-for/) [Søren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-ren-kierkegaard/) > [“Political correctness is a loaded gun that the individual holds to their own head. Where laws can’t stomp on freedom of speech, automatons rule…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-scott-senior-fellow-the-center-for-cyber-influence-operations-studies/political-correctness-is-a-loaded-gun-that-the-individual-holds-to/) James Scott, Senior Fellow, The Center for Cyber Influence Operations Studies > [First Amendment freedoms are most in danger when the government seeks to control thought or to justify its laws for that impermissible end. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-kennedy/first-amendment-freedoms-are-most-in-danger-when-the-government-seeks/) [Anthony Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-kennedy/) > [“Freedom of speech is detestable only to those who have no desire to think for themselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/freedom-of-speech-is-detestable-only-to-those-who-have-no-desire-to/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [Freedom of speech is useless without freedom of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spiro-t-agnew/freedom-of-speech-is-useless-without-freedom-of-thought/) [Spiro T. Agnew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spiro-t-agnew/) > [“Thus freedom of thought, in any valuable sense, includes freedom of speech.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bagnell-bury/thus-freedom-of-thought-in-any-valuable-sense-includes-freedom-of/) [John Bagnell Bury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bagnell-bury/) > [ “In the Hindu religion, one can\[not\] have freedom of speech. A Hindu must surrender his freedom of speech. He must act according to the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-r-ambedkar-2/in-the-hindu-religion-one-can-not-have-freedom-of-speech-a-hindu-must/) [B.R. Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar-2/) > [“FIRST AMENDMENT No one shall give a damn about your religion. Freedom of speech doesn’t mean you can say whatever you want about prayer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trae-crowder/first-amendment-no-one-shall-give-a-damn-about-your-religion-freedom/) [Trae Crowder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trae-crowder/) > [And why do we, who say we oppose tyranny and demand freedom of speech, allow people to go to prison and be vilified, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-icke/and-why-do-we-who-say-we-oppose-tyranny-and-demand-freedom-of-speech/) [David Icke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-icke/) > [There is no opinion, however absurd, which men will not readily embrace as soon as they can be brought to the conviction that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/there-is-no-opinion-however-absurd-which-men-will-not-readily-embrace/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Every man knows about a particular body part that often seems to have a mind of its own. And every woman knows how absurd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/every-man-knows-about-a-particular-body-part-that-often-seems-to-have/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) ## More by Soren Kierkegaard > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Christians remind me of schoolboys who want to look up the answers to their math problems in the back of the book rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christians-remind-me-of-schoolboys-who-want-to-look-up-the-answers-to/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [People commonly travel the world over to see rivers and mountains, new stars, garish birds, freak fish, grotesque breeds of human; they fall into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/people-commonly-travel-the-world-over-to-see-rivers-and-mountains-new/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [“A strange thing happened to me in my dream. I was rapt into the Seventh Heaven. There sat all the gods assembled. As a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-strange-thing-happened-to-me-in-my-dream-i-was-rapt-into-the/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [That which is truly human no generation learns from the one before it. No generation learns from another how to love. No generation has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/that-which-is-truly-human-no-generation-learns-from-the-one-before-it/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [A man may perform astonishing feats and comprehend a vast amount of knowledge, and yet have no understanding of himself. But suffering directs a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-man-may-perform-astonishing-feats-and-comprehend-a-vast-amount-of/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Be that self which one truly is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/be-that-self-which-one-truly-is/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [I go fishing for a thousand monsters in the depths of my own self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-go-fishing-for-a-thousand-monsters-in-the-depths-of-my-own-self/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [In addition to my other numerous acquaintances, I have one more intimate confidant… My depression is the most faithful mistress I have known —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/in-addition-to-my-other-numerous-acquaintances-i-have-one-more/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [The greatest danger to Christianity is, I contend, not heresies, not heterodoxies, not atheists, not profane secularism - no, but the kind of orthodoxy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-greatest-danger-to-christianity-is-i-contend-not-heresies-not/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Future is everything that past has forgotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/future-is-everything-that-past-has-forgotten/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Without risk, faith is an impossibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/without-risk-faith-is-an-impossibility/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [I have only one confidant, and that is the silence of night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-have-only-one-confidant-and-that-is-the-silence-of-night/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [A road well begun is the battle half won. The important thing is to make a beginning and get under way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-road-well-begun-is-the-battle-half-won-the-important-thing-is-to/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [I have, I believe, the courage to doubt everything; I have, I believe, the courage to fight against everything; but I do not have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-have-i-believe-the-courage-to-doubt-everything-i-have-i-believe-the/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) [Explore all 462 Soren Kierkegaard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) ## More Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "How absurd men are! They never use the liberties they have, they demand those they do not have. 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