I am truly free only when all human beings, men and women, are equally free. The freedom of other men, far from negating or limiting my freedom, is, on the contrary, its necessary premise and confirmation.
Mikhail BakuninRead
The idea of God implies the abdication of human reason and justice; it is the most decisive negation of human liberty and necessarily ends in the enslavement of mankind both in theory and practice.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote critiques the concept of God as a hindrance to human freedom and rational thought.
Mikhail Bakunin argues that the belief in God undermines human reason and justice, leading to the oppression of humanity. He suggests that the idea of a divine authority removes individual liberties and promotes a form of enslavement, both conceptually and in practice, implying that reliance on God stifles human potential and rational thought.
Themes
GodHuman ReasonLibertyEnslavementPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
During a debate on religion and ethics, one might quote this to emphasize the importance of reason over divine authority.
More from Mikhail Bakunin
All quotes βWe must overthrow the material and moral conditions of our present-day life. . . . We must first purify our atmosphere and completely transform the milieu in which we live; for it corrupts our instinct and our will, and constricts our heart and our intelligence
Mikhail BakuninRead
The liberty of man consists solely in this, that he obeys the laws of nature because he has himself recognized them as such, and not because they have been imposed upon him externally by any foreign will whatsoever, human or divine, collective or individual.
Mikhail BakuninRead
By striving to do the impossible, man has always achieved what is possible. Those who have cautiously done no more than they believed possible have never taken a single step forward.
Mikhail BakuninRead
By striving to do the impossible, man has always achieved what is possible.
Mikhail BakuninRead
This contradiction lies here: they wish God, and they wish humanity. They persist in connecting two terms which, once separated, can come together again only to destroy each other.
Mikhail BakuninRead
Similar quotes
Do not treat others as you yourself would not be treated.
ConfuciusRead
It is psychologically very hard to go through life without the justification, and the hope, provided by religion.
Umberto EcoRead
I think enormous harm is done by religion - not just in the name of religion, but actually by religion. ... Many people do simply awful things out of sincere religious belief, not using religion as a cover the way that Saddam Hussein may have done, but really because they believe that this is what God wants them to do, going all the way back to Abraham being willing to sacrifice Isaac because God told him to do that. Putting God ahead of humanity is a terrible thing.
Steven WeinbergRead
Every man, in his own opinion, forms an exception to the ordinary rules of morality.
William HazlittRead
If you are seeking for security, certainty, your eyes will become closed. And you will be less and less surprised and you will lose the capacity to wonder. Once you lose the capacity to wonder, you have lost religion. Religion is the opening of your wondering heart. Religion is a receptivity for the mysterious that surrounds us. Don't seek security; don't seek advice on how to live your life.
RajneeshRead
I loved when Bush came out and said, 'We are losing the war against drugs.' You know what that implies? There's a war being fought, and the people on drugs are winning it.
Bill HicksRead