A quotation from Orwell

The weakness of the child is that it starts with a blank sheet. It neither understands nor questions the society in which it lives, and because of its credulity other people can work upon it, infecting it with the sense of inferiority and the dread of offending against mysterious, terrible laws.

George Orwell (1903–1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1948-06), “‘Such, Such Were the Joys …’,” Partisan Review (1952-09)

More about this quote: wist.info/orwell-george/35818/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #authority #child #childabuse #childrearing #credulity #inferiority #obedience #tabularasa

A quotation from Diderot

And his hands would plait the priest’s entrails,
For want of a rope, to strangle kings.
 
[Et ses mains ourdiraient les entrailles du prêtre,
Au défaut d’un cordon pour étrangler les rois.]

Denis Diderot (1713-1784) French editor, philosopher
Poem (1772), “Les Éleuthéromanes”

Much more about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/diderot-denis/6524/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #diderot #denisdiderot #authority #Christianity #church #clergy #freedom #king #liberty #monarchy #priest #priesthood #rebellion #revolution #royalty #strangulation #tyranny

A quotation from Twain

To be vested with enormous authority is a fine thing; but to have the onlooking world consent to it is a finer.

Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
Novel (1889), A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, Part 3 “The Tale of the Lost Land,” ch. 8 “The Boss”

More about this quote: wist.info/twain-mark/39269/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #twain #marktwain #connecticutyankee #buyin #agreement #authority #consent #consentofthegoverned #democracy #popularopinion #popularity #power #support

A quotation from Ingersoll

The fact is, very few men are right in everything. Great virtues may draw attention from defects, but they cannot sanctify them. A pebble surrounded by diamonds remains a common stone, and a diamond surrounded by pebbles is still a gem. No one should attempt to refute an argument by pronouncing the name of some man, unless he is willing to adopt all the ideas and beliefs of that man. It is better to give reasons and facts than names. An argument should not depend for its force upon the name of its author. Facts need no pedigree, logic has no heraldry, and the living should not awed by the mistakes of the dead.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Lecture (1881-05-01) “The Great Infidels,” Booth’s Theater, New York

More about this quote: wist.info/ingersoll-robert-gre…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #ingersoll #robertingersoll #robertgreeningersoll #ancestors #argument #authority #debate #defect #elders #facts #fallacy #feetofclay #forefathers #imperfection #perfection #truth #virtue

A quotation from The Bible

No one can stand a person who talks too long and will not give others a chance to speak.
 
ὁ πλεονάζων λόγῳ βδελυχθήσεται,
καὶ ὁ ἐνεξουσιαζόμενος μισηθήσεται.

The Bible (The Old Testament) (14th - 2nd C BC) Judeo-Christian sacred scripture [Tanakh, Hebrew Bible], incl. the Apocrypha (Deuterocanonicals)
Book 22b. Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 20: 8ff (Sir 20:8) [tr. GNT (1992 ed.)]

More about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/bible-ot/84583/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #bible #oldtestament #apocrypha #baruch #ecclesiasticus #authority #chatter #loquaciousness #pretending #pretense #speaking #talking #usurpation #wordiness

Accountability is under the microscope. 🔬

👉 https://open.substack.com/pub/brywillis634737/p/the-disambiguation-cost-of-accountability?r=pvxh5&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=masto&showWelcomeOnShare=true

I have long been suspicious of the grammar of accountability, so I am considering publishing an essay on the topic. Much has already been written about this weasel word, a favoured spirit animal by corporations and now adopted by the AI Ethics cohorts.

#philosophy #language #accountability #governance #ethics #aiethics #institutions #authority #substack #blog #essay #ontologicalgrammar #languageinsufficiency #lih

Anyone who tells you to trust authority is your enemy and the servant of your slaver.

#Authority #Patronage #Freedom