Arthur Koestler ( 10 of 39 )
...the cosmology of a given age is not the result of unilinear, "scientific" development, but rather the most striking, imaginative read more
...the cosmology of a given age is not the result of unilinear, "scientific" development, but rather the most striking, imaginative symbol of its mentality- the projection of its conflicts, prejudice and specific ways of double-think onto the graceful sky.
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.
Every creative act involves...a new innocence of perception, liberated
from the cataract of accepted belief.
Every creative act involves...a new innocence of perception, liberated
from the cataract of accepted belief.
...in the course of the last century science has become so dizzy with its successes, that it has forgotten to read more
...in the course of the last century science has become so dizzy with its successes, that it has forgotten to ask the pertinent questions- or refused to ask them under the pretext that they are meaningless, and in any case not the scientists concern.
The more backwoodish a social group, juvenile or adult, the stricter its conception of the normal, and the readier it read more
The more backwoodish a social group, juvenile or adult, the stricter its conception of the normal, and the readier it will ridicule any departure from it.
From the psychological point of view, the self-asserting emotions, derived from emergency reactions, involve a narrowing of consciousness; the participatory read more
From the psychological point of view, the self-asserting emotions, derived from emergency reactions, involve a narrowing of consciousness; the participatory emotions an expansion of consciousness by identificatory processes of various kinds.
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 inner censor of the mind of the true believer completes the work of the public censor; his self-discipline is read more
The inner censor of the mind of the true believer completes the work of the public censor; his self-discipline is as tyrannical as the obedience imposed by the regime; he terrorizes his own conscience into submission; he carries his private Iron Curtain inside his skull, to protect his illusions against the intrusion of reality.
The individual is not a killer, but the group is, and by identifying with it the individual is transformed into read more
The individual is not a killer, but the group is, and by identifying with it the individual is transformed into a killer.
...man has an irrepressible tendency to read meaning into the buzzing confusion of sights and sounds impinging on his senses; read more
...man has an irrepressible tendency to read meaning into the buzzing confusion of sights and sounds impinging on his senses; and where no agreed meaning can be found, he will provide it out of his own imagination.
