Mankind today is still making history without having any conscious idea of what it really wants or under what conditions it would stop being unhappy; in fact what it is doing seems to be making itself more unhappy and calling that unhappiness progress.
Interpretation
This quote critiques humanity's pursuit of progress despite increasing unhappiness.
Norman O. Brown reflects on the paradox of human progress, suggesting that despite continuous advancements and historical achievements, individuals and society often lack clarity about their true desires and the conditions necessary for happiness. He posits that this confusion leads to a cycle of unhappiness, where people mistakenly equate their struggles and dissatisfaction with a form of progress, highlighting the need for self-awareness and intentionality in the pursuit of a fulfilling life.
In practice
In a speech about societal progress and its implications on mental health, this quote can highlight the disconnection between achievements and happiness.
I perceive a necessary gap between seeing and being. I would not be able to have said certain things if I had been under the obligation to unify the word and the deed. As it is I can let my words reach out and net impossible things - things that are impossible for me to do. And this is a way to pay the price for saying or seeing things.
Resisting madness is the maddest way of being mad.
The human body is not a thing or substance, given, but a continuous creation. The human body is an energy system which is never a complete structure; never static; is in perpetual inner self-construction and self-destruction; we destroy in order to make it new.
Dear young people, always be missionaries of the Gospel, every day and in every place.
All things are poisons, for there is nothing without poisonous qualities. It is only the dose which makes a thing poison.
All Religions. All This Singing. One Song. Peace Be With You.
Money isn't automatically freedom. You need to look carefully at what you're doing to earn the money before you can conclude that you are, in practice, free. This is a cost-benefit analysis we should all perform on our own lives.
Today the logic goes something like this: 'Calling a ruler Son of God is out of style. No one really does that nowadays. We can support a president while also worshiping Jesus as the Son of God.' But how is this possible? For one says that we must love our enemies, and the other says we must kill them; one promotes the economics of competition, while the other admonishes the forgiveness of debts. To which do we pledge allegiance?
The bulls are my best friends." I translated to Brett. "You kill your friends?" she asked. "Always," he said in English, and laughed. "So they don't kill me.
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