"Perhaps one reason for the falling-off of belief in a continuance of conscious existence is to be found in the quality of life that most of us lead. There is not much in it with which, in any kind of reason, one can associate the idea of immortality"
About this Quote
His phrasing does quiet damage. “Continuance of conscious existence” sounds clinical, almost bureaucratic, stripping the afterlife of its consolations. Then comes the knife: “the quality of life that most of us lead.” Not “some,” not “in certain quarters.” “Most of us” makes it a collective indictment, including the reader. And the line “in any kind of reason” dismisses easy sentimentality; he’s not interested in hoping your way into metaphysics. Immortality, in Nock’s frame, must be earned by a life that feels contiguous with higher things: contemplation, beauty, moral seriousness, inner freedom.
Context matters: writing out of an early 20th-century world of mass society, industrial routine, and the expanding administrative state, Nock often treated modernity as a machine for flattening the individual. Here, disbelief becomes less a triumph of science than a symptom of cultural depletion. The subtext is bracing: if you want grand beliefs, cultivate a life that can bear their weight.
Quote Details
| Topic | Mortality |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Nock, Albert J. (2026, January 17). Perhaps one reason for the falling-off of belief in a continuance of conscious existence is to be found in the quality of life that most of us lead. There is not much in it with which, in any kind of reason, one can associate the idea of immortality. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/perhaps-one-reason-for-the-falling-off-of-belief-63334/
Chicago Style
Nock, Albert J. "Perhaps one reason for the falling-off of belief in a continuance of conscious existence is to be found in the quality of life that most of us lead. There is not much in it with which, in any kind of reason, one can associate the idea of immortality." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/perhaps-one-reason-for-the-falling-off-of-belief-63334/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Perhaps one reason for the falling-off of belief in a continuance of conscious existence is to be found in the quality of life that most of us lead. There is not much in it with which, in any kind of reason, one can associate the idea of immortality." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/perhaps-one-reason-for-the-falling-off-of-belief-63334/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
