In idling, the motor's running, but you're letting your mind take in anything. Things pop into it. Those are the gifts of subterranean conscious.
Mortimer AdlerRead
Think how different human societies would be if they were based on love rather than justice. But no such societies have ever existed on earth.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that societies driven by love would be fundamentally different from those focused on justice, yet such societies have never been realized.
Mortimer Adler's quote provokes thought about the foundational principles that govern human societies. He contrasts love and justice, implying that a society built on love would prioritize compassion and understanding over a system of laws and fairness. However, he also notes the historical absence of such societies, prompting reflection on the challenges of achieving a collective ethos centered on love rather than the pursuit of justice.
Themes
LoveJusticeSocietyCompassionHumanity
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about social change, one might say, 'Imagine if our communities thrived on love rather than justice, as Mortimer Adler suggested.'
More from Mortimer Adler
All quotes βThe only standard we have for judging all of our social, economic, and political institutions and arrangements as just or unjust, as good or bad, as better or worse, derives from our conception of the good life for man on earth, and from our conviction that, given certain external conditions, it is possible for men to make good lives for themselves by their own efforts.
Mortimer AdlerRead
A good book can teach you about the world and about yourself. You learn more than how to read better; you also learn more about life. You become wiser.
Mortimer AdlerRead
If you are reading in order to become a better reader, you cannot read just any book or article. You will not improve as a reader if all you read are books that are well within your capacity. You must tackle books that are beyond you, or, as we have said, books that are over your head. Only books of that sort will make you stretch your mind. And unless you stretch, you will not learn.
Mortimer AdlerRead
In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but how many can get through to you.
Mortimer AdlerRead
If your friend wishes to read your 'Plutarch's Lives,' 'Shakespeare,' or 'The Federalist Papers,' tell him gently but firmly, to buy a copy. You will lend him your car or your coat - but your books are as much a part of you as your head or your heart.
Mortimer AdlerRead
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As society is now constituted, a literal adherence to the moral precepts scattered throughout the Gospels would mean sudden death.
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