Human history begins with man's act of disobedience which is at the same time the beginning of his freedom and the development of his reason.
Interpretation
Disobedience marks the start of human freedom and reasoning.
This quote by Erich Fromm highlights the transformative role of disobedience in human history, suggesting that the act of going against established norms or rules signifies the onset of individual freedom and the evolution of rational thought. Rather than viewing disobedience solely as a negative action, Fromm presents it as a crucial step in humanity's journey towards autonomy and the capacity for critical thinking.
In practice
In a discussion about individual rights and freedoms, one might reference this quote to emphasize the importance of questioning authority.
Love, experienced thus, is a constant challenge; it is not a resting place, but a moving, growing, working together; even whether there is harmony or conflict; joy or sadness, is secondary to the fundamental fact that two people experience themselves from the essence of their existence, that they are only one with each other by being one with themselves, rather than by fleeing from themselves.
Both dreams and myths are important communications from ourselves to ourselves. If we do not understand the language in which they are written, we miss a great deal of what we know and tell ourselves in those hours when we are not busy manipulating the outside world.
Infantile love follows the principle: "I love because I am loved." Mature love follows the principle: "I am loved because I love." Immature love says: "I love you because I need you." Mature love says: "I need you because I love you.
To have faith requires courage, the ability to take a risk, the readiness even to accept pain and disappointment. Whoever insists on safety and security as primary conditions of life cannot have faith; whoever shuts himself off in a system of defense, where distance and possession are his means of security, makes himself a prisoner. To be loved, and to love, need courage, the courage to judge certain values as of ultimate concern β and to take the jump and to stake everything on these values.
In times of change, learners inherit the earth
In the nineteenth century the problem was that God is dead. In the twentieth century the problem is that man is dead.
The ultimate foundation of a free society is the binding tie of cohesive sentiment.
There are periods of history when the visions of madmen and dope fiends are a better guide to reality than the common-sense interpretation of data available to the so-called normal mind. This is one such period, if you haven't noticed already.
A discussion should be a genuine attempt to explore a subject rather than a battle between competing egos.
When a shepherd goes to kill a wolf, and takes his dog to see the sport, he should take care to avoid mistakes. The dog has certain relationships to the wolf the shepherd may have forgotten.
All necessary truth is its own evidence.
I'm one of those introverted people who simply feels a lot better after spending time alone thinking through ideas and emotions. This is a sign, I've come to think, of a kind of emotional disturbance - a reaction to inner fragility. I wish I were more able to just act and do, rather than constantly have to retreat and examine and think.
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