--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Consciousness has forced us into the…" description: "\"Consciousness has forced us into the paradoxical position of striving to be unself-conscious of what we are - hunks of spoiling flesh on disintegrating..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/thomas-ligotti-2073_bones_consciousness-has-forced-us-into-the-par_2605493.png" --- # Consciousness has forced us into the paradoxical position… ![“Consciousness has forced us into the paradoxical position of striving to be unself-conscious of what we are - hunks of spoiling flesh on disintegrating bones.” quote by Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/thomas-ligotti-2073_bones_consciousness-has-forced-us-into-the-par_2605493.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/thomas-ligotti-2073_bones_consciousness-has-forced-us-into-the-par_2605493.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/thomas-ligotti-2073_bones_consciousness-has-forced-us-into-the-par_2605493.png) > “Consciousness has forced us into the paradoxical position of striving to be unself-conscious of what we are - hunks of spoiling flesh on disintegrating bones.” [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human awareness makes us painfully aware of our mortal, decaying bodies, creating a paradox of self-consciousness. **In simple terms:** Being aware of our frailty creates a paradox. Key Takeaway Embrace mortality, act with humility. Themes mortality paradox self-awareness Mood reflective somber Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative writing - philosophical discourse Key Concepts existentialism nihilism Questions to Reflect On - How does recognizing our frailty affect daily choices? - Can self-awareness be a source of strength? A Different Perspective The paradox can lead to paralysis rather than action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bones/) [Conscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscious/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Consciousness Forced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness-forced-801645/) [Disintegrating Bones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disintegrating-bones-1983174/) [Flesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flesh/) [Flesh Disintegrating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flesh-disintegrating-1983176/) [Hunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunk/) [Paradoxical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradoxical/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Position](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/position/) [Strive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strive/) [Striving Unself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/striving-unself-1983175/) [Unself Conscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unself-conscious-1337030/) ## Related quotes > [While a modicum of consciousness may have had survivalist properties during an immemorial chapter of our evolution – so one theory goes – this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/while-a-modicum-of-consciousness-may-have-had-survivalist-properties/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [“For the rest of the earth’s organisms, existence is relatively uncomplicated. Their lives are about three things: survival, reproduction, death—and nothing else. But we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/for-the-rest-of-the-earth-s-organisms-existence-is-relatively-2/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [“With the compelling convincingness of dreams, which are vague yet exact, the ghost voice draws us (to ourselves and all of our component selves),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-zimmer/with-the-compelling-convincingness-of-dreams-which-are-vague-yet/) [Heinrich Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-zimmer/) > [Fear is the penalty of consciousness forced to stare at itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/fear-is-the-penalty-of-consciousness-forced-to-stare-at-itself/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [We do not die because we have to die; we die because one day, and not so long ago, our consciousness was forced to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/we-do-not-die-because-we-have-to-die-we-die-because-one-day-and-not/) [Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/) > [“When we play with the unself-conscious concentration of a child, this is: art: prayer: love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-we-play-with-the-unself-conscious-concentration-of-a-child-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What I call innocence is the spirit's unself-conscious state at any moment of pure devotion to any object. It is at once a receptiveness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/what-i-call-innocence-is-the-spirit-s-unself-conscious-state-at-any/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“An important spiritual law is here involved. I have explained that you can weaken his prayers by diverting his attention from the Enemy Himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/an-important-spiritual-law-is-here-involved-i-have-explained-that-you/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“White people can be so unself-conscious. It’s offensive, charming, and pathetic, all at the same time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-browning/white-people-can-be-so-unself-conscious-it-s-offensive-charming-and/) [Barbara Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-browning/) > [“The language of Cat's generation was far harder than that of her own, and more pithily correct: in their terms, he was a hunk.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/the-language-of-cat-s-generation-was-far-harder-than-that-of-her-own/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [The charm, one might say the genius, of memory is that it is choosy, chancy and temperamental.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/the-charm-one-might-say-the-genius-of-memory-is-that-it-is-choosy/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [The planets are not hunks of stuff out there but nodes of vibration that resonate in multiple dimensions that enfold themselves into one another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/the-planets-are-not-hunks-of-stuff-out-there-but-nodes-of-vibration/) [William Irwin Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-irwin-thompson/) > [All you have to do is pick up a baseball. It begs to you: throw me. If you took a year to design an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-dravecky/all-you-have-to-do-is-pick-up-a-baseball-it-begs-to-you-throw-me-if/) [Dave Dravecky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-dravecky/) > [In a world gone bad, a bear - even a bear standing on its head - is a comforting, uncomplicated, dependable hunk of sanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-brown/in-a-world-gone-bad-a-bear-even-a-bear-standing-on-its-head-is-a/) [Pam Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-brown/) > [We live on a hunk of rock and metal that circles a humdrum star that is one of 400 billion other stars that make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-live-on-a-hunk-of-rock-and-metal-that-circles-a-humdrum-star-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## More by Thomas Ligotti > [“Subsequently there ensues an epoch of complex, proliferating intrigues and conspiracies among the ranks of double agents, whose agendas become so densely intertwined that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/subsequently-there-ensues-an-epoch-of-complex-proliferating-intrigues/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [“The point that in the absence of birth nobody exists who can be deprived of happiness is terribly conspicuous. For optimists, this fact plays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/the-point-that-in-the-absence-of-birth-nobody-exists-who-can-be/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [“The worst fear of the race yes, the world suddenly transformed into a senseless nightmare, horrible dissolution of things. Nothing compares, even oblivion is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/the-worst-fear-of-the-race-yes-the-world-suddenly-transformed-into-a/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [“In supernatural horror stories, however, magical thinking is a completely different matter. 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So if we have blundered by regarding consciousness as a blunder, why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/nature-proceeds-by-blunders-that-is-its-way-it-is-also-ours-so-if-we/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [We live in a permanent state of bad faith, a mutual representation of ourselves to one another for the sake of remaining sane and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/we-live-in-a-permanent-state-of-bad-faith-a-mutual-representation-of/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [“The darkness of the grotesque is an immortal enigma: in all legends of the dead, in all the tales of creatures of the night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/the-darkness-of-the-grotesque-is-an-immortal-enigma-in-all-legends-of/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [“If truth is what you seek, then the examined life will only take you on a long ride to the limits of solitude and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/if-truth-is-what-you-seek-then-the-examined-life-will-only-take-you/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [“The dismembered limbs of dolls and puppets are strewn about everywhere. Posters, signs, billboards, and leaflets of various sorts are scattered around like playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/the-dismembered-limbs-of-dolls-and-puppets-are-strewn-about/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [“As I drifted along with my bodiless invisibility, I felt myself more and more becoming an empty, floating shape, seeing without being seen and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/as-i-drifted-along-with-my-bodiless-invisibility-i-felt-myself-more/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [“The lessons in measurement of cloacal forces. Time as a flow of sewage. The excrement of space, scatology of creation. The voiding of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/the-lessons-in-measurement-of-cloacal-forces-time-as-a-flow-of-sewage/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [And the worst possible thing we could know — worse than knowing of our descent from a mass of microorganisms — is that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/and-the-worst-possible-thing-we-could-know-worse-than-knowing-of-our/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [“Only catatonics and coma patients can persevere in a dignified withdrawal from life’s rattle and hum. Without a “yes” in our hearts, nothing would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/only-catatonics-and-coma-patients-can-persevere-in-a-dignified/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) [Explore all 187 Thomas Ligotti quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) ## More Bones quotes > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [May nothing entice me till I happily make my way to Jesus Christ! Fire, cross, struggles with wild beasts, wrenching of bones, mangling of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ignatius-of-antioch/may-nothing-entice-me-till-i-happily-make-my-way-to-jesus-christ-fire/) [Ignatius of Antioch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ignatius-of-antioch/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [“We are preaching hope, standing on the bones of the past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rucyahana/we-are-preaching-hope-standing-on-the-bones-of-the-past/) [John Rucyahana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rucyahana/) > [Men are fair, and they have learned not to personalize anger - they can disagree with you and argue to the bone, but afterward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/men-are-fair-and-they-have-learned-not-to-personalize-anger-they-can/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [I separated the joints, the arm joints, the leg joints, and had to do two boilings. I think I used four boxes of Soilex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-dahmer/i-separated-the-joints-the-arm-joints-the-leg-joints-and-had-to-do/) [Jeffrey Dahmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-dahmer/) > [Flesh forgets. Bone remembers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefferson-bass/flesh-forgets-bone-remembers/) [Jefferson Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefferson-bass/) > [One of my favorite poets, Neruda, writes close to the bone. Though I know only a little Spanish, I like to compare the Spanish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-diament/one-of-my-favorite-poets-neruda-writes-close-to-the-bone-though-i/) [Anita Diament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-diament/) > [Death and burial were a public spectacle. 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