“I draw a distinction between traditional Islam and Islamism. Islamism emerged in its modern form in the 1920s and is driven by a belief that Muslims can be strong and rich again if they follow the Islamic law severely and in its entirety. This is a response to the trauma of modern Islam.” IfsFormLawBeliefStrongRichModernDrawsResponseIslamTraumaDrivenTraditionalIslamicDistinctionEntiretyIslamic Law Author:Daniel Pipes
“Abstract art is uniquely modern. It is a fundamentally romantic response to modern life - rebellious, individualistic, unconventional, sensitive, irritable.” ArtModernArt IsResponseSensitiveAbstractRebelliousModern LifeUnconventionalAbstract ArtIndividualistic Book:The Collected Writings of Robert Motherwell Source: The Collected Writings of Robert Motherwell
“Commentators frequently blame MMORPGs for an increasing sense of isolation modern life. But virtual worlds are less a cause of that isolation than a response to it. Virtual worlds give back what has been scooped out of modern life. The virtual world is in important ways more authentically human than the real world. It gives us back community, a feeling of competence, and a sense of being an important person whom people depend on.” PeopleWorldWayGivingHumansPersonsHas BeensImportantRealFeelingsCausesCommunityModernDependsBlameResponseIsolationReal WorldGiving BackCompetenceModern LifeCommentatorsVirtual RealityImportant PersonVirtual World Author:Jonathan Gottschall
“Much modern art is, at first sight, unnerving... in the contemporary world, we have come to expect instant response and immediate understanding.” WorldFirstsArtUnderstandingModernArt IsSightResponseContemporaryInstantModernismModern Art Author:Nicholas Serota
“[Comics is] one of the last havens for honesty when it comes to a reader's genuine response to art. Most of us, if we don't find any sympathy or pleasure, for example, in a modern painting, are likely to blame our own ignorance of the history and theory of painting. But nobody pretends to like a bad comic strip. Such harshness is necessary for any real truth to surface, I think, and for art to really contribute anything to life. Though I don't know. I could be wrong.” IfsThinkingKnowsArtRealLastsPleasureModernHavensHonestyExampleIgnorancePaintingTheoryReaderBlameResponseSurfaceGenuineComicComic StripsHarshnessReal Truth Author:Chris Ware
“The modern child may early in his or her existence have natural inclinations toward spirituality. The child may have imagination, originality, a simple and individual response to reality, and even a tendency to moments of thoughtful silence and absorption. All these tendencies, however, are soon destroyed by the dominant culture. The child becomes a yelling, brash, false little monster, brandishing a toy gun or dressed up like some character he has seen on television.” MayChildrenLittlesMomentsCharacterRealityCultureSpiritualityIndividualImaginationNaturalSimpleExistenceSilenceModernTelevisionGunResponseMonstersTendenciesDestroyedThoughtfulOriginalityToysConsumerismDominantInclinationYellingOverconsumptionDressed UpAbsorptionBrashDominant CultureToy Guns Author:Thomas Merton
“I believe that modern science supports free will, in showing that the brain can act spontaneously, not only in response to external stimuli.” BelieveI BelieveBrainSupportModernResponseFree WillStimulusModern Science Author:Mario Bunge
“Modern responses to Cinderella's predicament are interesting. If you're not careful, you'll think, "Well, she's just a big wimp. She should fight for her rights. She should call the government."” IfsThinkingShouldWellsBigsGovernmentFightingInterestingRightsModernResponseCarefulPredicamentsWimps Author:Chris Weitz