"So long as we do not blow our brains out, we have decided life is worth living"
About this Quote
Paracelsus lived in an age when “life is worth living” wasn’t a lifestyle slogan but a daily wager against plague, war, and medical ignorance. He challenged university orthodoxy, traveled, treated the poor, and argued that observation should outrank inherited authority. The quote carries that same skepticism toward grand metaphysics. It’s not metaphysical optimism; it’s a refusal to let philosophy float above the body. The body, stubbornly persisting, is the argument.
The subtext is darker than it first appears. He’s acknowledging suicidal ideation as a live possibility, not a taboo. By putting it on the table, he strips away performative piety. Yet he also smuggles in a harsh consolation: meaning doesn’t need to be proved in advance. If you keep choosing tomorrow, you’re already treating life as valuable, even if you can’t articulate why.
It’s a line that sounds cynical until you notice its quiet mercy: the bar for “faith” is simply not opting out. In a world allergic to certainty, that’s an almost scientific kind of hope.
Quote Details
| Topic | Meaning of Life |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Paracelsus. (2026, February 13). So long as we do not blow our brains out, we have decided life is worth living. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/so-long-as-we-do-not-blow-our-brains-out-we-have-64876/
Chicago Style
Paracelsus. "So long as we do not blow our brains out, we have decided life is worth living." FixQuotes. February 13, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/so-long-as-we-do-not-blow-our-brains-out-we-have-64876/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"So long as we do not blow our brains out, we have decided life is worth living." FixQuotes, 13 Feb. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/so-long-as-we-do-not-blow-our-brains-out-we-have-64876/. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.














