You can't quantify human pain the way you can measure out sugar. Death comes one individual at a time.
Yann MartelRead
If you stumble over mere believability, what are you living for? Love is hard to believe, ask any lover. Life is hard to believe, ask any scientist. God is hard to believe, ask any believer. What is your problem with hard to believe? Reason is excellent for getting food, clothing and shelter. Reason is the very best tool kit. Nothing beats reason for keeping tigers away. But be excessively reasonable and you risk throwing out the universe with the bathwater
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote challenges the notion of belief in difficult concepts like love, life, and divinity, emphasizing the limitations of reason alone.
Yann Martel's quote explores the tension between belief and reason, suggesting that while reason is crucial for practical needs, an excessive adherence to it may lead to dismissing the profound complexities of existence. Martel invites us to acknowledge the challenges of believing in love, life, and even God, prompting us to reflect on what it means to engage with the hard-to-believe aspects of our lives without compromising the fullness of experience.
Themes
BeliefReasonLoveLifeUniverse
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a discussion about the balance between rational thinking and emotional experience.
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