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New Seeds of Contemplation

This book is a compilation of reflective essays that delve into the essence of contemplation, examining its significance in fostering spiritual insight and personal transformation. more

Author

Thomas Merton
Thomas Merton

Thomas Merton (January 31, 1915 - December 10, 1968) was an American writer, poet, social critic, and mystic. His works covered a wide range of topics including philosophy, religion, and social justice, and were highly appreciated by readers. more

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“For every gain in deep certitude there is a corresponding growth of superficial "doubt." This doubt is by no means opposed to genuine faith, but it mercilessly examines and questions the spurious "faith" of everyday life, the human faith which is nothing but the passive acceptance of conventional opinion.”

HumansMeanGrowthOpinionDoubtAcceptanceGainsEverydayGenuineConventionalPassiveSuperficialEveryday LifeCorrespondingCertitude
Book:New Seeds of Contemplation
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“Sci-fi uses the images that sf - starting with H.G. Wells - made familiar: space travel, aliens, galactic wars and federations, time machines, et cetera, taking them literally, not caring if they are possible or even plausible. It has no interest in or relation to real science or technology. It's fantasy in space suits. Spectacle. Wizards with lasers. Kids with ray guns. I've written both, but I have to say I respect science fiction enough that I wince when people call it sci-fi.”

PeopleIfsWellsMadeWarRealEnoughUseKidsInterestSpaceFictionTechnologyFantasyWrittenGunMachinesRelationScience FictionStartingCaringFamiliarSuitsAliensRaysSci FiWizardsSpace TravelPlausibleNot CaringLasersTime MachineFederationWince
Author:Ursula K. Le Guin
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“Science fiction - and the correct shortcut is 'sf' - uses actual scientific facts or theories for the source ideas or framework of the story. It has some scientific content, however speculative. If it breaks a law of physics, it knows it's doing so and follows up the consequences. If it invents a society of aliens, it does so with some respect for and knowledge of the social sciences and what you might call social probabilities. And some of it is literarily self-aware enough to treat its metaphors as metaphors.”

IfsKnowsDoeIdeasSelfEnoughFactsStoriesUseMightLawSocialFictionBreakTheorySourceConsequenceTreatsScience FictionMetaphorPhysicsAliensProbabilityFrameworkShortcutsSocial ScienceLaws Of PhysicsScientific FactsFollow Up
Author:Ursula K. Le Guin
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“Science fiction is not predictive; it is descriptive.... Prediction is the business of prophets, clairvoyants, and futurologists. It is not the business of novelists. A novelist's business is lying.... Open your eyes; listen, listen. That is what the novelists say. But they don't tell you what you will see and hear. All they can tell you is what they have seen and heard, in their time in this world, a third of it spent in sleep and dreaming, another third of it spent in telling lies.”

WorldDreamEyeLyingSleepFictionHeardThis WorldThirdsScience FictionNovelistsProphetPredictionsTelling Lies
Book:The Left Hand of Darkness
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“Those who dislike fantasy are very often equally bored or repelled by science. They don't like either hobbits, or quasars; they don't feel at home with them; they don't want complexities, remoteness. If there is any such connection, I'll bet that it is basically an aesthetic one”

IfsWantFeelsHomeFantasyConnectionsBoredComplexityDislikeAestheticRemotenessQuasars
Book:The Language of the Night: Essays on Fantasy and Science Fiction
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