Many of us saw religion as harmless nonsense. Beliefs might lack all supporting evidence but, we thought, if people needed a crutch for consolation, where's the harm? September 11th changed all that.
Richard DawkinsRead
A chair is the first thing you need when you don’t really need anything, and is therefore a peculiarly compelling symbol of civilization. For it is civilization, not survival, that requires design.
Interpretation
A chair symbolizes the essence of civilization, highlighting the need for design over mere survival.
This quote by Ralph Caplan suggests that a chair represents more than just a functional object; it embodies the complexities of human civilization where design plays a crucial role. When one has moved beyond the basic needs of survival, the creation and appreciation of designed items like a chair reflect the sophistication and values of a society.
In practice
Using this quote in a discussion about the importance of design in everyday objects.
Many of us saw religion as harmless nonsense. Beliefs might lack all supporting evidence but, we thought, if people needed a crutch for consolation, where's the harm? September 11th changed all that.
The disruptive powers of excessive national fecundity may have played a greater part in bursting the bonds of convention than either the power of ideas or the errors of autocracy.
Compromise used to mean that half a loaf was better than no bread. Among modern statesmen it really seems to mean that half a loaf; is better than a whole loaf.
Judaism boasts of no exclusive revelation of eternal truths that are indispensable to salvation, of no revealed religion in the sense in which that term is usually understood.
If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.
The future is the worst thing about the present.
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