--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We lists because we don't want to die." description: "\"“We lists because we don't want to die.”\" — Umberto Eco" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bd/umberto-eco-313_lists_we-lists-because-we-don-t-want-to-die-20_208179.jpg" --- # We lists because we don't want to die. ![“We lists because we don't want to die.” quote by Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bd/umberto-eco-313_lists_we-lists-because-we-don-t-want-to-die-20_208179.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bd/umberto-eco-313_lists_we-lists-because-we-don-t-want-to-die-20_208179.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bd/umberto-eco-313_lists_we-lists-because-we-don-t-want-to-die-20_208179.jpg) > ““We 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. Humans seek meaning and purpose to avoid confronting mortality. **In simple terms:** We live to avoid death. Key Takeaway Find purpose beyond fear of death. Themes existence meaning mortality Mood reflective serious Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career choices - artistic creation - daily routines Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - What gives your life meaning? - How does fear shape your actions? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Don Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/don-want-237671/) [Lists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lists/) [Lists Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lists-don-1158158/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-die-291663/) ## Related quotes > [We like lists because we don't want to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/we-like-lists-because-we-don-t-want-to-die/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [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, 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/) > [“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!" "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/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [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 started a list of things I want to teach my children, and that list is eight points long. The first one is, do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-roth-eisenberg/i-started-a-list-of-things-i-want-to-teach-my-children-and-that-list/) [Tina Roth-Eisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-roth-eisenberg/) > [The main thing about money is that it makes you do things you don't want to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-holbrook/the-main-thing-about-money-is-that-it-makes-you-do-things-you-don-t/) [Hal Holbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-holbrook/) > [An ex is an ex for a reason, they are an EXample of what you don't want in your future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexia/an-ex-is-an-ex-for-a-reason-they-are-an-example-of-what-you-don-t/) [Alexia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexia/) > [I don't want easy success. It's boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sudeep/i-don-t-want-easy-success-it-s-boring/) [Sudeep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sudeep/) ## 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 Lists quotes > [ I think it is worse \[in 2015\] for a mid-list author such as myself. You either have to sell like Stephen King or go… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-p-kinsella/i-think-it-is-worse-in-2015-for-a-mid-list-author-such-as-myself-you/) [W. P. Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-p-kinsella/) > [Grace is upside-down, to-do-list wrecking, scandalous and way-too free. It's one-way love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/grace-is-upside-down-to-do-list-wrecking-scandalous-and-way-too-free/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [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 started a list of things I want to teach my children, and that list is eight points long. The first one is, do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-roth-eisenberg/i-started-a-list-of-things-i-want-to-teach-my-children-and-that-list/) [Tina Roth-Eisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-roth-eisenberg/) > [If we weigh the significance of a book by the effect it has on its readers, then the great children's books suddenly turn up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-miller/if-we-weigh-the-significance-of-a-book-by-the-effect-it-has-on-its/) [Laura Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-miller/) > [My mom, who's been in the restaurant business for 40 years, is the number-one influence in my life. But I look up to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-ray/my-mom-who-s-been-in-the-restaurant-business-for-40-years-is-the/) [Rachael Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-ray/) > [You look at most of these 'best chef' lists, and there are about nine male chefs and one woman chef. The problem is still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominique-crenn/you-look-at-most-of-these-best-chef-lists-and-there-are-about-nine/) [Dominique Crenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominique-crenn/) > [Wasn't Saddam destroyed? Wasn't Gaddafi liquidated? Didn't Milosevic go to the Hague? All true. But Stalin survived. Kim Jong-un isn't doing too badly, either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fisk/wasn-t-saddam-destroyed-wasn-t-gaddafi-liquidated-didn-t-milosevic-go/) [Robert Fisk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fisk/) > [Our purpose on this earth is not one single event, an accomplishment we can check off a list. There is no test. No passing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-hand/our-purpose-on-this-earth-is-not-one-single-event-an-accomplishment/) [Cynthia Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-hand/) > [It might be different for people that are A-list actors, but a lot of us really look at what's offered to us and look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-noble/it-might-be-different-for-people-that-are-a-list-actors-but-a-lot-of/) [John Noble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-noble/) > [Pastime with good company I love and shall, until I die. Grudge who list, but none deny! So God be pleased, thus live will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-viii-of-england/pastime-with-good-company-i-love-and-shall-until-i-die-grudge-who/) [Henry VIII of England](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-viii-of-england/) > [ \[When I die\], I will decidedly not be regretting missed opportunities for a good time. My regrets will be more along the lines of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-bourdain/when-i-die-i-will-decidedly-not-be-regretting-missed-opportunities/) [Anthony Bourdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-bourdain/) > [When Paris Hilton can top the bestsellers' lists, we are one more Connect Four move closer to Armageddon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-taylor/when-paris-hilton-can-top-the-bestsellers-lists-we-are-one-more/) [Corey Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-taylor/) > [I carry a small sheet of paper in my wallet that has written on it the names of people whose opinions of me matter.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/i-carry-a-small-sheet-of-paper-in-my-wallet-that-has-written-on-it/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [If you asked my kids to describe me, they'd go through a whole list of words before even thinking about Parkinson's. And honestly, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-fox/if-you-asked-my-kids-to-describe-me-they-d-go-through-a-whole-list-of/) [Michael J. Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-fox/) [Browse all 1,832 Lists quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lists/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We 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-lists-because-we-don-t-want-to-die/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Lists" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/we-lists-because-we-don-t-want-to-die/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bd/umberto-eco-313_lists_we-lists-because-we-don-t-want-to-die-20_208179.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bd/umberto-eco-313_lists_we-lists-because-we-don-t-want-to-die-20_208179.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bd/umberto-eco-313_lists_we-lists-because-we-don-t-want-to-die-20_208179.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We 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 lists because we don't want...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/we-lists-because-we-don-t-want-to-die/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/we-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 } } ] } ```