In human affairs, the best stimulus for running ahead is to have something we must run from.

In human affairs, the best stimulus for running ahead is to have something we must run from.

Cultures contain many cues and inducements to dissuade the individual from approaching ultimate limits, in much the same way that read more

Cultures contain many cues and inducements to dissuade the individual from approaching ultimate limits, in much the same way that a special warning strip of land around the edge of a baseball field lets a player know that he is about to run into a concrete wall when he is preoccupied with catching the ball. The wider that strip of land and the more sensitive the player is to the changing composition of the ground under his feet as he pursues the ball, the more effective the warning. Romanticizing or lionizing as "individualistic" those people who disregard social cues and inducements increases the danger of head-on collisions with inherent social limits. Decrying various forms of social disapproval is in effect narrowing the warning strip.

Men rarely (if ever) manage to dream up a god superior to themselves. Most gods have the manners and morals read more

Men rarely (if ever) manage to dream up a god superior to themselves. Most gods have the manners and morals of a spoiled child.

He who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because
he is sufficient for himself, read more

He who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because
he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god.

The rule seems to be that those who find no difficulty in deceiving themselves are easily deceived by others. They read more

The rule seems to be that those who find no difficulty in deceiving themselves are easily deceived by others. They are easily persuaded and led.

The affairs of life embrace a multitude of interests, and he who reasons in any one of them, without consulting read more

The affairs of life embrace a multitude of interests, and he who reasons in any one of them, without consulting the rest, is a visionary unsuited to control the business of the world.

The philosophy called individualism is a philosophy of social cooperation and the progressive intensification of the social nexus.

The philosophy called individualism is a philosophy of social cooperation and the progressive intensification of the social nexus.

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.

How much easier is self-sacrifice than self-realization.

How much easier is self-sacrifice than self-realization.