I am optimistic when I consider the spiritual dimension which the scientist's discipline forces him to ignore.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that science often overlooks spiritual aspects of existence.
William Golding highlights a fundamental conflict between scientific inquiry and spiritual understanding. He expresses optimism by acknowledging that while scientists may disregard the spiritual dimensions of life, recognizing and embracing these aspects can enrich one's perspective and appreciation of the world. This calls for a balance between empirical knowledge and spiritual insight, suggesting that a holistic view may lead to a deeper understanding of reality.
In practice
In a speech about finding balance in life, one might use this quote to highlight the importance of integrating science with spirituality.
Consider a man riding a bicycle. Whoever he is, we can say three things about him. We know he got on the bicycle and started to move. We know that at some point he will stop and get off. Most important of all, we know that if at any point between the beginning and the end of his journey he stops moving and does not get off the bicycle he will fall off it. That is a metaphor for the journey through life of any living thing, and I think of any society of living things.
The skull regarded Ralph like one who knows all the answers and won't tell.
Maybe, he said hesitantly, maybe there is a beast. The assembly cried out savagely and Ralph stood up in amazement. You, Simon? You believe in this? I don't know, said Simon. His heartbeats were choking him. [...] Ralph shouted. Hear him! He's got the conch! What I mean is . . . maybe it's only us. Nuts! That was from Piggy, shocked out of decorum.
The mask was a thing on it's own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-conciousness.
Man produces evil as a bee produces honey.
Utopias are presented for our inspection as a critique of the human state.
I am a creationist and an evolutionist. Evolution is God's, or Nature's method of creation. Creation is not an event that happened in 4004 BC; it is a process that began some 10 billion years ago and is still under way.
History can tell us what happened in the past. But it cannot assert that it must happen again in the future.
Neither one should hesitate about dedicating oneself to philosophy when young, nor should get tired of doing it when one's old, because no one is ever too young or too old to reach one's soul's healthy.
Suicide is the means of men whose resilience has been eaten away by rust, the rust of the daily round. They were born for action, but they have delayed their action; so action turns back on them with the swing of a pendulum. Suicide is an act, the act of those who have not been able to accomplish others. It is an act of faith, like all acts. Faith in oneβs neighbor, in the existence of oneβs neighbor, in the reality of the self and the other selves.
There's that popular misconception of man as something between a brute and an angel. Actually man is in transit between brute and God.
A person never knows their own true face. Everybody thinks that the phoney, posed social mask they wear is their real face.
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