The strange power of art is sometimes it can show that what people have in common is more urgent than what differentiates them. It seems to me it's something that theatre can do, but it's rare; it's very rare.
John BergerRead
To be desired is perhaps the closest anybody in this life can reach to feeling immortal.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Desire and the wish to be desired can give a sense of immortality and significance in life.
In this quote, John Berger reflects on the profound connection between desire and the human experience of existence. The idea of being desired suggests a lasting impact on others, as it creates a sense of relevance that transcends time, making individuals feel as if they have achieved a form of immortality through the love and affection they receive from others. Thus, the quote captures the essence of human connection and the powerful impact it can have on our perception of life and legacy.
Themes
DesireImmortalityHuman ConnectionLoveSignificance
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on the impact of relationships during a psychology seminar.
More from John Berger
All quotes βUnlike any other visual image, a photograph is not a rendering, an imitation or an interpretation of its subject, but actually a trace of it. No painting or drawing, however naturalist, belongs to its subject in the way that a photograph does.
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We never look at just one thing; we are always looking at the relation between things and ourselves.
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The camera relieves us of the burden of memory. It surveys us like God, and it surveys for us. Yet no other god has been so cynical, for the camera records in order to forget.
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Propaganda requires a permanent network of communication so that it can systematically stifle reflection with emotive or utopian slogans. Its pace is usually fast.
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Being a unique superpower undermines the military intelligence of strategy. To think strategically, one has to imagine oneself in the enemy's place. If one cannot do this, it is impossible to foresee, to take by surprise, to outflank. Misinterpreting an enemy can lead to defeat. This is how empires fall.
John BergerRead
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We can at least try to understand our own motives, passions, and prejudices, so as to be conscious of what we are doing when we apeal to those of others. This is very difficult, because our own prejudice and emotional bias always seems to us so rational.
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Every day my conscience makes confession relying on the hope of Your mercy as more to be trusted than its own innocence.
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It is better to risk saving a guilty man than to condemn an innocent one.
VoltaireRead