We Have Become Makers Of Our Fate

My Thesis Is That What We Call 'science' Is Differentiated From The Older Myths Not By Being Something Distinct From A Myth, But By Being Accompanied By A Second-order Tradition-that Of Critically Discussing The Myth. ... In A Certain Sense, Science Is Myth-making Just As Religion Is.

The History Of Science, Like The History Of All Human Ideas, Is A History Of Irresponsible Dreams, Of Obstinacy, And Of Error.

Why Do I Think That We, The Intellectuals, Are Able To Help? Simply Because We, The Intellectuals, Have Done The Most Terrible Harm For Thousands Of Years. Mass Murder In The Name Of An Idea, A Doctrine, A Theory, A Religion - That Is All "our" Doing, "our" Invention: The Invention Of The Intellectuals. If Only We Would Stop Setting Man Against Man - Often With The Best Intentions - Much Would Be Gained. Nobody Can Say That It Is Impossible For Us To Stop Doing This.

The Survival Value Of Intelligence Is That It Allows Us To Extinct A Bad Idea, Before The Idea Extincts Us.

Aestheticism And Radicalism Must Lead Us To Jettison Reason, And To Replace It By A Desperate Hope For Political Miracles. This Irrational Attitude Which Springs From Intoxication With Dreams Of A Beautiful World Is What I Call Romanticism. It May Seek Its Heavenly City In The Past Or In The Future; It May Preach 'back To Nature' Or 'forward To A World Of Love And Beauty'; But Its Appeal Is Always To Our Emotions Rather Than To Reason. Even With The Best Intentions Of Making Heaven On Earth It Only Succeeds In Making It A Hell - That Hell Which Man Alone Prepares For His Fellow-men.