To his dog, every man is Napoleon; hence the constant popularity of dogs.
Aldous HuxleyRead
We cannot reason ourselves out of our basic irrationality. All we can do is to learn the art of being irrational in a reasonable way.
Interpretation
What this quote means
We cannot fully rationalize our emotional or irrational behaviors; instead, we should learn to manage them wisely.
This quote by Aldous Huxley suggests that while humans may strive for rational thinking, much of our behavior is driven by irrational impulses. Rather than attempting to eliminate these irrational aspects, which is often impossible, we should focus on understanding and guiding them in a more reasonable manner, allowing for a balance between logic and emotion in our decision-making.
Themes
IrrationalityReasonBalanceEmotionWisdom
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture on decision-making, one might use this quote to illustrate the complexity of human psychology.
More from Aldous Huxley
All quotes βFacts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.
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In the course of history many more people have died for their drink and their dope than have died for their religion or their country.
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On no account brood over your wrongdoing. Rolling in the muck is not the best way of getting clean.
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No man ever dared to manifest his boredom so insolently as does a Siamese tomcat when he yawns in the face of his amorously importunate wife.
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The leech's kiss, the squid's embrace, The prurient ape's defiling touch: And do you like the human race? No, not much.
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