There is one act par excellence which profanes money by going directly against the law of money, an act for which money is not made. That act is giving.
Jacques EllulRead
The intellectual who wants to do her work properly must today go back to the starting point: the woman whom she knows, and first of all to herself. It is at that level, and at no other, that she ought to begin to think about the world situation.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Self-reflection is essential for understanding the world and one's role in it.
In this quote, Jacques Ellul emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and personal reflection for intellectuals who seek to contribute meaningfully to the world. He suggests that true understanding starts from within, highlighting the necessity of examining one's own identity and experiences as a foundation for analyzing broader social and global issues.
Themes
Self-ReflectionIntrospectionIntellectualismWorldviewUnderstanding
In practice
Example use cases
During a seminar on social issues, one might quote this to encourage students to reflect on their personal experiences.
More from Jacques Ellul
All quotes →It is inconceivable that the God who gives Himself in His Son to save us, should have created some people ordained to evil and damnation. There can only be one predestination to salvation. In and through Jesus Christ all people are predestined to be saved. Our free choice is ruled out in this regard. God wants free people, except in relation to this last and definitive decision. We are not free to decide and choose to be damned.
Jacques EllulRead
Education no longer has a humanist end or any value in itself; it has only one goal, to create technicians.
Jacques EllulRead
We are not to make the Torah into God Himself, nor the Bible into a "paper pope." The Bible is only the result of the Word of God. We can experience the return of the Word of God in the here and now, the perpetual return of the actual, living, indisputable Word of God that makes possible the act of witnessing, but we should never think of the Bible as any sort of talisman or oracle constantly at our disposal that we need only open and read to be in relation to the Word of God and God Himself.
Jacques EllulRead
Technological society leads to increasing numbers of people who cannot adapt to the inhuman rhythm of modern life with its emphasis on specialization. A class of people is growing up who are unexploitable because they are not worth employing even for the minimum wage. Technological progress makes whole categories of people useless without making it possible to support them with the wealth produced by the progress.
Jacques EllulRead
Human life as a whole is not inundated by technique. It has room for activities that are not rationally or systematically ordered. But the collision between spontaneous activities and technique is catastrophic for the spontaneous activities.
Jacques EllulRead
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