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“Anyway, the fervent hope of every undisciplined person (even an undisciplined genius) is that his current worthlessness and stupidity is someone else's fault. If鈥攊n the best of cases鈥攊t is society's fault, then society can be made to pay. This sleight-of-hand maneuver transforms the undisciplined into the admirable rebel, at least in his own eyes, and allows him to seek unjustified revenge in the disguise of the revolutionary hero. A more absurd parody of heroic behavior can hardly be imagined.”
― Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief
― Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief
“I like dogs better than men and cats better than dogs and myself best of all, drunk in my underwear looking out the window.”
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“The secret to your existence is right in front of you. It manifests itself as all those things you know you should do, but are avoiding.”
― Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief
― Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief
“Something we cannot see protects us from something we do not understand. The thing we cannot see is culture, in its intrapsychic or internal manifestation. The thing we do not understand is the chaos that gave rise to culture. If the structure of culture is disrupted, unwittingly, chaos returns. We will do anything 鈥 anything 鈥 to defend ourselves against that return.”
― Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief
― Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief
“Anomalies manifest themselves on the border between chaos and order, so to speak, and have a threatening and promising aspect. The promising aspect dominates, when the contact is voluntary, when the exploring agent is up-to-date 鈥 when the individual has explored all previous anomalies, released the 鈥渋nformation鈥 they contained, and built a strong personality and steady 鈥渨orld鈥 from that information.
The threatening aspect dominates, when the contact is involuntary, when the exploring agent is not up-to-date 鈥 when the individual has run away from evidence of his previous errors, failed to extract the information 鈥渓urking behind鈥 his mistakes, weakened his personality, and destabilised his 鈥渨orld.鈥
The phenomenon of interest 鈥 that precursor to exploratory behaviour 鈥 signals the presence of a potentially 鈥渂eneficial鈥 anomaly. Interest manifests itself where an assimilable but novel phenomenon exists: where something new 鈥渉ides,鈥 in a partially comprehensible form. Devout adherence to the dictates of interest 鈥 assuming a suitably disciplined character 鈥 therefore insures stabilisation and renewal of personality and world.
Interest is a spirit beckoning from the unknown 鈥 a spirit calling from outside the 鈥渨alls鈥 of society. Pursuit of individual interest means hearkening to this spirit鈥檚 call 鈥 means journeying outside the protective walls of childhood dependence and adolescent group identification; means also return to and rejuvenation of society.
This means that pursuit of individual interest 鈥 development of true individuality 鈥 is equivalent to identification with the hero. Such identification renders the world bearable, despite its tragedies 鈥 and reduces unnecessary suffering, which most effectively destroys, to an absolute minimum.
This is the message that everyone wants to hear. Risk your security. Face the unknown. Quit lying to yourself, and do what your heart truly tells you to do. You will be better for it, and so will the world.”
― Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief
The threatening aspect dominates, when the contact is involuntary, when the exploring agent is not up-to-date 鈥 when the individual has run away from evidence of his previous errors, failed to extract the information 鈥渓urking behind鈥 his mistakes, weakened his personality, and destabilised his 鈥渨orld.鈥
The phenomenon of interest 鈥 that precursor to exploratory behaviour 鈥 signals the presence of a potentially 鈥渂eneficial鈥 anomaly. Interest manifests itself where an assimilable but novel phenomenon exists: where something new 鈥渉ides,鈥 in a partially comprehensible form. Devout adherence to the dictates of interest 鈥 assuming a suitably disciplined character 鈥 therefore insures stabilisation and renewal of personality and world.
Interest is a spirit beckoning from the unknown 鈥 a spirit calling from outside the 鈥渨alls鈥 of society. Pursuit of individual interest means hearkening to this spirit鈥檚 call 鈥 means journeying outside the protective walls of childhood dependence and adolescent group identification; means also return to and rejuvenation of society.
This means that pursuit of individual interest 鈥 development of true individuality 鈥 is equivalent to identification with the hero. Such identification renders the world bearable, despite its tragedies 鈥 and reduces unnecessary suffering, which most effectively destroys, to an absolute minimum.
This is the message that everyone wants to hear. Risk your security. Face the unknown. Quit lying to yourself, and do what your heart truly tells you to do. You will be better for it, and so will the world.”
― Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief
Our Shared Shelf
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OUR SHARED SHELF IS CURRENTLY DORMANT AND NOT MANAGED BY EMMA AND HER TEAM. Dear Readers, As part of my work with UN Women, I have started reading ...more
The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910
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This is a group for discerning readers looking to discover, explore, and critically discuss some of the World鈥檚 literature, with a primary emphasis on ...more
Kunal鈥檚 2024 Year in Books
Take a look at Kunal鈥檚 Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
3 books
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67 friends
1 book
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11 friends
1 book
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11 friends
13 books
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1,365 friends
2 books
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24 friends
58 books
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592 friends
1 book
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13 friends
2 books
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12 friends
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