Religion is not a matter of God, church, holy cause, etc. These are but accessories. The source of religious preoccupation is in the self, or rather the rejection of the self. Dedication is the obverse side of self-rejection. Man alone is a religious animal because, as Montaigne points out, "it is a malady confined to man, and not seen in any other creature, to hate and despise ourselves.".
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The collective matrix of a science at a given time is determined by a kind of establishment, which includes universities, read more
The collective matrix of a science at a given time is determined by a kind of establishment, which includes universities, learned societies, and, more recently, the editorial offices of technical journals. Like other establishments, they are consciously or unconsciously bent on preserving the status quo- partly because unorthodox innovations are a threat to their authority, but also because of the deeper fear that their laboriously erected an intellectual edifice might collapse under the impact.
The meaning of life is not to be discovered only after death in some hidden, mysterious realm; on the contrary, read more
The meaning of life is not to be discovered only after death in some hidden, mysterious realm; on the contrary, it can be found by eating the succulent fruit of the Tree of Life and by living in the here and now as fully and creatively as we can.
To gauge the understanding and insight that metaphysics provides is to ask whether, in the final analysis, it helps us read more
To gauge the understanding and insight that metaphysics provides is to ask whether, in the final analysis, it helps us to cope with our world and harmonize our existence with nature, humanity, and ourselves, and leads to greater freedom and self-realization. Metaphysics is only the beginning. The end is human progress.
Society is only possible on these terms, that the individual finds therein a strengthening of his own ego and his read more
Society is only possible on these terms, that the individual finds therein a strengthening of his own ego and his own will.
Man only plays when in the full meaning of the word he is a man, and he is only completely read more
Man only plays when in the full meaning of the word he is a man, and he is only completely a man when he plays.
People who have time on their hands will inevitably waste the time of people who have work to do.
People who have time on their hands will inevitably waste the time of people who have work to do.
There is a fundamental difference between the appeal of a mass movement and the appeal of a practical organization. The read more
There is a fundamental difference between the appeal of a mass movement and the appeal of a practical organization. The practical organization offers opportunities for self-advancement, and its appeal is mainly to self-interest. On the other hand, a mass movement, particularly in its active, revivalist phase, appeals not to those intent on bolstering and advancing a cherished self, but to those who crave to be rid of an unwanted self. A mass movement attracts and holds a following not because it can satisfy the desire for self-advancement, but because it can satisfy the passion for self-renunciation.
No one in this world, so far as I know- and I have researched the records for years, and employed read more
No one in this world, so far as I know- and I have researched the records for years, and employed agents to help me- has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.
The Darwinian theory is in principle capable of explaining life. No other theory that has ever been suggested is in read more
The Darwinian theory is in principle capable of explaining life. No other theory that has ever been suggested is in principle capable of explaining life.
