We are so afraid of the idea of having to die... that we always try to find excuses for the dead, as if we were asking beforehand to be excused when it is our turn.
Interpretation
This quote reflects our fear of death and how it leads us to rationalize our existence and mortality.
Jose Saramago's quote delves into the human condition, specifically our intrinsic fear of death. It suggests that, in our fear, we often create mental justifications for mortality, which can manifest as excuses or distancing ourselves from the reality of our own impermanence. By pondering our eventual death, we ironically attempt to excuse ourselves from the anxiety it incurs, as if preparing ourselves beforehand for an inevitable fate.
In practice
This quote can be shared during a philosophical discussion on mortality and human fears.
Why did we become blind, I don't know, perhaps one day we'll find out, Do you want me to tell you what I think, Yes, do, I don't think we did go blind, I think we are blind, Blind but seeing, Blind people who can see, but do not see.
I can't imagine myself outside any kind of social or political involvement. Yes, I'm a writer, but I live in this world, and my writing doesn't exist on a separate level. And if people know who I am and read my books, well, good; that way, if I have something more to say, then everyone benefits.
...you have to leave the island in order to see the island, that we can't see ourselves unless we become free of ourselves, Unless we escape from ourselves you mean, No, that's not the same thing.
Whether we like it or not, the one justification for the existence of all religions is death, they need death as much as we need bread to eat.
With the passage of time, as well as the social evolution and genetic exchange, we ended up putting our conscience in the color of our blood and the salt of our tears.
En ningún momento de la historia, en ningún lugar del planeta, las religiones han servido para que los seres humanos se acerquen unos a los otros. Por el contrario, sólo han servido para separar, para quemar, para torturar. No creo en dios, no lo necesito y además soy buena persona.
By adopting the control strategy, the nation's environmental program has created a built-in antagonism between environmental quality and economic growth.
Bad ideas flourish because they are in the interest of powerful groups.
Those who are accustomed to judge by feeling do not understand the process of reasoning, because they want to comprehend at a glance and are not used to seeking for first principles. Those, on the other hand, who are accustomed to reason from first principles do not understand matters of feeling at all, because they look for first principles and are unable to comprehend at a glance.
It will, I believe, be everywhere found, that as the clergy are, or are not what they ought to be, so are the rest of the nation.
If what the heart approves conforms to proper patterns, then even if one's desires are many, what harm would they be to good order?
The good fortune of America is closely tied to the good fortune of all humanity.
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