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When we are lulled into somnolence by lack of challenge every molehill tends to become a mountain, every minor inconvenience an intolerable imposition. For a self-chosen reality tends to become a prison. The factors that protect and insulate civilized man can easily end by suffocating him unless he possesses a high degree of self-discipline, the 'highly developed vital sense' that Shaw speaks of. And since clever and sensitive
people
are inclined to lack self-discipline, a high degree of culture usually involves a high degree of pessimism. This is what has happened to Western civilisation over the past two centuries. It explains why so many distinguished artists, writers and musicians have taken such a negative view of the human situation.
Colin Wilson
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As man loses touch with his 'inner being', his instinctive depths, he finds himself trapped in the world of consciousness, that is to say, in the world of other
people
. Any poet knows this truth; when other
people
sicken him, he turns to hidden resources of power inside himself, and he knows then that other
people
don't matter a damn. He knows the 'secret life' inside him is the reality; other
people
are mere shadows in comparison. but the 'shadows' themselves cling to one another. 'Man is a political animal', said Aristotle, telling one of the greatest lies in human history. Man has more in common with the hills, or with the stars, than with other men.
Colin Wilson
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Crowley wanted to be a magician because he wanted power — power over other
people
.
Colin Wilson
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You've got the temperament of a scholar, and you live on your own and write books. You don't have anything to do with civilization. You've been in London a few days and you can't wait to get back home. But how about the
people
who can't write books —
people
there's no outlet for in this civilization? What about your new men who don't know what to do?
Colin Wilson
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I was aggressively nonpolitical. I believed that
people
who make a fuss about politics do so because their heads are too empty to think about more important things. So I felt nothing but impatient contempt for Osborne's Jimmy Porter and the rest of the heroes of social protest.
Colin Wilson
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Maslow explained that, some time in the late thirties, he had been struck by the thought that modern psychology is based on the study of sick
people
. But since there are more healthy
people
around than sick
people
, how can this psychology give a fair idea of the workings of the human mind? It struck him that it might be worthwhile to devote some time to the study of healthy
people
.
Colin Wilson
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The Outsider's miseries are the prophet's teething pains. He retreats into his room, like a spider in a dark corner; he lives alone, wishes to avoid
people
.
Colin Wilson
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The worst crimes are not committed by evil degenerates, but by decent and intelligent
people
taking 'pragmatic' decisions.
Colin Wilson
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No matter how honest scientists think they are, they are still influenced by various unconscious assumptions that prevent them from attaining true objectivity. Expressed in a sentence, Fort's principle goes something like this:
People
with a psychological need to believe in marvels are no more prejudiced and gullible than
people
with a psychological need not to believe in marvels.
Colin Wilson
Quote of the day
Nothing is impossible in this world. Firm determination, it is said, can move heaven and earth. Things appear far beyond one's power, because one cannot set his heart on any arduous project due to want of strong will.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
Colin Wilson
Creative Commons
Born:
June 26, 1931
Died:
December 5, 2013
(aged 82)
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