[b]Karl Popper
Always remember that it is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood: there will always be some who misunderstand you.[/b]
Of course with me [and dasein] that’s the whole point, isn’t it?
…whenever we propose a solution to a problem, we ought to try as hard as we can to overthrow our solution, rather than defend it. Few of us, unfortunately, practice this precept; but other people, fortunately, will supply the criticism for us if we fail to supply it ourselves.
With some, I’ll even help them out.
This false epistemology, however, has also led to disastrous consequences. The theory that truth is manifest—that it is there for everyone to see, if only he wants to see it—this theory is the basis of almost every kind of fanaticism. For only the most depraved wickedness can refuse to see the manifest truth; only those who have reason to fear truth conspire to suppress it.
Clearly, he’s not the first to point this out, is he? And I suspect that no one will ever be the last.
The Utopian attempt to realize an ideal state, using a blueprint of society as a whole, is one which demands a strong centralized rule of a few, and which is therefore likely to lead to a dictatorship.
Not counting the dictatorship of the proletariat. Or counting that in particular.
Learning to read, and to a lesser degree, to write, are of course the major events in one’s intellectual development. There is nothing to compare with it, since very few people – Helen Keller is the great exception – can remember what it meant for them to learn to speak.
Really, her story still staggers the mind.
History has no meaning.
Including this one. You know, if that makes any sense.