Like the collector, the photographer is animated by a passion that, even when it appears to be for the present, is linked to a sense of the past.
Susan SontagRead
Religion is probably, after sex, the second oldest resource which human beings have available to them for blowing their minds.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Religion serves as a profound influence on human thought and experience, much like sex.
Susan Sontag's quote suggests that religion, like sex, is a fundamental aspect of human existence that allows for profound experiences and altered states of consciousness. Both serve as ancient means through which individuals seek to understand life, transcend ordinary experiences, and explore the depths of human emotion and thought.
Themes
ReligionExperiencePhilosophyHumanMindSex
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about the role of religion in modern society, one could use this quote to highlight its significance.
More from Susan Sontag
All quotes βScience fiction films are not about science. They are about disaster, which is one of the oldest subjects of art.
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Gide and I have attained such perfect intellectual communion that I experience the appropriate labor pains for every thought he gives birth to!
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Volume depends precisely on the writer's having been able to sit in a room every day, year after year, alone.
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In NY sensuality completely turns into sexuality - no objects for the senses to respond to, no beautiful river, houses, people. Awful smells of the street, and dirt... Nothing except eating, if that, and the frenzy of the bed.
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It hurts to love. It's like giving yourself to be flayed and knowing that at any moment the other person may just walk off with your skin.
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We seek true individuality and the true individuals. But we find them not. For lo, we mortals see what our poor eyes can see; and they, the true individuals, - they belong not to this world of our merely human sense and thought.
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