...brainpower is the scarcest commodity and the only one of real value.

...brainpower is the scarcest commodity and the only one of real value.

It is by becoming increasingly complex that the self might be said to grow.

It is by becoming increasingly complex that the self might be said to grow.

The more adaptability exists for a given kind of decision, the less risky it is to make plans for the read more

The more adaptability exists for a given kind of decision, the less risky it is to make plans for the future, and therefore the more likely it is that more people will make more plans in such areas.

...it is largely because civilization enables us constantly to profit from knowledge which we individually do not possess and because read more

...it is largely because civilization enables us constantly to profit from knowledge which we individually do not possess and because each individual's use of his particular knowledge may serve to assist others unknown to him in achieving their ends that men as members of civilized society can pursue their individual ends so much more successfully than they could alone.

When the weak want to give an impression of strength they hint menacingly at their capacity for evil. It is read more

When the weak want to give an impression of strength they hint menacingly at their capacity for evil. It is by its promise of a sense of power that evil often attracts the weak.

A hurtful act is the transference to others of the degradation which we bear in ourselves.

A hurtful act is the transference to others of the degradation which we bear in ourselves.

Probably the difference between man and the monkeys is that the monkeys are merely bored, while man has boredom plus read more

Probably the difference between man and the monkeys is that the monkeys are merely bored, while man has boredom plus imagination.

If you cannot be the master of your language, you must be its slave. If you cannot examine your thoughts, read more

If you cannot be the master of your language, you must be its slave. If you cannot examine your thoughts, you have no choice but to think them, however silly they may be.

Whence come these hatreds...? They are an expression of a desperate effort to suppress an awareness of our inadequacy, worthlessness, read more

Whence come these hatreds...? They are an expression of a desperate effort to suppress an awareness of our inadequacy, worthlessness, guilt and other shortcomings of the self. Self-contempt is here transmuted into hatred of others- and there is a most determined and persistent effort to mask this switch.