There is no plausible theory under which the record of the Pentagon Papers can be interpreted as relating to the national defense.
Noam ChomskyRead
The 'free-floating intellectual' may occupy himself with problems because of their inherent interest and importance, perhaps to little effect.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Engaging with intellectual problems can be fulfilling, even if it doesn't lead to practical outcomes.
Noam Chomsky's quote suggests that intellectual pursuits are valuable in their own right, as they stimulate curiosity and engage the mind. However, he also implies that such pursuits may not always yield significant practical results, highlighting a tension between intellectual exploration and tangible impact.
Themes
IntellectualProblemsEngagementCuriosityImpact
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture on the nature of thought, you might reference Chomsky's quote to illustrate the value of intellectual inquiry.
More from Noam Chomsky
All quotes βIf you're teaching today what you were teaching five years ago, either the field is dead or you are.
Noam ChomskyRead
There are very few people who are going to look into the mirror and say, 'That person I see is a savage monster;' instead, they make up some construction that justifies what they do.
Noam ChomskyRead
The Republican Party has become overwhelmingly so extreme that it's hardly a traditional political party anymore.
Noam ChomskyRead
There is still much debate about whether torture has been effective in eliciting information - the assumption being, apparently, that if it is effective, then it may be justified.
Noam ChomskyRead
When Rumsfeld gets up on television and says we have definitive intelligence that al Qaeda is working with Iraq, how is an ordinary citizen supposed to react? They won't tell you the evidence, and when anyone asks, they say, 'Well, you know: It's secret.'
Noam ChomskyRead
Similar quotes
Because of the great differences in our ways of thinking, it is inevitable that we have different religions and faiths. Each has its own beauty. And it is much better that we live together on the basis of mutual respect and mutual admiration.
Dalai LamaRead
The new and terrible dangers which man has created can only be controlled by man.
John F. KennedyRead
Into the nothingness of scorn and noise, Into the living sea of waking dreams, Where there is neither sense of life or joys, But the vast shipwreck of my life's esteems; And e'en the dearest--that I love the best-- Are strange--nay, rather stranger than the rest.
John ClareRead
For he who loves God without faith reflects on himself, while the person who loves God in faith reflects on God.
Soren KierkegaardRead
The first right on earth is the right of the ego. Man's first duty is to himself. His moral law is never to place his prime goal within the persons of others. His moral obligation is to do what he wishes, provided his wish does not depend primarily upon other men.
Ayn RandRead
There is no man so good, who, were he to submit all his thoughts and actions to the laws, would not deserve hanging ten times in his life.
Michel De MontaigneRead