We have to realize that we are as deeply afraid to live and to love as we are to die.
R. D. LaingRead
Alienation as our present destiny is achieved only by outrageous violence perpetrated by human beings on human beings.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Alienation is a result of extreme violence inflicted by people on each other.
R. D. Laing's quote reflects on the profound sense of alienation in society, suggesting that this disconnection among individuals is not a natural state but rather a consequence of the severe violence and brutality orchestrated by humans against one another. It implies that our current existence marked by alienation is a deliberate outcome of our actions and societal structures that promote violence and discord.
Themes
AlienationViolenceHumanityDestinySociety
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the impact of war on society, one might quote Laing to illustrate how violence can lead to alienation.
More from R. D. Laing
All quotes βMadness need not be all breakdown. It may also be break-through. It is potential liberation and renewal as well as enslavement and existential death.
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Whether life is worth living depends on whether there is love in life.
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The experience and behavior that gets labeled schizophrenic is a special strategy that a person invents in order to live in an unlivable situation.
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The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice.
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Here we have the paradox, the potentially tragic paradox, that our relatedness to others is an essential aspect of our being, as is our separateness, but any particular person is not a necessary part of our being.
R. D. LaingRead
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