display all the ideas for this combination of texts
2 ideas
23877 | Most people won't question an idea's truth if they depend on it [Weil] |
Full Idea: The majority of human beings do not question the truth of an idea without which they would literally be unable to live. | |
From: Simone Weil (Is There a Marxist Doctrine? [1943], p.163) | |
A reaction: I assume that this inability grows stronger with age, as the dependence on the idea runs deeper. Hence for most people the beliefs which sustain them have a higher value than truth. Obviously we should all make love of truth our guiding idea! |
20320 | Truth is what unites, and the profound truths create a community [Jaspers] |
Full Idea: Truth is what unites. ...[p.145] The most profound truth is that which all men might understand so as to form one community. | |
From: Karl Jaspers (Philosophy [1932], vol.2) | |
A reaction: Nice slogan, for robust realists like me. The hallmark of truth is our convergence on it. This is a 20th century existentialist perfectly expounding the enlightenment dream. The best rhetoric is truthful rhetoric. |