Living substance conquers the frenzy of destruction only in the ecstasy of procreation.
Walter BenjaminRead
The concept of progress must be grounded in the idea of catastrophe. That things are 'status quo' is the catastrophe
Interpretation
What this quote means
Progress arises from recognizing and addressing the disasters of the present situation.
Walter Benjamin suggests that the notion of progress cannot be divorced from the understanding of the crises and catastrophes that persist in society. When we accept the current state of affairs as normal or complacent, we inadvertently hinder true progress; instead, acknowledging the catastrophes of our time can drive meaningful change and innovation.
Themes
ProgressCatastropheChangeStatus QuoInnovation
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about social reform, one might say, 'As Walter Benjamin stated, the concept of progress must acknowledge the catastrophes we face today.'
More from Walter Benjamin
All quotes →The illiterate of the future will not be the man who cannot read the alphabet, but the one who cannot take a photograph.
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If mythic violence is lawmaking, divine violence is law-destroying; if the former sets boundaries, the latter boundlessly destroys them; if mythic violence brings at once guilt and retribution, divine power only expiates; if the former threatens, the latter strikes; if the former is bloody, the latter is lethal without spilling blood
Walter BenjaminRead
Writers are really people who write books not because they are poor, but because they are dissatisfied with the books which they could buy but do not like.
Walter BenjaminRead
Nothing is poorer than a truth expressed as it was thought. Committed to writing in such cases, it is not even a bad photograph. Truth wants to be startled abruptly, at one stroke, from her self-immersion, whether by uproar, music or cries for help.
Walter BenjaminRead
I am unpacking my library. Yes I am. The books are not yet on the shelves, not yet touched by the mild boredom of order.
Walter BenjaminRead
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Human nature is not black and white but black and grey.
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I don't think the people of the slave states will ever consider the subject of slavery in its true light till some other argument is resorted to other than moral persuasion.
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