A minority is only thought of as a minority when it constitutes some kind of threat to the majority, real or imaginary. And no threat is ever quite imaginary.
Christopher IsherwoodRead
The more I think about myself, the more I'm persuaded that, as a person, I really don't exist. That is one of the reasons why I can't believe in any orthodox religion: I cannot believe in my own soul. No, I am a chemical compound, conditioned by environment and education. My "character" is simply a repertoire of acquired tricks, my conversation a repertoire of adaptations and echoes, my "feelings" are dictated by purely physical, external stimuli.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the nature of self, suggesting that identity is shaped by external influences rather than an inherent essence.
In this quote, Christopher Isherwood contemplates the existential notion of self-identity and the belief in the soul, arguing that he does not believe in a core 'self' separate from his environment and experiences. He views character and personality as mere adaptations and reactions to external stimuli, emphasizing a deterministic perspective where individuality is shaped by chemical and environmental factors rather than any innate qualities.
Themes
SelfIdentityExistenceEnvironmentDeterminismSoulPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
In a philosophical discussion about the nature of self and identity.
More from Christopher Isherwood
All quotes →What’s so phony nowadays is all this familiarity. Pretending there isn’t any difference between people —well, like you were saying about minorities, this morning. If you and I are no different, what do we have to give each other? How can we ever be friends?
Christopher IsherwoodRead
I'm like a book you have to read. A book can't read itself to you. It doesn't even know what it's about. I don't know what I'm about.
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The paternalist is a sentimentalist at heart, and the sentimentalist is always potentially cruel.
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I am a camera, with its shutter open. Someday, all of this will be developed, printed, fixed.
Christopher IsherwoodRead
I certainly should have,' he agrees, smiling and thinking what an absurd and universally-accepted bit of nonsense it is, that your best friends must necessarily be the ones who best understand you. As if there weren't far too much understanding in the world already; above all, that understanding between lovers, celebrated in song and story, which is actually such torture that no two of them can bear it without frequent separations or fights.
Christopher IsherwoodRead
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