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 intellectual tradition is one of servility to power, and if I didn't betray it I'd be ashamed of myself.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote critiques how intellectuals often submit to authority instead of challenging it.
Noam Chomsky reflects on the role of intellectuals in society, suggesting that true intellectual integrity requires questioning and opposing power rather than conforming to it. He expresses disdain for those who do not challenge power structures, indicating that complicity in such servility is a betrayal of one's intellectual duties.
Themes
IntellectualPowerServilityBetrayalIntegrity
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about social responsibility, I might use this quote to emphasize the need for intellectuals to stand against oppressive systems.
More from Noam Chomsky
All quotes βThe 'free-floating intellectual' may occupy himself with problems because of their inherent interest and importance, perhaps to little effect.
Noam ChomskyRead
If 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
Similar quotes
Sentences are not as such either true or false.
J. L. AustinRead
Humanity needs justice, peace and love and we can have this only by returning with our hearts towards God who is the source of all this.
Pope FrancisRead
You may have killed God beneath the weight of all that you have said; but don't imagine that, with all that you are saying, you will make a man that will live longer than he.
Michel FoucaultRead
Self-discovery is above all the realization that we are alone: it is the opening of an impalpable, transparent wall - that of our consciousness - between the world and ourselves.
Octavio PazRead
Insurrection. An unsuccessful revolution; disaffection's failure to substitute misrule for bad government.
Ambrose BierceRead
A life that is, like any other, unlike any other.
Neil GaimanRead