The privilege of absurdity; to which no living creature is subject but man only.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Hobbes claims humans are uniquely capable of absurdity.
- In plain terms
- Only humans do ridiculous things that no other creature does.
- What can you take from it?
- Humans are uniquely prone to absurd behavior.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When have you acted absurdly?
- Are humans the only irrational beings?
Another view
It ignores animal behaviors that might also seem absurd.
More from Thomas Hobbes
:Science is the knowledge of Consequences, and dependence of one fact upon another:
Permalink to quote #9 Sudden glory is the passion which maketh those grimaces called laughter.
Permalink to quote #11 :Understanding being nothing else, but conception caused by Speech.
Permalink to quote #8
Related quotes
There are more fools than knaves in the world, else the knaves would not have enough to live upon.
Samuel ButlerSamuel Butler quote #1 The reciprocal civility of authors is one of the most risible scenes in the farce of life.
Samuel JohnsonSamuel Johnson quote #5 One of humanity's prime drives is to understand and be understood. All other living creatures are designed for highly specialized tasks. Man seems unique as th…
Buckminster FullerBuckminster Fuller quote #18