“And the pleasures and rewards of the intellect are inseparable from angst, uncertainty, conflict and even despair.”

— Christopher Hitchens, Letters to a Young Contrarian

Source: Letters to a Young Contrarian

Last update June 3, 2021. History

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Christopher Hitchens305

British American author and journalist 1949–2011

Danah Zohar (1945) American writer

Danah Zohar (1997) Using the New Science to Rethink How We Structure and Lead Organizations. p. 14.

“Although our intellect always longs for clarity and certainty, our nature often finds uncertainty fascinating.”

Carl von Clausewitz book On War

On War (1832), Book 1

“[Julian - disguised]
The hunter turns not
Despairing from the chase because the deer
Flies from his pursuit : every obstacle
Becomes a pleasure.”

Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1802–1838) English poet and novelist

The London Literary Gazette, 1821-1822

“Those who believe they believe in God, but without passion in the heart, without anguish of mind, without uncertainty, without doubt, and even at times without despair, believe only in the idea of God, and not in God himself.”

Madeleine L'Engle (1918–2007) American writer

“Those who believe that they believe in God, but without passion in their hearts, without anguish in mind, without uncertainty, without doubt, without an element of despair even in their consolation, believe only in the God idea, not God Himself.”

Miguel de Unamuno (1864–1936) 19th-20th century Spanish writer and philosopher

“Life seems to me essentially passion, conflict, rage… It is only intellect that keeps me sane; perhaps this makes me overvalue intellect against feeling.”

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) logician, one of the first analytic philosophers and political activist

Letter to Lady Ottoline Morrell in 1912, as quoted in Clark The life of Bertrand Russell (1976), p. 174
1910s

“So, in my relationships with men, I’ve always sought suffering, conflict, and despair.”

Paulo Coelho book Aleph

Aleph (2011)

“Uncertainty, doubt, perpetual wrestling with the mystery of our final destiny, mental despair, and the lack of any solid and stable foundation, may be the basis of an ethic.”

Miguel de Unamuno (1864–1936) 19th-20th century Spanish writer and philosopher

The Tragic Sense of Life (1913), XI : The Practical Problem

“What's interesting is, in the months leading up to this, I was probably at the lowest ebb in my life. I was feeling just teenage angst. I didn't know if I wanted to continue living — that kind of despair. I was praying to a God I didn't know was listening.”

Bono (1960) Irish rock musician, singer of U2

On the forming of the band U2
Rolling Stone interview (2005)

“But nothing lasts, not even stone, not even despair.”

Kim Stanley Robinson book Green Mars

Source: Green Mars (1993), Chapter 3, “Long Runout” (p. 127)

“And the pleasures and rewards of the intellect are inseparable from angst, uncertainty, conflict and even despair.”

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