On rare occasions one does hear of a miraculous case of a married couple falling in love after marriage, but on close examination it will be found that it is a mere adjustment to the inevitable.
Emma GoldmanRead
'What I believe' is a process rather than a finality. Finalities are for gods and governments, not for the human intellect.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Beliefs are not fixed; they evolve and change over time as we grow and learn.
Emma Goldman's quote emphasizes the dynamic nature of human beliefs, suggesting that understanding and conviction are not absolute but rather an ongoing journey of discovery and questioning. By contrasting human intellect with the finalities of gods and governments, she implies that true understanding is flexible and subject to change, reflecting the complexities of life and individual experience.
Themes
BeliefIntellectProcessPhilosophyChange
In practice
Example use cases
During a philosophy class discussion about the nature of belief.
More from Emma Goldman
All quotes βNo one has yet realized the wealth of sympathy, the kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure.
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To the indefinite, uncertain mind of the American radical the most contradictory ideas and methods are possible. The result is a sad chaos in the radical movement, a sort of intellectual hash, which has neither taste nor character.
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John Burroughs has stated that experimental study of animals in captivity is absolutely useless. Their character, their habits, their appetites undergo a complete transformation when torn from their soil in field and forest. With human nature caged in a narrow space, whipped daily into submission, how can we speak of its potentialities?
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Anarchism is the only philosophy which brings to man the consciousness of himself; which maintains that God, the State, and society are non-existent, that their promises are null and void, since they can be fulfilled only through man's subordination.
Emma GoldmanRead
If love does not know how to give and take without restrictions, it is not love, but a transaction that never fails to lay stress on a plus and a minus.
Emma GoldmanRead
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