Art is the close scrutiny of reality and therefore I put on the stage only those things that I know happen in our society.
Edward BondRead
It's politely assumed that democracy is a means of containing and restraining violence. But violence comes not from genes but from ideas
Interpretation
What this quote means
Democracy aims to control violence, but the root of violence lies in ideas rather than inherent traits.
This quote suggests that while democracy is often viewed as a system designed to prevent and manage violence within society, the real source of violence is not biological or genetic but rather stems from the ideas and beliefs held by individuals. It underlines the importance of addressing the ideologies and concepts that fuel violent behavior rather than solely relying on democratic structures to maintain peace.
Themes
DemocracyViolenceIdeasPhilosophyPeace
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech on social justice, one might reference this quote to illustrate the importance of addressing systemic issues.
More from Edward Bond
All quotes βI write plays not to make money, but to stop myself from going mad. Because it's my way of making the world rational to me.
Edward BondRead
Similar quotes
How smooth must be the language of the whites, when they can make right look like wrong, and wrong like right.
Black HawkRead
Suppose someone were to say: 'Imagine this butterfly exactly as it is, but ugly instead of beautiful'?!
Ludwig WittgensteinRead
I have become so accustomed to think "scientifically" that I am afraid even to imagine that there may be something else beyond the outer covering of life. I feel like a man condemned to death, whose companions have been hanged and who has already become reconciled to the thought that the same fate awaits him.
P.D. OuspenskyRead
The idea that public safety, the safety of the innocent, is an absolute which trumps every other consideration, is tacitly abandoned in the way we live.
Tom StoppardRead
Socrates told us, "the unexamined life is not worth living." I think he's calling for curiosity, more than knowledge. In every human society at all times and at all levels, the curious are at the leading edge.
Roger EbertRead
Those individuals who give moral considerations a much greater weight than considerations of expediency represent a comparatively small minority, five percent of the people perhaps. But, In spite of their numerical inferiority, they play a major role in our society because theirs is the voice of the conscience of society.
Leo SzilardRead