Ayn Rand Misquote About Evading Reality

Feb 10, 2026 · By Dennis Hackethal · Fork · Check another quote

Original text

He is free to evade reality, he is free to unfocus his mind and stumble blindly down any road he pleases, but not free to avoid the abyss he refuses to see.
The Virtue of Selfishness, Ayn Rand, ‘The Objectivist Ethics’, https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-virtue-of-selfishness/id357924903

Quote text

You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality.
https://x.com/sfliberty/status/2020951113147486330
Ellipsis used (if any): ‘[...]’
Found 19 issue(s) using regular expression \w+ and Minimal algorithm, underlined in wavy red. 
HeYou‧iscan‧free‧to‧evadeavoid‧reality,‧he‧is‧free‧to‧unfocus‧his‧mind‧and‧stumble‧blindly‧down‧any‧road‧he‧pleases,‧but‧not‧freeyou‧tocannot‧avoid‧the‧abyssconsequences‧heof‧refusesavoiding‧to‧seereality.

Explanation

# Part Valid? Explanation
1 
He
 × no Deletions must be indicated, eg by ‘[...]’ or [replacement].
2 
You
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3 
‧
4 
is
 × no Deletions must be indicated, eg by ‘[...]’ or [replacement].
5 
can
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6 
‧
7 
free‧to‧evade
 × no Deletions must be indicated, eg by ‘[...]’ or [replacement].
8 
avoid
 × no Insertions must be surrounded by [brackets].
9 
‧reality,‧
10 
he‧is‧free‧to‧unfocus‧his‧mind‧and‧stumble‧blindly‧down‧any‧road‧he‧pleases,‧
 × no Deletions must be indicated, eg by ‘[...]’ or [replacement].
11 
but‧
12 
not‧free
 × no Deletions must be indicated, eg by ‘[...]’ or [replacement].
13 
you
 × no Insertions must be surrounded by [brackets].
14 
‧
15 
to
 × no Deletions must be indicated, eg by ‘[...]’ or [replacement].
16 
cannot
 × no Insertions must be surrounded by [brackets].
17 
‧avoid‧the‧
18 
abyss
 × no Deletions must be indicated, eg by ‘[...]’ or [replacement].
19 
consequences
 × no Insertions must be surrounded by [brackets].
20 
‧
21 
he
 × no Deletions must be indicated, eg by ‘[...]’ or [replacement].
22 
of
 × no Insertions must be surrounded by [brackets].
23 
‧
24 
refuses
 × no Deletions must be indicated, eg by ‘[...]’ or [replacement].
25 
avoiding
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26 
‧
27 
to‧see
 × no Deletions must be indicated, eg by ‘[...]’ or [replacement].
28 
reality
 × no Insertions must be surrounded by [brackets].
29 
.

Notes

See also https://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/04/30/reality/#68339ac2-a2f6-46a8-b9b9-839883409329.

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