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Eric Hoffer

Eric Hoffer Quotes

Philosopher

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Famous Eric Hoffer Quotes

“A rising mass movement attracts and holds a following not by its doctrine and promises but by the refuge it offers from the anxieties, barrenness and meaningless of an individual existence. It cures the poignantly frustrated not by conferring upon them an absolute truth or by remedying the difficulties and abuses which made their lives miserable, but by freeing them from their ineffectual selves and it does this by enfolding and absorbing them into a closely knit and exultant corporate whole.”

DoeMadeSelfWholeIndividualExistenceSocietyMovementPromiseOffersAnxietyMassAbuseDifficultyAbsolutesFollowingDoctrineCuresMiserableCorporateRisingMeaninglessFrustratedRefugeAbsorbingAbsolute TruthTrue Believer
Book:Between the Devil and the Dragon: The Best Essays and Aphorisms of Eric Hoffer
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“The untalented are more at ease in a society that gives them valid alibis for not achieving than in one where opportunities are abundant. In an affluent society, the alienated who clamor for power are largely untalented people who cannot make use of the unprecedented opportunities for self-realization, and cannot escape the confrontation with an ineffectual self.”

PeopleGivingSelfUseOpportunityAchieveSelf RealizationRealizationEaseConfrontationUnprecedentedAffluentClamorUntalentedAlibis
Author:Eric Hoffer
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“In man's life, the absence of an essential component usually leads to the adoption of a substitute. The substitute is usually embraced with vehemence and extremism, for we have to convince ourselves that what we took as second choice is the best there ever was. Thus blind faith is to a considerable extent a substitute for the lost faith in ourselves; insatiable desire a substitute for hope; accumulation a substitute for growth; fervent hustling a substitute for purposeful action; and pride a substitute for an unattainable self-respect.”

MenSelfActionDesireChoicesLostGrowthPrideEssentialsBlindAbsenceSelf RespectConvinceSubstitutesAdoptionComponentsAccumulationExtremismHustleInsatiableBlind FaithUnattainableFerventLost FaithVehemenceSecond Choice
Book:Between the Devil and the Dragon: The Best Essays and Aphorisms of Eric Hoffer
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“The burning conviction that we have a holy duty towards others is often a way of attaching our drowning selves to a passing raft. What looks like a giving hand is often a holding on for dear life. Take away our holy duties and you leave our lives puny and meaningless. There is no doubt that in exchanging a self-centered for a selfless life we gain enormously in self-esteem. The vanity of the selfless, even those who practice utmost humility, is boundless.”

WayGivingLooksSelfHandsPracticeDoubtOur LivesSelf EsteemHumilityDutyHolyGainsDearConvictionPassingPassingsEsteemBurningVanityNo DoubtMeaninglessSelflessHolding OnDrowningSelf CenteredBoundlessExchangingDear Life
Book:Between the Devil and the Dragon: The Best Essays and Aphorisms of Eric Hoffer
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“The chief burden of the frustrated is the consciousness of a blemished, ineffectual self, and their chief desire is to slough off the unwanted self and begin a new life. They try to realize this desire either by finding a new identity or by blurring and camouflaging their individual distinctness; and both these ends are reached by imitation.”

TryingEndsSelfDesireIndividualRealizingConsciousnessIdentityFindingsBurdenChiefsFrustratedImitationNew LifeUnwantedSlough
Book:THE TRUE BELIEVER
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“The most effective way to silence our guilty conscience is to convince ourselves and others that those we have sinned against are indeed depraved creatures, deserving every punishment, even extermination. We cannot pity those we have wronged, nor can we be indifferent toward them. We must hate and persecute them or else leave the door open to self-contempt.”

WaySelfHateSilenceDoorsCreaturesConsciencePunishmentPityGuiltyConvinceContemptIndifferentDeservingDepravedWrongedExterminationGuilty Conscience
Author:Eric Hoffer
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“Unlike the pattern which seems to prevail in the rest of life, in the human species the weak not only survive but often triumph over the strong. The self-hatred inherent in the weak unlocks energies far more formidable then those mobilized by an ordinary struggle for existence.”

HumansSelfSeemsEnergyStrongExistenceStruggleOrdinaryWeakHatredSpeciesPatternsTriumphInherentFormidableHuman SpeciesSelf HatredRest Of LifeStruggle For Existence
Book:Between the Devil and the Dragon: The Best Essays and Aphorisms of Eric Hoffer
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“The weak are not a noble breed. Their sublime deeds of faith, daring, and self-sacrifice usually spring from questionable motives. The weak hate not wickedness but weakness; and one instance of their hatred of weakness is hatred of self. All the passionate pursuits of the weak are in some degree a striving to escape, blur, or disguise an unwanted self. It is a striving shot through with malice, envy, self-deception, and a host of petty impulses; yet it often culminates in superb achievements.”

SelfHateSacrificeDegreesAchievementSpringWeaknessShotsWeakHatredStrivePassionateDeedsEnvyNoblePursuitInstanceDeceptionImpulseMotiveHostDaringDisguiseSublimeWickednessPettyMaliceSelf DeceptionSelf SacrificeBlurUnwantedQuestionableSuperb
Book:The Ordeal of Change
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“Faith, enthusiasm, and passionate intensity in general are substitutes for the self-confidence born of experience and the possession of skill. Where there is the necessary skill to move mountains there is no need for the faith that moves mountains.”

NeedsSelfMovingBornSkillsMountainPassionatePossessionSelf ConfidenceEnthusiasmSubstitutesIntensityMove Mountains
Book:Between the Devil and the Dragon: The Best Essays and Aphorisms of Eric Hoffer
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“The vigor of a mass movement stems from the propensity of its followers for united action and self-sacrifice. When we ascribe the success of a movement to its faith, doctrine, propaganda, leadership, ruthlessness and so on, we are but referring to instruments of unification and to means used to inculcate a readiness for self-sacrifice. It is perhaps impossible to understand the nature of a mass movement unless it is recognized that their chief preoccupation is to foster, perfect and perpetuate a facility for united action and self-sacrifice.”

MeanSelfActionUsedPerfectUnitedImpossibleSacrificeSocietyMovementMassInstrumentsDoctrineChiefsPropagandaFollowersStemFacilityReadinessSelf SacrificeVigorReferringPreoccupationPropensityUnificationRuthlessness
Book:THE TRUE BELIEVER
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“When our individual interests and prospects do not seem worth living for, we are in desperate need for something apart from us to live for. All forms of dedication, devotion, loyalty and self-surrender are in essence a desperate clinging to something which might give worth and meaning to our futile, spoiled lives.”

NeedsGivingSelfSeemsMightFormIndividualInterestSocietyEssenceLoyaltySurrenderDevotionDesperateDedicationWorth LivingSpoiledClingingProspects
Book:The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements
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“Poverty when coupled with creativeness is usually free of frustration. This is true of the poor artisan skilled in his trade and of the poor writer, artist, and scientist in the full possession of creative powers. Nothing so bolsters our self-confidence and reconciles us with ourselves as the continuous ability to create; to see things grow and develop under our hand, day in, day out. The decline of handicrafts in modern times is perhaps one of the causes for the rise of frustration and the increased susceptibility of the individual to mass movements.”

SelfHandsArtistIndividualGrowsCausesAbilityPoorPovertyCreativeModernMovementMassScientistTradePossessionSelf ConfidenceFrustrationDeclineReconcileModern TimesCreative PowerCreativenessArtisansSusceptibilityHandicrafts
Book:THE TRUE BELIEVER
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“The frustrated follow a leader less because of their faith that he is leading them to a promised land than because of their immediate feeling that he is leading them away from their unwanted selves. Surrender to a leader is not a means to an end but a fulfillment. Whither they are led is of secondary importance.”

MeanEndsSelfFeelingsLeaderLandImportanceSurrenderFulfillmentFrustratedUnwantedPromised LandMeans To An End
Book:THE TRUE BELIEVER
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“There is in even the most selfish passion a large element of self-abnegation. It is startling to realize that what we call extreme self-seeking is actually self-renunciation. The miser, health addict, glory chaser and their like are not far behind the selfless in the exercise of self-sacrifice.”

SelfPassionRealizingBehindsSacrificeExerciseElementsGlorySeekingExtremesSelfishSelflessAddictSelf SacrificeRenunciationMisersAbnegationChasers
Book:The Passionate State of Mind
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“The act of self-denial seems to confer on us the right to be harsh and merciless toward others. The impression somehow prevails that the true believer, particularly the religious individual, is a humble person. The truth is that the surrendering and humbling of the self breed pride and arrogance. The true believer is apt to see himself as one of the chosen, the salt of the earth, a prince disguised in meekness, who is destined to inherit this earth and the kingdom of heaven, too. He who is not of his faith is evil; he who will not listen shall perish.”

PersonsSelfSeemsEarthEvilIndividualHeavenReligiousHumilityPrideTruth IsHumbleBelieverImpressionKingdomsChosenDenialArroganceSaltHarshDestinedHumblingKingdom Of HeavenMeeknessTrue BelieverSelf-denialSalt Of The EarthHumble PersonPride And Arrogance
Book:THE TRUE BELIEVER
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“Glory is largely a theatrical concept. There is no striving for glory without a vivid awareness of an audience... The desire to escape or camouflage their unsatisfactory selves develops in the frustrated a facility for pretending -- for making a show -- and also a readiness to identify themselves wholly with an imposing spectacle.”

SelfShowsDesireAudienceAwarenessGloryConceptsStrivePretendingFrustratedVividFacilityTheatricalReadinessImposingCamouflage
Book:THE TRUE BELIEVER
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“To our real, naked selves there is not a thing on earth or in heaven worth dying for. It is only when we see ourselves as actors in a staged (and therefore unreal) performance that death loses its frightfulness and finality and becomes an act of make-believe and a theatrical gesture. It is one of the main tasks of a real leader to mask the grim reality of dying and killing by evoking in his followers the illusion that they are participating in a grandiose spectacle, a solemn or lighthearted dramatic performance.”

BelieveRealSelfRealityEarthActorsHeavenLosesLeaderDyingIllusionTasksPerformancesKillingNakedDramaticMaskFollowersGesturesSolemnUnrealTheatricalGrimParticipatingMake BelieveFinalityGrandiose
Book:Between the Devil and the Dragon: The Best Essays and Aphorisms of Eric Hoffer
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“[The designated or chosen leader tries to] articulate and justify the resentment dammed up in the souls of the frustrated. He kindles the vision of a breathtaking future so as to justify the sacrifice of a transitory present. He stages the world of make-believe so indispensable for the realization of self-sacrifice and united action.”

WorldTryingBelieveSoulSelfActionUnitedLeaderVisionSacrificeStageChosenRealizationJustifyResentmentFrustratedIndispensableSelf SacrificeKindlesMake BelieveTransitoryBreathtaking
Author:Eric Hoffer
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“The leader personifies the certitude of the creed and the defiance and grandeur of power. He articulates and justifies the resentment damned up in the souls of the frustrated. He kindles the vision of a breath-taking future so as to justify the sacrifice of a transitory present. He stages a world of make-believe so indispensable for the realization of self-sacrifice and united action.”

WorldBelieveSoulSelfActionLeadershipUnitedLeaderVisionSacrificeStageBreathsRealizationJustifyResentmentCreedsFrustratedIndispensableGrandeurDefianceSelf SacrificeKindlesMake BelieveTransitoryCertitude
Author:Eric Hoffer
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“Both Faith and Terror are instruments for the elimination of individual self-respect. Terror crushes the autonomy of self-respect, where Faith obtains its more or less voluntary surrender. In both cases, the result of the elimination of individual autonomy is - automatism. Both Faith and Terror reduce the human entity to a formula that can be manipulated at will.”

HumansSelfReligionIndividualResultsCasesInstrumentsTerrorSurrenderCrushSelf RespectFormulasEntityAutonomyEliminationIndividual Autonomy
Book:The Passionate State of Mind
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“Religion is not a matter of God, church, holy cause, etc. These are but accessories. The source of religious preoccupation is in the self, or rather the rejection of the self. Dedication in the obverse side of self-rejection. Man alone is a religious animal because, as Montaigne points out, it is a malady confined to man, and not seen in any other creature, to hate and despise ourselves.”

MenSelfMatterReligionHateCausesSidesChurchReligiousAnimalSourceHolyCreaturesRejectionEtcDespiseDedicationConfinedPreoccupationAccessoriesMalady
Book:The Passionate State of Mind
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