My goal is to try to get people into a state of generalized agnosticism, not agnosticism about God alone, but agnosticism about everything.
Robert Anton WilsonRead
There are gods, but there is no God; and all gods become devils eventually.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that while many deities or ideologies exist, none are absolute or flawless, and they can lead to negative consequences over time.
Robert Anton Wilson's quote reflects a critical perspective on the nature of belief and divinity. By asserting that 'there are gods, but there is no God,' he highlights the multiplicity of beliefs and the potential fallibility of all divine representations. The statement that 'all gods become devils eventually' suggests that the ideals and figures we venerate may ultimately lead to harm or corruption, emphasizing the notion that reliance on ultimate authority can result in disillusionment and chaos.
Themes
BeliefDivinityPhilosophyIdeologyDisillusionment
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the nature of belief systems in a philosophy class, this quote can be used to illustrate the evolution of ideas.
More from Robert Anton Wilson
All quotes →There is no governor anywhere. You are all absolutely free. There is no restraint that cannot be escaped. If anybody could go into dhyana at will, nobody could be controlled - by fear of prison, by fear of whips or electroshock, by fear of death, even. All existing society is based on keeping those fears alive, to control the masses. Ten people who know would be more dangerous than a million armed anarchists.
Robert Anton WilsonRead
I see anarchism as the theoretical ideal to which we are all gradually evolving to a point where everybody can tell the truth to everybody else and nobody can get punished for it. That can only happen without hierarchy and without people having the authority to punish other people.
Robert Anton WilsonRead
To work for libertarianism - to oppose the growth of government and aid the liberation of the individual - used to be an idealistic choice taken for purely idealistic reasons. Now it is an act of intelligent and almost desperate self-defense.
Robert Anton WilsonRead
The abandoned infant's cry is rage, not fear.
Robert Anton WilsonRead
The only way to stave off boredom, in a complex domesticated primate like humankind, is to increase one's intelligence. This is not appealing to the average primate, who instead invents emotional games (soap opera and grand opera dramatics).
Robert Anton WilsonRead
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