The need to be right is the sign of a vulgar mind.
Interpretation
Desiring to always be correct indicates a lack of depth in one's thinking.
Albert Camus suggests that an obsession with being right reveals a shallow and unrefined intellect. This desire to always prove oneself correct can stem from insecurity and a failure to engage with more profound thoughts or discussions, highlighting a certain vulgarity in such a mindset.
In practice
In a debate about opinions, one might use this quote to emphasize the importance of open-mindedness over being argumentative.
The Poor Man whom everyone speaks of, the Poor Man whom everyone pities, one of the repulsive Poor from whom charitable souls keep their distance, he has still said nothing. Or, rather, he has spoken through the voice of Victor Hugo, Zola, Richepin. At least, they said so. And these shameful impostures fed their authors. Cruel irony, the Poor Man tormented with hunger feeds those who plead his case.
The certainty of a God giving meaning to life far surpasses in attractiveness the ability to behave badly with impunity. The choice would not be hard to make. But there is no choice and that is where the bitterness comes in. The absurd does not liberate; it binds.
Between history and the eternal I have chosen history because I like certainties. Of it, at least, I am certain, and how can I deny this force crushing me.
Don't wait for the last judgment - it takes place every day.
A single sentence will suffice for modern man. He fornicated and read the papers. After that vigorous definition, the subject will be, if I may say so, exhausted.
At times I feel myself overtaken by an immense tenderness for these people around me who live in the same century.
Reverence for life is more than solicitude or sensitivity for life. It is a sense of the whole, a capacity for inspired response, a respect for the intricate universe of individual life. It is the supreme awareness of awareness itself.
If I wasn't Bob Dylan, I'd probably think that Bob Dylan has a lot of answers myself.
On ne sait jamais! One never knows!
It is absolutely necessary, for the peace and safety of mankind, that some of earth's dark, dead corners and unplumbed depths be left alone; lest sleeping abnormalities wake to resurgent life, and blasphemously surviving nightmares squirm and splash out of their black lairs to newer and wider conquests.
We tend to think of age only in time, but I don't think it has much to do with time at all there's a whole load of other things. I've met 16-year-olds who are old and 90-year-olds who are young.
We try to think with 'and' rather than 'or.' It doesn't have to be healthy or tasty. It can be healthy and tasty. It can be wholesome and convenient.
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