As quoted in Popper (1973) by Bryan Magee
“The members of a society do not make conscious choices in arriving at a particular way of life. Rather, they make unconscious adaptations.... they know only that a particular choice works, even though it may appear bizarre to an outsider.”
Man's Rise to Civilization (1968), p. 13
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Peter Farb 92
American academic and writer 1929–1980Related quotes
Source: The Virtue of Selfishness: A New Concept of Egoism
“We do not make up history and culture. We simply appear, not by our own choice.”
Great Jewish Short Stories, introduction to the Dell paperback edition (1963)
General sources
Context: We are all such accidents. We do not make up history and culture. We simply appear, not by our own choice. We make what we can of our condition with the means available. We must accept the mixture as we find it — the impurity of it, the tragedy of it, the hope of it.
“To know there is a choice is to have to make the choice: change or stay: river or rock.”
"A Man of the People", p. 104; first published in Asimov's (1995)
Four Ways to Forgiveness (1995)
Attributed to Averroes in Voices of Islam: Voices of change (2007) by Vincent J. Cornell, p. 35