“It's the old idea that the process of evolution is some push in the direction of greater complexity--in particular greater intellectual complexity. In one twig of the tree of life, namely ours, having a big brain happened to have advantages. But that's just what worked for a particular species of primate 5 to 7 million years ago.” YearsIdeasBigsProcessBrainMillionsGreaterHappenedTreeParticularEvolutionIntellectualAdvantageYears AgoSpeciesComplexityTree Of LifePrimatesTwigsOld Ideas Author:Steven Pinker
“The need for truth is not constant; no more than is the need for repose. An idea which is a distortion may have a greater intellectual thrust than the truth; it may better serve the needs of the spirit, which vary. The truth is balance, but the opposite of truth, which is unbalance, may not be a lie.” NeedsMayIdeasSpiritLyingGreaterBalanceTruth IsIntellectualOppositesConstantVaryThrustReposeDistortion Book:A Susan Sontag reader Source: A Susan Sontag reader
“The capabilities (intellectual and material) of contemporary society are immeasurably greater than ever before - which means that the scope of society's domination over the individual is immeasurably greater than ever before. Our society distinguishes itself by conquering the centrifugal social forces with Technology rather than Terror, on the dual basis of an overwhelming efficiency and an increasing standard of living.” MeanIndividualForceSocialTechnologyGreaterMaterialsIntellectualStandardsBasesTerrorContemporaryConquerOur SocietyOverwhelmingCapabilityEfficiencyDominationScopeStandards Of LivingContemporary Society Author:Herbert Marcuse
“The little world of childhood with its familiar surroundings is a model of the greater world. The more intensively the family has stamped its character upon the child, the more it will tend to feel and see its earlier miniature world again in the bigger world of adult life. Naturally this is not a conscious, intellectual process.” WorldFeelsChildrenLittlesCharacterProcessGreaterChildhoodIntellectualModelsConsciousAdultsBiggerFamiliarSurroundingsMemories Dreams ReflectionsMiniatures Author:Carl Jung
“Compare mathematics and the political sciences - it's quite striking. In mathematics, in physics, people are concerned with what you say, not with your certification. But in order to speak about social reality, you must have the proper credentials, particularly if you depart from the accepted framework of thinking. Generally speaking, it seems fair to say that the richer the intellectual substance of a field, the less there is a concern for credentials, and the greater is the concern for content.” PeopleIfsThinkingRealitySeemsPoliticalOrderSpeakSocialGreaterFieldsIntellectualConcernConcernedFairsMathematicsAcceptedPhysicsSubstanceCompareFrameworkPolitical ScienceCredentials Book:The Chomsky-Foucault Debate: On Human Nature Source: The Chomsky-Foucault Debate: On Human Nature
“It is not the eye that sees the beauty of the heaven, nor the ear that hears the sweetness of music or the glad tidings of a prosperous occurrence, but the soul, that perceives all the relishes of sensual and intellectual perfections; and the more noble and excellent the soul is, the greater and more savory are its perceptions.” SoulEyeHeavenGreaterPerspectivePerceptionIntellectualPerfectionEarsNobleGladSensualExcellentPerceiveSweetnessProsperousRelishTidingsSavoryEyes That See Author:Jeremy Taylor
“Even before I had children I wanted the intensity of my life to get greater. I wanted to feel things more strongly. I wanted my intellectual parameters to expand. But it comes back to your own desire to be engaged and to live up to your parameters.” FeelsChildrenWantedDesireGreaterIntellectualEngagedIntensityParameters Author:Jeff Koons
“I think serious research tends to be associated with higher academic quality, more prestige, more resources, and even, heaven help us, better teaching, to a greater extent than you might think. Folks who don't have an active intellectual life become, though the long years of just teaching, less intellectually alive and exciting.” ThinkingYearsLongHelpingMightHeavenQualityGreaterAliveTeachingSeriousHigherIntellectualResearchResourcesExcitingFolksActiveAcademicPrestigeIntellectual Life Author:Nicholas Lemann
“Beneath all the rhetoric about relevance lies a profoundly disturbing possibility - that people may base their lives upon an illusion, upon a blatant lie. The attractiveness of a belief is all too often inversely proportional to its truth... To allow "relevance" to be given greater weight than truth is a mark of intellectual shallowness and moral irresponsibility.” PeopleMayLyingBeliefGivenMoralGreaterPossibilityTruth IsIntellectualIllusionWeightMarkRhetoricDisturbingRelevanceAttractivenessIrresponsibilityShallownessBlatant Lies Author:Alister E. McGrath