Don't take shadows too seriously. Reality is your only safety. Continue to reject illusion.
Wole SoyinkaRead
See, even despite pious statements to the contrary, much of the industrialized world has not yet come to terms with the recognition of the fallacy of what I call the strong man syndrome.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote critiques a prevalent mindset in the industrialized world that emphasizes a strong, aggressive approach to problems, often ignoring deeper issues.
Wole Soyinka's quote delves into the concept of 'strong man syndrome,' which refers to the belief that power and strength are the ultimate solutions to challenges facing society. Despite claims of goodwill or moral superiority, many individuals and institutions cling to this misguided notion, undermining the need for genuine understanding and collaborative solutions to complex social issues.
Themes
Strong Man SyndromePowerAggressionSocietyIndustrialized World
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech discussing leadership, one might quote this to illustrate the failure of brute force in addressing societal issues.
More from Wole Soyinka
All quotes →Trading and religion have always been aligned together in the history of the world, and especially on the African continent.
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A war, with its attendant human suffering, must, when that evil is unavoidable, be made to fragment more than buildings: It must shatter the foundations of thought and re-create. Only in this way does every individual share in the cataclysm and understand the purpose of sacrifice.
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Rwanda, which is one of the younger independent states in Africa, must be regarded as a model of how great human trauma can be transformed to commence true reconstruction of people. Human trauma can lead to stunted growth and mass withdrawal.
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I have a kind of magnetic attraction to situations of violence.
Wole SoyinkaRead
Art is solace; art is vision, and when I pick up a literary work, I am a consumer of literature for its own sake.
Wole SoyinkaRead
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