Celia Green
British philosopher and author.
The perception that existence exists invalidates the normal personality,as does the imminence of death.
I have long had a theory that the popularity of Christianity has always depended on its appeal to the sadism of its adherents. The exceptional should be crucified, saith Society; and somehow everyone suspects (in spite of all arguments to the contrary) that if there is a God, he may be exceptional in some way. So the figure of Christ crucified becomes the figure of the dangerous exceptional alien—suitably defeated. 'Only a suffering God can help', said Bonhoeffer, licking his lips.
What is scandalous is not that stupid people should sometimes inherit private incomes; but that clever people should sometimes not.
I spent a couple of years between eleven and thirteen analysing the social evaluations that were taken for granted, also acquiring a thorough scepticism about processes regarded as causal, and the consistency of the physical world, as well as the reliability of my own mental processes. By the time I was thirteen I was running out of things to think about, so starting on a run of exam-taking seemed all the more appropriate, as I was finding it difficult to make use of spare time.
Young people wonder how the adult world can be so boring. The secret is that it is not boring to adults because they have learned to enjoy simple things like covert malice at one another's expense. This is why they talk so much about the value of human understanding and sympathy - it has a certain rarity value in their world.
It is inconceivable that anything should be existing. It is not inconceivable that a lot of people should also be existing who are not interested in the fact that they exist. But it is certainly very odd.
On the face of it there is something rather strange about human psychology. Human beings live in a state of mind called sanity, on a small planet in space. They are not quite sure whether the space around them is infinite or not, either way it is unthinkable. If they think about time, they find that it is inconceivable that it had a beginning. It is also inconceivable that it did not have a beginning. Thoughts of this kind are not disturbing to sanity, which is obviously a remarkable phenomenon that deserves more recognition.
The remarkable thing about the human mind is its range of limitations.
Lack of clarity is always a sign of dishonesty.
Only the impossible is worth attempting. In everything else one is sure to fail.
Children need admiration rather than affection.
In the universe there is room for an infinite series of beginnings.
People accept their limitations so as to prevent themselves from wanting anything they might get.
It is when the commercial factor enters into the situation that the possibility of genuine individual liberty arises.
When someone says his conclusions are objective, he means that they are based on prejudices which many other people share.
In the country of the blind the one-eyed man is lucky to escape with his life.
The psychology of committees is a special case of the psychology of mobs.
The way to do research is to attack the facts at the point of greatest astonishment.
Society is a self-regulating mechanism for preventing the fulfilment of its members.
The most exciting thing possible is actually true.