--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We like lists because we don't want to die." description: "\"We like lists because we don't want to die.\" — Umberto Eco" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/umberto-eco-313_lists_we-like-lists-because-we-don-t-want-to-d_892041.jpg" --- # We like lists because we don't want to die. ![“We like lists because we don't want to die.” quote by Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/umberto-eco-313_lists_we-like-lists-because-we-don-t-want-to-d_892041.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/umberto-eco-313_lists_we-like-lists-because-we-don-t-want-to-d_892041.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/umberto-eco-313_lists_we-like-lists-because-we-don-t-want-to-d_892041.jpg) > “We like lists because we don't want to die.” [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He humorously suggests humans create lists to impose order and avoid existential dread. **In simple terms:** Lists give us control over chaos. Key Takeaway Use lists to manage anxiety. Themes order control existential anxiety Mood witty observational Type literary humorous When to use this quote - project planning - personal organization - study habits Key Concepts literature philosophy cognitive psychology Questions to Reflect On - Why do we fear uncertainty? - When do lists become counterproductive? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on lists can stifle spontaneity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ## Related quotes > [“We lists because we don't want to die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/we-lists-because-we-don-t-want-to-die/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [I like lists, I'm controlling, I like order. I'm difficult on every level.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bullock/i-like-lists-i-m-controlling-i-like-order-i-m-difficult-on-every-level/) [Sandra Bullock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bullock/) > [I don't want to die, but I'm also not afraid to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-want-to-die-but-i-m-also-not-afraid-to-die/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you feel like you want to die, it's time to sit down and make a list of all the things you haven't done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deacon-jones/if-you-feel-like-you-want-to-die-it-s-time-to-sit-down-and-make-a/) [Deacon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deacon-jones/) > [“I don't want to die and come back and not remember your face, Will. I don't want to spend another lifetime not knowing who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-allison-moulton/i-don-t-want-to-die-and-come-back-and-not-remember-your-face-will-i/) [Courtney Allison Moulton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-allison-moulton/) > [I don't want'a die... I have other plans!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-henson/i-don-t-want-a-die-i-have-other-plans/) [Jim Henson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-henson/) > [I don't want to die without knowing who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/i-don-t-want-to-die-without-knowing-who-i-am/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [I don't want to die!" "Then you should never been born.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/i-don-t-want-to-die-then-you-should-never-been-born/) [Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/) > [I don't want to die but I ain't keen on living either](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbie-williams/i-don-t-want-to-die-but-i-ain-t-keen-on-living-either/) [Robbie Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robbie-williams/) > [“The list could surely go on, and there is nothing more wonderful than a list, instrument of wondrous hypotyposis.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-list-could-surely-go-on-and-there-is-nothing-more-wonderful-than/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [He who does not want to die should not want to live. For life is tendered to us with the proviso of death. Life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/he-who-does-not-want-to-die-should-not-want-to-live-for-life-is/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [“If that was dying, I don't want to do it again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/if-that-was-dying-i-don-t-want-to-do-it-again/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [I want to live but I want to die. What do I do?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-vizzini/i-want-to-live-but-i-want-to-die-what-do-i-do/) [Ned Vizzini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-vizzini/) > [I don't know how to say it exactly. Only...I want to die as myself. Does that make any sense?' he asks. I shake my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/i-don-t-know-how-to-say-it-exactly-only-i-want-to-die-as-myself-does/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [I always say I want to die on the eighth curtain call. Eight will mean the show's been rather a success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prunella-scales/i-always-say-i-want-to-die-on-the-eighth-curtain-call-eight-will-mean/) [Prunella Scales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prunella-scales/) ## More by Umberto Eco > [I think that at a certain age, say fifteen or sixteen, poetry is like masturbation. But later in life good poets burn their early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/i-think-that-at-a-certain-age-say-fifteen-or-sixteen-poetry-is-like/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [Followers of the occult believe in only what they already know, and in those things that confirm what they have already learned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/followers-of-the-occult-believe-in-only-what-they-already-know-and-in/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“This has nothing to do with realism (even if it explains also realism). A completely real world can be constructed, in which asses fly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/this-has-nothing-to-do-with-realism-even-if-it-explains-also-realism/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“…there’s nothing in this world that demands more caution than the truth. To tell the truth is like leeching one’s own heart...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/there-s-nothing-in-this-world-that-demands-more-caution-than-the/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [The book is like the spoon, scissors, the hammer, the wheel. Once invented, it cannot be improved. You cannot make a spoon that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-book-is-like-the-spoon-scissors-the-hammer-the-wheel-once/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“No algorithm exists for the metaphor, nor can a metaphor be produced by means of a computer’s precise instructions, no matter what the volume…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/no-algorithm-exists-for-the-metaphor-nor-can-a-metaphor-be-produced/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [With all of its defects, the global market makes war less likely, even between the USA and China.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/with-all-of-its-defects-the-global-market-makes-war-less-likely-even/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [The Fundamental Principle that governs - or ought to govern -human affairs if we wish to avoid misunderstandings, conflicts, or pointless utopias, is negotiation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-fundamental-principle-that-governs-or-ought-to-govern-human/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [Any fact becomes important when it's connected to another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/any-fact-becomes-important-when-it-s-connected-to-another/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [American coffee can be a pale solution served at a temperature of 100 degrees centigrade in plastic thermos cups, usually obligatory in railroad stations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/american-coffee-can-be-a-pale-solution-served-at-a-temperature-of-100/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [Listening doesn't mean trying to understand. Anything, however trifling, may be of use one day. What matters is to know something that others don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/listening-doesn-t-mean-trying-to-understand-anything-however-trifling/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [They say that a cat, if it falls from a window and hits its nose, can lose its sense of smell and then, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/they-say-that-a-cat-if-it-falls-from-a-window-and-hits-its-nose-can/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [There are magic moments, involving great physical fatigue and intense motor excitement, that produce visions of people known in the past. As I learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/there-are-magic-moments-involving-great-physical-fatigue-and-intense/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [All poets write bad poetry. Bad poets publish them, good poets burn them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/all-poets-write-bad-poetry-bad-poets-publish-them-good-poets-burn-them/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [There are four kinds of people in this world: cretins, fools, morons, and lunatics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/there-are-four-kinds-of-people-in-this-world-cretins-fools-morons-and/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) [Explore all 600 Umberto Eco quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We like lists because we don't want to die.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Umberto Eco" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/we-like-lists-because-we-don-t-want-to-die/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/we-like-lists-because-we-don-t-want-to-die/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/umberto-eco-313_lists_we-like-lists-because-we-don-t-want-to-d_892041.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/umberto-eco-313_lists_we-like-lists-because-we-don-t-want-to-d_892041.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/umberto-eco-313_lists_we-like-lists-because-we-don-t-want-to-d_892041.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We like lists because we don't want to die.” — Umberto Eco", "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": "Umberto Eco", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We like lists because we don't...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/we-like-lists-because-we-don-t-want-to-die/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/we-like-lists-because-we-don-t-want-to-die/#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 } } ] } ```