A rising mass movement attracts and holds a following not by its doctrine and promises but by the refuge it offers from the anxieties, barrenness and meaningless of an individual existence. It cures the poignantly frustrated not by conferring upon them an absolute truth or by remedying the difficulties and abuses which made their lives miserable, but by freeing them from their ineffectual selves- and it does this by enfolding and absorbing them into a closely knit and exultant corporate whole.
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To the extent that philosophical positions both confuse us and close doors to further inquiry, they are likely to be read more
To the extent that philosophical positions both confuse us and close doors to further inquiry, they are likely to be wrong...
Man can be chained, but he cannot be domesticated.
Man can be chained, but he cannot be domesticated.
It is only because the majority opinion will always be opposed by some that our knowledge and understanding progress. In read more
It is only because the majority opinion will always be opposed by some that our knowledge and understanding progress. In the process by which opinion is formed, it is very probable that, by the time any view becomes a majority view, it is no longer the best view: somebody will already have advanced beyond the point which the majority have reached. It is because we do not yet which of the many competing new opinions will prove itself the best that we wait until it has gained sufficient support.
Mathematics is as little a science as grammar is a language.
Mathematics is as little a science as grammar is a language.
History is on every occasion the record of that which one age finds worthy of note in another.
History is on every occasion the record of that which one age finds worthy of note in another.
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.
The fanatic is not really a stickler to principle. He embraces a cause not primarily because of its justness or read more
The fanatic is not really a stickler to principle. He embraces a cause not primarily because of its justness or holiness but because of his desperate need for something to hold onto.
Society exists only as a mental concept; in the real world there are only individuals.
Society exists only as a mental concept; in the real world there are only individuals.
Literacy is not, as it is considered in our schools, a PORTION of education. It IS education. It is at read more
Literacy is not, as it is considered in our schools, a PORTION of education. It IS education. It is at once the ability AND the inclination of the mind to find knowledge, to pursue understanding, and out of knowledge and understanding, not out of received attitudes and values or emotional responses, however "worthy," to make judgments.
