“Men of today seem to feel more acutely than ever the paradox of their condition.”
Part I : Ambiguity and Freedom
The Ethics of Ambiguity (1947)
Context: Men of today seem to feel more acutely than ever the paradox of their condition. They know themselves to be the supreme end to which all action should be subordinated, but the exigencies of action force them to treat one another as instruments or obstacles, as means. The more widespread their mastery of the world, the more they find themselves crushed by uncontrollable forces.
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Simone de Beauvoir152
French writer, intellectual, existentialist philosopher, po… 1908–1986Related quotes
“The busier we are, the more acutely we feel that we live, the more conscious we are of life.”
Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) German philosopher
Leanne Wood (1971) Welsh Plaid Cymru politician
Leanne Wood: Abuse aimed at women 'worse than ever' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-44297300, BBC News, 30 May 2018 <br class="br">2018
“Today these ideas are more influential than they ever have been.”
Kenneth Rexroth (1905–1982) American poet, writer, anarchist, academic and conscientious objector
Introduction : The Libertarian Tradition
Communalism (1974)
Context: People who believe in libertarian communism can be grouped roughly under three general theories, each with its old masters, theoreticians, leaders, organizations, and literature. First there are the anarchists in a rather limited variety: communist-anarchists, mutualists, anarcho-syndicalists, individual anarchists, and a few minor groups and combinations. Second, the members of intentional communities, usually but by no means always religious in inspiration. The words “communalism” and “communalist” seem to have died out and it would be good to appropriate them to this group, although the by now too confusing word “communist” actually fits them best of all. Third, there are the Left Marxists, who prior to 1918 had become a widespread movement challenging the Social Democratic Second International. It was to them the Bolsheviks appealed for support in the early days of their revolution. Lenin’s The State and Revolution is an authoritarian parody of their ideas. They in turn have called it “the greatest pre-election pamphlet ever written: ‘Elect us and we will wither away’.” Against them Lenin wrote Leftism: An Infantile Disorder. There is a story that, when the Communist International was formed, a delegate objected to the name. Referring to all these groups he said: “But there are already communists.” Lenin answered: “Nobody ever heard of them, and when we get through with them nobody ever will.” Today these ideas are more influential than they ever have been.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1934) Hungarian American psychologist
Source: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
“The struggle against the religious absurdity is more than ever a necessity today.”
Benito Mussolini (1883–1945) Duce and President of the Council of Ministers of Italy. Leader of the National Fascist Party and subsequen…
1900s, God Does Not Exist (1904)
“Paradoxically, the ability to be alone is the condition for the ability to love.”
Erich Fromm book The Art of Loving
Source: The Art of Loving
David Hume book A Treatise of Human Nature
Part 4, Section 3
A Treatise of Human Nature (1739-40), Book 1: Of the understanding
