We have, in fact, two kinds of morality side by side; one which we preach but do not practice, and another which we practice but seldom preach. |
We know too much and feel too little. At least, we feel too little of those creative emotions from which a good life springs. |
We love our habits more than our income, often more than our life. |
We must care about the world of our children and grandchildren, a world we may never see. |
What a man believes upon grossly insufficient evidence is an index into his desires -- desires of which he himself is often unconscious. If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way. |
What hunger is in relation to food, zest is in relation to life |
What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the wish to find out, which is its exact opposite |
What men want is not knowledge, but certainty. |
What the world needs is not dogma but an attitude of scientific inquiry combined with a belief that the torture of millions is not desirable, whether inflicted by Stalin or by a Deity imagined in the likeness of the believer |
What vanity needs for its satisfaction is glory, and it's easy to have glory without power. |
When one admits that nothing is certain one must, I think, also add that some things are more nearly certain than others |
When people begin to philosophize they seem to think it necessary to make themselves artificially stupid |
When the intensity of emotional conviction subsides, a man who is in the habit of reasoning will search for logical grounds in favor of the belief which he finds in himself |
When the journey from means to end is not too long, the means themselves are enjoyed if the end is ardently desired. |
Whether artificial man will be better or worse than the natural sort I do not venture to predict. |