“have had countless debates with determinists over the course of my career as a public intellectual, and every single time, I have had the feeling – and yes, this is not an argument – that we are really only dancing around the core issue, which always remains unspoken.”
― Essential Philosophy: How to know what on earth is going on
― Essential Philosophy: How to know what on earth is going on
“Think about it – why would someone so desperately need to believe that there is no such thing as right or wrong, truth or falsehood, good or evil, personal responsibility, morality, the capacity for love and respect and courage and integrity? What possible motivation could there be for someone to burn from the universe all that glory and joy and possibility? How much horror must they have experienced – or inflicted – in order to call in an airstrike on everything that makes life worth living, everything that gives us meaning, everything that gives us responsibility and self-respect, pride and love, motivation and responsibility?”
― Essential Philosophy: How to know what on earth is going on
― Essential Philosophy: How to know what on earth is going on
“We are constantly told by the government that we are in danger – not from the state, of course, which taxes and conscripts us, starts wars and buries us in national debts – but from our fellow citizens.”
― Essential Philosophy: How to know what on earth is going on
― Essential Philosophy: How to know what on earth is going on
“It is the height of human happiness to have somebody to love. Our agony is that we have all the light and the paint but no canvas to put the art of our hearts on.”
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“If you lack self-knowledge – if you lack the basic understanding of how you have been turned into a machine that serves the state, into a subspecies of tax livestock that serves politicians – then how can you claim to have any real understanding of freedom, let alone free will?”
― Essential Philosophy: How to know what on earth is going on
― Essential Philosophy: How to know what on earth is going on
Alex’s 2024 Year in Books
Take a look at Alex’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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