GK Chesterton |
“The modern mind will accept nothing on authority, but will accept anything on no authority. Say that the Bible or the Pope says so and it will be dismissed without further examination. But preface your remark with ‘I think I heard somewhere,’ or, try but fail to remember the name of some professor who might have said ‘such-and-such,’ and it will be immediately accepted as an unshakable fact.” --G.K. Chesterton
"My country, right or wrong," is a thing that no patriot would think of saying except in a desperate case. It is like saying, "My mother, drunk or sober." -G. K. Chesterton
Journalism largely consists of saying 'Lord Jones is Dead' to people who never knew that Lord Jones was alive. --G. K. Chesterton
Journalism largely consists of saying 'Lord Jones is Dead' to people who never knew that Lord Jones was alive. --G. K. Chesterton
Aug 11, 2021: Caffeinated Thoughts: Dealing With Doubt
G.K. Chesterton in 1959 work Orthodoxy said what we suffer from “is humility in the wrong place. Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition… (and) settled upon the organ of conviction, where it was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed. We are on the road to producing a race of men too mentally modest to believe in the multiplication table.”
G.K. Chesterton in 1959 work Orthodoxy said what we suffer from “is humility in the wrong place. Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition… (and) settled upon the organ of conviction, where it was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed. We are on the road to producing a race of men too mentally modest to believe in the multiplication table.”
The purpose of debate ought not to be to crush or humiliate, for the ultimate goal of crafting a genuine argument is to convince rather than destroy. If “cancel culture” wrecks someone’s life, people may have advanced their cause, or have they? And what has been lost in the process? Freedom to interact, courage to express oneself, encouragement to think, and motivation to go against the flow are sacrificed.
To those who may believe that some people deserve to be removed from the public sphere, or for those who despair over the current state of public discourse, I shall conclude with Chesterton’s insights: “Charity means pardoning the unpardonable … Hope means hoping when things are hopeless … And Faith means believing the incredible.” Adding to that, if we are to popularize Chesterton’s approach to debate and controversy to the public sphere, we must be prepared to build bridges where the ground seems too unstable to support the weight of a unifying structure, and we must also be prepared to stand by those opinions that we believe to be true, even in the wake of a firestorm of criticism. -Chris Chan; Gilbert Magazine Oct 2020
To those who may believe that some people deserve to be removed from the public sphere, or for those who despair over the current state of public discourse, I shall conclude with Chesterton’s insights: “Charity means pardoning the unpardonable … Hope means hoping when things are hopeless … And Faith means believing the incredible.” Adding to that, if we are to popularize Chesterton’s approach to debate and controversy to the public sphere, we must be prepared to build bridges where the ground seems too unstable to support the weight of a unifying structure, and we must also be prepared to stand by those opinions that we believe to be true, even in the wake of a firestorm of criticism. -Chris Chan; Gilbert Magazine Oct 2020
Sept 3, 2020: Foundation for Economic Education: Americans Could Learn a Lot from the Friendship of H.G. Wells and G.K. Chesterton
One was an atheistic socialist; the other a faith-based conservative. One was a science-fiction novelist and historian; one a columnist, poet, and mystery novelist
One was an atheistic socialist; the other a faith-based conservative. One was a science-fiction novelist and historian; one a columnist, poet, and mystery novelist
“The best reason for a revivial of philosophy is that unless a man has a philosophy certain horrible things will happen to him ... struck down by blow after blow of blind stupidity and random fate, he will stagger on to a miserable death with no comfort but a series of catchwords.”
-G.K. Chesterton; “The Revival of Philosophy — Why”
-G.K. Chesterton; “The Revival of Philosophy — Why”
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