If a victory is told in detail, one can no longer distinguish it from a defeat.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
I distrust the incommunicable; it is the source of all violence
Interpretation
The quote suggests that a lack of communication and understanding can lead to conflict and violence.
Jean-Paul Sartre's quote reflects the existentialist belief that individuals are shaped by their interactions and communication with others. He proposes that when people fail to express themselves or understand one another, it fosters misunderstanding and distrust, which can escalate into violence. Essentially, open communication is crucial for peace and harmony among individuals, and its absence can result in destructive outcomes.
In practice
In a debate about social issues, one might use this quote to emphasize the importance of dialogue in preventing conflict.
If a victory is told in detail, one can no longer distinguish it from a defeat.
All I want is' - and he uttered the final words through clenched teeth and with a sort of shame - 'to retain my freedom.' I should myself have thought,' said Jacques, 'that freedom consisted in frankly confronting situations into which one had deliberately entered, and accepting all one's responsibilities. But that, no doubt, is not your view.
If you are lonely when you're alone, you are in bad company.
A kiss without a moustache, they said then, is like an egg without salt; I will add to it: and it is like Good without Evil.
I wanted pure love: foolishness; to love one another is to hate a common enemy: I will thus espouse your hatred. I wanted Good: nonsense; on this earth and in these times, Good and Bad are inseparable: I accept to be evil in order to become good.
Night is falling: at dusk, you must have good eyesight to be able to tell the Good Lord from the Devil.
Freedom is in danger of degenerating into mere arbitrariness unless it is lived in terms of responsibleness. That is why I recommend that the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast be supplemented by a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast.
The success or failure of any historical age is the extent to which those living at that time have fulfilled the special role that history has imposed upon them.
A man screaming is not a dancing bear. Life is not a spectacle.
My people have a country of their own to go to if they choose... Africa... but, this America belongs to them just as much as it does to any of the white race... in some ways even more so, because they gave the sweat of their brow and their blood in slavery so that many parts of America could become prosperous and recognized in the world.
There are people who say, 'Oh this guy is quite thick.' I think the reason is that, increasingly, I don't mind being simple in terms of literary expression. Others say, 'No, no, no. He went to Cambridge. He got a good degree. He must be Einstein.'
Injustice anywhere threatens justice everywhere.
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