“Contemporary intellectuals have given up the Enlightenment assumption that religion, myth, and tradition can be opposed to something ahistorical, something common to all human beings qua human.”

— Richard Rorty

"The priority of democracy to philosophy"

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Richard Rorty 21

American philosopher 1931–2007

Dan Simmons book The Rise of Endymion

Source: The Rise of Endymion (1997), Chapter 33 (p. 677)

“The way out from complication and doubt is to reduce the good to pleasure, something close to the body, or to utility, something useful to the body. … The body is considered as a factor all human beings have in common, hence an easy basis for generalization.”

Harvey Mansfield (1932) Author, professor

How to Understand Politics: What the Humanities Can Say to Science (2007)

“Here is something I have learned the hard way, but which a lot of well-meaning people in the West have a hard time accepting: All human beings are equal, but all cultures and religions are not.”

Ayaan Hirsi Ali (1969) Dutch feminist, author

A culture that celebrates femininity and considers women to be the masters of their own lives is better than a culture that mutilates girls' genitals and confines them behind walls and veils or flogs or stones them for falling in love. A culture that protects women's rights by law is better than a culture in which a man can lawfully have four wives at once and women are denied alimony and half their inheritance. A culture that appoints women to its supreme court is better than a culture that declares that the testimony of a woman is worth half that of a man.
Nomad: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations (2010)

“Before men and women, we are human beings. That is common sense. If you want to do something, go for it.”

Chiaki Mukai (1952) astronaut, medical doctor

Source: Chiaki Mukai – Astronaut - The Heroine Collective http://www.theheroinecollective.com/chiaki-mukai-astronaut/

“How much longer are we going to think it necessary to be "American" before (or in contradistinction to) being cultivated, being enlightened, being humane, & having the same intellectual discipline as other civilized countries?”

Edith Wharton (1862–1937) American novelist, short story writer, designer

Letter to Barrett Wendell (19 July 1919)

“The conflicts today with our fellow human beings are over opposing values and limited access to the necessities of life. If we manage to arrive at a saner future civilization, the conflicts will be against problems common to all humans.”

Jacque Fresco (1916–2017) American futurist and self-described social engineer

Designing the Future (2007)

“Love stories—yeah, there’s something about them. I cry when somebody does something good for somebody, not something horrible. I avoid all the horrible stuff. But to me, when a human being is sincerely generous, or kind or overly helpful to another human being, that’s when I tear up. I just love the idea of love.”

Tom Savini (1946) American actor, stuntman, director and makeup artist

Interview: Tom Savini https://diaboliquemagazine.com/interview-tom-savini/ (August 13, 2013)

“Why to bring revolution? They are also human beings. Why don’t we treat ourselves as human beings? I speak Hindi and you speak your native language, but we are all human beings. Why do you treat them as foreigners? They also want to adapt to our tradition- some are visiting temples, they become vegetarians, some have given up spoons and eat using their hands, they try to become Sadhus. Why do you want to treat them as foreigners, they are human beings! If we get influenced by their tradition, it’s okay. If they get influenced by our tradition, it’s okay. Younger generation who try to emulate them will eventually come back to their native tradition!”

Hariprasad Chaurasia (1938) Indian bansuri player

On Western Culture and the so-called Revolution.
Melodies of Brindavan: Pandit Hariprasad Chourasia

“Human rights are something you were born with. Human rights are your God-given rights. Human rights are the rights that are recognized by all nations of this earth. And any time any one violates your human rights, you can take them to the world court.”

Malcolm X (1925–1965) American human rights activist

The Ballot or the Bullet (1964), Speech in Cleveland, Ohio (April 3, 1964)
Context: When you expand the civil-rights struggle to the level of human rights, you can then take the case of the black man in this country before the nations in the UN. You can take it before the General Assembly. You can take Uncle Sam before a world court. But the only level you can do it on is the level of human rights. Civil rights keeps you under his restrictions, under his jurisdiction. Civil rights keeps you in his pocket. Civil rights means you’re asking Uncle Sam to treat you right. Human rights are something you were born with. Human rights are your God-given rights. Human rights are the rights that are recognized by all nations of this earth. And any time any one violates your human rights, you can take them to the world court.

“Panic: A highly underrated capacity thanks to which individuals are able to indicate clearly that something is wrong…. Given their head, most humans panic with great dignity and imagination. This can be called democratic expression or practical common sense.”

John Ralston Saul The Doubter's Companion

"Panic"
The Doubter's Companion (1994)

“Contemporary intellectuals have given up the Enlightenment assumption that religion, myth, and tradition can be opposed to something ahistorical, something common to all human beings qua human.”

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