Maxioms by Arthur Koestler
...one of the tests of a theory is that, once grasped, it appears self-evident.
...one of the tests of a theory is that, once grasped, it appears self-evident.
...we are apt to forget that the vast majority of men and women who fell under the totalitarian spell was read more
...we are apt to forget that the vast majority of men and women who fell under the totalitarian spell was activated by unselfish motives, ready to accept the role of martyr or executioner, as the cause demanded.
Brain-washing starts in the cradle.
Brain-washing starts in the cradle.
Even a cursory glance at history should convince one that individual crimes committed for selfish motives play a quite insignificant read more
Even a cursory glance at history should convince one that individual crimes committed for selfish motives play a quite insignificant part in the human tragedy, compared to the numbers massacred in unselfish loyalty to one's tribe, nation, dynasty, church, or political ideology, ad majorem gloriam dei. The emphasis is on unselfish. Excepting a small minority of mercenary or sadistic disposition, wars are not fought for personal gain, but out of loyalty and devotion to king, country or cause. Homicide committed for personal reasons is a statistical rarity in all cultures, including our own. Homicide for unselfish reasons, at the risk of one's own life, is the dominant phenomenon of history.
The revolutions of thought which shape the basic outlook of an age are not disseminated through text-books- they spread like read more
The revolutions of thought which shape the basic outlook of an age are not disseminated through text-books- they spread like epidemics, through contamination by invisible agents and innocent germ carriers, by the most varied forms of contact, or simply by breathing the common air.
