It is not the facts which guide the conduct of men, but their opinions about facts; which may be entirely wrong. We can only make them right by discussion.
Interpretation
People are driven by their perceptions of facts rather than by facts themselves, and discussion is key to correcting misunderstandings.
In this quote, Norman Angell highlights the importance of subjective perceptions over objective reality in shaping human behavior. He emphasizes that individuals act based on their opinions about facts, which can often be incorrect; thus, engaging in open discussions is essential to rectify these misunderstandings and align opinions with reality.
In practice
In a debate on social media, one might use this quote to emphasize the need for dialogue to correct misconceptions.
Let us face squarely the paradox that the world which goes to war is a world, usually genuinely desiring peace. War is the outcome, not mainly of evil intentions, but on the whole of good intentions which miscarry or are frustrated. It is made not usually by evil men knowing themselves to be wrong, but is the outcome of policies pursued by good men usually passionately convinced that they are right.
Sometimes we exclude things in ourselves in order to be like everybody else around us-our ethnicity, our social backgrounds, our ideas. What kind of world is it that will not allow me to be myself, and is it really good for me to be there? What part of me will die a slow death if I stay?
The state is nothing but an instrument of opression of one class by another - no less so in a democratic republic than in a monarchy.
Sugar crystallizes something in our American Soul. It is emblematic of all Industrial Processes. And of the idea of becoming white. White Being equated with pure and βtrueβ it takes a lot of energy to turn brown things into white things. A lot of pressure.
Let none admire that riches grow in hell; that soil may best deserve the precious bane.
Necessity is blind until it becomes conscious. Freedom is the consciousness of necessity.
Man's chief delusion is his conviction that there are causes other than his own state of consciousness.
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