Both Faith and Terror are instruments for the elimination of individual self-respect. Terror crushes the autonomy of self-respect, where Faith obtains its more or less voluntary surrender. In both cases, the result of the elimination of individual autonomy is - automatism. Both Faith and Terror reduce the human entity to a formula that can be manipulated at will.
Interpretation
Faith and Terror both undermine individual self-respect and autonomy.
In this quote, Eric Hoffer suggests that both faith and terror serve as tools that strip individuals of their self-respect and autonomy. While terror obliterates one's sense of self through fear and control, faith operates differently by leading to a more voluntary submission. In both scenarios, individuals can become mere automatons, subject to manipulation by external forces, losing their individuality in the process.
In practice
In a debate about the impact of authoritarian regimes on personal freedom, this quote could underscore the loss of autonomy.
Language was invented to ask questions. Answers may be given by grunts and gestures, but questions must be spoken. Humanness came of age when man asked the first question. Social stagnation results not from a lack of answers but from the absence of the impulse to ask questions.
Faith in humanity, in posterity, in the destiny of one's religion, nation, race, party or family-what is it but the visualization of that eternal something to which we attach the self that is about to be annihilated?
You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you.
Our frustration is greater when we have much and want more than when we have nothing and want some. We are less dissatisfied when we lack many things than when we seem to lack but one thing.
Our credulity is greatest concerning the things we know least about.
Perhaps a modern society can remain stable only by eliminating adolescence, by giving its young, from the age of ten, the skills, responsibilities, and rewards of grownups, and opportunities for action in all spheres of life. Adolescence should be a time of useful action, while book learning and scholarship should be a preoccupation of adults.
I like to recede away from classifications. You might say that indicates a fundamental lack of commitment. I suppose that's true to some degree.
There are two ways to wash the dishes. One way is to wash them to get them clean. The other way is to wash them in order to wash the dishes.
Tis not where we lie but whence we fell; the loss of Heaven's the greatest pain in Hell.
All truth is simple... is that not doubly a lie?
As soon as you concern yourself with the 'good' and 'bad' of your fellows, you create an opening in your heart for maliciousness to enter. Testing, competing with, and criticizing others weaken and defeat you.
In other words, a person who is fanatic in matters of religion, and clings to certain ideas about the nature of God and the universe, becomes a person who has no faith at all.
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