Edward Hoffman > Quotes

“...for their own self-protection, great figures like Socrates, Spinoza, or Galileo in every generation and culture must somehow learn to camouflage their superiority or suffer the painful consequences.”
― Edward Hoffman, The Right to Be Human: A Biography of Abraham Maslow

“...the disappearance in our lives of a sense of the sacred. With nothing to evoke awe, wonder, or devotion, we inevitably feel empty within, Maslow contended, for these are intrinsic human needs. In a similar way, we have lost genuine heroes; the very concept of heroism has become suspect, old-fashioned, and seemingly obsolete. The same has occurred with such traditional virtues as courage, fidelity, and reverence.”
― Edward Hoffman, The Right to Be Human: A Biography of Abraham Maslow

“Maslow was challenging the fundamental premise of modern psychology; that we can devise accurate theories about human nature by studying the mentally ill or the statistically average. Among the specific traits of self-actualizers that he listed and briefly discussed were greater self-acceptance of others, autonomy, spontaneity, esthetic sensitivity, frequent mysticlike or transcendent experiences, a democratic rather than authoritarian outlook, and involvement in a cause or mission outside oneself. Self-actualizing people, too, seemed to possess a good-natured rather than a cruel sense of humor and an earnest desire to improve the lot of humanity. In addition, they tended to seek privacy and detach themselves from much of the petty and trivial socializing taking place around them.”
― Edward Hoffman, The Right to Be Human: A Biography of Abraham Maslow