--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the greater part of humankind there…" description: "\"In the greater part of humankind there resides an instinct for survival. It is this which can clutch at straws and effect a rescue from them. It is thi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/820/tanith-lee-3374_clutch_in-the-greater-part-of-humankind-there-r_561216.jpg" --- # In the greater part of humankind there resides an instinct… ![“In the greater part of humankind there resides an instinct for survival. It is this which can clutch at straws and effect a rescue from them. It is this which can, now and then, outwit fate.” quote by Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/820/tanith-lee-3374_clutch_in-the-greater-part-of-humankind-there-r_561216.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/820/tanith-lee-3374_clutch_in-the-greater-part-of-humankind-there-r_561216.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/820/tanith-lee-3374_clutch_in-the-greater-part-of-humankind-there-r_561216.jpg) > “In the greater part of humankind there resides an instinct for survival. It is this which can clutch at straws and effect a rescue from them. It is this which can, now and then, outwit fate.” [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human survival instinct drives people to cling to hope and outwit fate, showing resilience in dire circumstances. **In simple terms:** Survival instinct fuels hope and cleverness. Key Takeaway Trust your inner drive in crises. Themes survival hope resilience Mood determined reflective Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - emergencies - personal challenges - creative problem solving Key Concepts psychology instinct human nature Questions to Reflect On - When have you relied on instinct over logic? - What are the limits of hope? A Different Perspective Instinct may lead to risky gambles. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) [Fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) [Humankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humankind/) [Instinct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instinct/) [Survival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival/) ## Related quotes > [A drowning man will clutch at a straw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/a-drowning-man-will-clutch-at-a-straw/) [Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/) > [I have one instinct stronger than any other thing in life, and that is the instinct for survival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-lagerfeld/i-have-one-instinct-stronger-than-any-other-thing-in-life-and-that-is/) [Karl Lagerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-lagerfeld/) > [Amazingly, we take for granted that instinct for survival, fear of death, must separate us from the happiness of pure and uninterpreted experience, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/amazingly-we-take-for-granted-that-instinct-for-survival-fear-of/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [“In the passing months, the base for their impossible love story had been built on the knowledge that beneath them was earth and above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anat-talshir/in-the-passing-months-the-base-for-their-impossible-love-story-had/) [Anat Talshir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anat-talshir/) > [We're told, often enough, that as a species we are poised on the edge of the abyss. It's possible that our puffed-up, prideful intelligence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/we-re-told-often-enough-that-as-a-species-we-are-poised-on-the-edge/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Our most basic instinct is not for survival but for family. Most of us would give our own life for the survival of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/our-most-basic-instinct-is-not-for-survival-but-for-family-most-of-us/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Creativity to me is the life force that is in us. It’s an animalistic instinct for survival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-tahari/creativity-to-me-is-the-life-force-that-is-in-us-it-s-an-animalistic/) [Elie Tahari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-tahari/) > [“I think I have an instinct for survival, for self-preservation. Perhaps this is what Veronica called cowardice and I called being peaceable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/i-think-i-have-an-instinct-for-survival-for-self-preservation-perhaps/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“There is an art to living that is far above the base human instinct of survival. I want to live beautifully.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennie-allen/there-is-an-art-to-living-that-is-far-above-the-base-human-instinct/) [Jennie Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennie-allen/) > [“Hardship can humble you, but it cannot break you unless you let it. Your instinct for survival will see you through if you’re attuned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-d-jakes-2/hardship-can-humble-you-but-it-cannot-break-you-unless-you-let-it/) [T.D. Jakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-d-jakes-2/) > [“In World War II, some Japanese soldiers preferred to take their own lives rather become prisoners of war. In Saipan hundreds of civilians jumped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harald-welzer/in-world-war-ii-some-japanese-soldiers-preferred-to-take-their-own/) Harald Welzer > [“We use God to justify our actions when in fact it is our own instinct for survival that pushes us on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-moggach/we-use-god-to-justify-our-actions-when-in-fact-it-is-our-own-instinct/) [Deborah Moggach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-moggach/) > [I have an instinct for survival, for self-preservation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/i-have-an-instinct-for-survival-for-self-preservation/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“What is life, except an ongoing instinct for survival? Nature uses that instinct to make us perform; otherwise we would all relax, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piers-anthony/what-is-life-except-an-ongoing-instinct-for-survival-nature-uses-that/) [Piers Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piers-anthony/) > [Our most basic instinct is not for survival but for family. Most of us would give our own life for the survival of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neiviv-eiram-ocsicnarf/our-most-basic-instinct-is-not-for-survival-but-for-family-most-of-us-2/) Neiviv Eiram Ocsicnarf ## More by Tanith Lee > [No one more cynical than an idealist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/no-one-more-cynical-than-an-idealist/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [The humble were the elect of God. Did not the priests teach so, in their gemmed, kingly robes, from their towering pulpits?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/the-humble-were-the-elect-of-god-did-not-the-priests-teach-so-in/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [“Having told of so much beauty, how is it possible to tell of her? There are no words left on the earth in any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/having-told-of-so-much-beauty-how-is-it-possible-to-tell-of-her-there/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [As a child, my mother told me lots of fairy stories, many her own invention. She, too, tended to reverse the norm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/as-a-child-my-mother-told-me-lots-of-fairy-stories-many-her-own/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [“Often misunderstood, Dionysus is far more than a wine deity. He is the Breaker of Chains, who rescues not only the flesh but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/often-misunderstood-dionysus-is-far-more-than-a-wine-deity-he-is-the/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [In the usual way I submitted manuscripts to publishers. This was not so much a feeling that I should be published as a wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/in-the-usual-way-i-submitted-manuscripts-to-publishers-this-was-not/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [Whatever the hell I am, I am Me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/whatever-the-hell-i-am-i-am-me/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [If they had said my writing wasn't good enough, fair enough, that's an opinion. But to say it's too complex is to insult the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/if-they-had-said-my-writing-wasn-t-good-enough-fair-enough-that-s-an/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [“Louisa beheld the grounds and house with the calm pleasure of one who has seen nothing, been nowhere, expects everything, and has little imagination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/louisa-beheld-the-grounds-and-house-with-the-calm-pleasure-of-one-who/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [“Live and let love. Love and let go. Go live.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/live-and-let-love-love-and-let-go-go-live/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [Pirates have always fascinated me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/pirates-have-always-fascinated-me/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [“All the Scarabae—all but one—were crowded in the garden. They watched her. Their grim old faces gave away nothing. Like elderly kiddies at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/all-the-scarabae-all-but-one-were-crowded-in-the-garden-they-watched/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [“She did this not out of fear of him, but out of pity. Because she had come to see the ultimate terrible truth behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/she-did-this-not-out-of-fear-of-him-but-out-of-pity-because-she-had/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [Writing is writing, and stories are stories. Perhaps the only true genres are fiction and nonfiction. And even there, who can be sure?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/writing-is-writing-and-stories-are-stories-perhaps-the-only-true/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [“Tanaquil gently toed the peeve. "I'll unfasten the window. Jump out to the lower roof and run." "Stay and bite," said the peeve.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/tanaquil-gently-toed-the-peeve-i-ll-unfasten-the-window-jump-out-to/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) [Explore all 131 Tanith Lee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) ## More Clutch quotes > [The Louvre! The Louvre has me in its clutches. Every time I'm there rich blessings rain down upon me. I am coming to understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-modersohn-becker/the-louvre-the-louvre-has-me-in-its-clutches-every-time-i-m-there/) [Paula Modersohn-Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-modersohn-becker/) > [...the world has become a photographable present, and the photographed present has been entirely eternalized. Seemingly ripped from the clutch of death, in reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-kracauer/the-world-has-become-a-photographable-present-and-the-photographed/) [Siegfried Kracauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-kracauer/) > [Being aware of the bondage is enough to free you from its clutches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/being-aware-of-the-bondage-is-enough-to-free-you-from-its-clutches/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [Life is like wind. When it blows, it washes everything away, so clutch onto what you are holding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-forgotten/life-is-like-wind-when-it-blows-it-washes-everything-away-so-clutch/) The Forgotten > [In New York’s Times Square a white-clad girl clutches her purse and skirt as an uninhibited sailor plants his lips squarely on hers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-eisenstaedt/in-new-york-s-times-square-a-white-clad-girl-clutches-her-purse-and/) [Alfred Eisenstaedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-eisenstaedt/) > [He's the greatest clutch player I've ever seen. The hell with Jerry West!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-riley/he-s-the-greatest-clutch-player-i-ve-ever-seen-the-hell-with-jerry/) [Pat Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-riley/) > [Go out of the house to see the moon, and 't is mere tinsel; it will not please as when its light shines upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/go-out-of-the-house-to-see-the-moon-and-t-is-mere-tinsel-it-will-not/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Love is like quicksilver in the hand. Leave the fingers open and it stays. Clutch is, and it darts away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/love-is-like-quicksilver-in-the-hand-leave-the-fingers-open-and-it/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [When I finally gathered, invented, stole, simplified, borrowed, and found a publisher for a clutch of reasonably foolproof recipes, I learned I had friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peg-bracken/when-i-finally-gathered-invented-stole-simplified-borrowed-and-found/) [Peg Bracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peg-bracken/) > [The fear of burglars is not only the fear of being robbed, but also the fear of a sudden and unexpected clutch out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-canetti/the-fear-of-burglars-is-not-only-the-fear-of-being-robbed-but-also/) [Elias Canetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-canetti/) > [Are you a thinker, a doer, or a clutch player? The better you are, the greater potential for influence you will have with your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/are-you-a-thinker-a-doer-or-a-clutch-player-the-better-you-are-the/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [I am whatever you make me, nothing more. I am your belief in yourself, your dream of what a people may become… I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-knight-lane/i-am-whatever-you-make-me-nothing-more-i-am-your-belief-in-yourself/) [Franklin Knight Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-knight-lane/) > [As for a signature accessory, I believe in something totally unique that I love and is very personal. It could be a fab pair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-huntington-whiteley/as-for-a-signature-accessory-i-believe-in-something-totally-unique/) [Rosie Huntington-Whiteley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-huntington-whiteley/) > [Boys are just boys after all, but sometimes girls really seem to be the turn of a pale wrist, or the sudden jut of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/boys-are-just-boys-after-all-but-sometimes-girls-really-seem-to-be/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [Christ prayed for those that crucified Him: 'Father, count not this sin against them; they know not what they do.' Archdeacon Stephen prayed for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silouan-the-athonite/christ-prayed-for-those-that-crucified-him-father-count-not-this-sin/) [Silouan the Athonite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silouan-the-athonite/) Browse all 178 Clutch quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In the greater part of humankind there resides an instinct for survival. It is this which can clutch at straws and effect a rescue from them. It is this which can, now and then, outwit fate.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tanith Lee" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/in-the-greater-part-of-humankind-there-resides-an-instinct-for/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Clutch" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/in-the-greater-part-of-humankind-there-resides-an-instinct-for/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/820/tanith-lee-3374_clutch_in-the-greater-part-of-humankind-there-r_561216.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/820/tanith-lee-3374_clutch_in-the-greater-part-of-humankind-there-r_561216.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/820/tanith-lee-3374_clutch_in-the-greater-part-of-humankind-there-r_561216.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In the greater part of humankind there resides an instinct for survival. It is this which can clutch at…” — Tanith Lee", "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": "Tanith Lee", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In the greater part of humankind...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/in-the-greater-part-of-humankind-there-resides-an-instinct-for/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/in-the-greater-part-of-humankind-there-resides-an-instinct-for/#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 } } ] } ```