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Quote by Boris Strugatsky

“Holy Mica, we were true humanists over there, on Earth. Humanism was the backbone of our personalities; in our worship of Man, in our love of Man, we even approached anthropocentrism - and here we are suddenly horrified to catch ourselves thinking, 'Are these really humans? Is it possible they are capable of becoming humans, even with time?'.”

Quote by Boris Strugatsky

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Hard to Be a God

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Boris Strugatsky

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“The native land begins with a nation -- an ethnic group, the group of inhabitants of the land. Only the love of humans who share the same social environment with you can lead to sincere patriotism -- the love of the native land. The love of land -- a material object -- is somehow idolatry, while the love of humans is humanism. Always practice sensitivity and empathy, and one day you will become a patriot, as well as a humanist.”

“D'altra parte, sbaglieremmo a credere che il primo mondo sia qui e il terzo mondo là, che ci sia un secondo mondo altrove e che la subalternità sia sottesa a questa suddivisione. Queste topografie sono ormai saltate, e quello che veniva percepito come un confine, qualcosa che delimita e contiene, ora è un luogo densamente popolato, se non addirittura la definizione stessa di nazione, nella quale le identità si confondono in una direzione che pare del tutto auspicabile. Perché se io sono confusa da te, tu sei già parte di me, e io non sono in nessun luogo senza di te.”

“Religion is a system of human norms and values that is founded on belief in a superhuman order. The theory of relativity is not a religion, because (at least so far) there are no human norms and values that are founded on it. Football is not a religion because nobody argues that its rules reflect superhuman edicts. Islam, Buddhism and Communism are all religions, because all are systems of human norms and values that are founded on belief in a superhuman order.”

“We have evolved psychologically indeed and through this evolution we have gained extraordinary psychological capacities, that basically are not possessed by any other species on earth, yet those capacities are not utilized at their fullest and most productive potential. It’s like having money and yet wasting it on unhealthy non-sense like alcohol and expensive cigars, while your neighbor is starving in front of your eyes.”

“The so-called holy warriors are driven by a cause, no matter how disgustingly barbarian that cause be. If only we the conscientious humans were as driven as them, by our urge for real peace and real harmony, then we could, for real, not in theory, live in a world of pure compassion and hatelessness.”

“I get my limits from a rational consideration of the consequences of my actions, that's how I determine what's moral. I get it from a foundation that says my actions have an effect on those people around me, and theirs have an effect on me, and if we're going to live cooperatively and share space, we have to recognize that impact. And my freedom to swing my arm ends ends at their nose, and that I have no right to impose my will over somebody else's will in that type of scenario. That's where I get them from. I get them from an understanding of reality, not an assertion of authority.”