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Quotes from Eric Hoffer and the Art of the Notebook — Eric Hoffer

1902–1983 United States

← All quotes by Eric Hoffer

44 quotes

I could never figure out — or probably did not take the trouble to figure out — what the great philosophical problems are about. The momentous statements I come across are at best a storm in a teacup. There are quite a number of people who have a vested interest in the stuff, make a noble living out of it, and they conspire with one another to keep it alive.

Eric Hoffer and the Art of the Notebook (2005)

Flaubert and Nietzsche have emphasized the importance of standing up and walking in the process of thinking. The peripatetics were perhaps motivated by the same awareness. Yet purposeful walking — what we call marching — is an enemy of thought and is used as a powerful instrument for the suppression of independent thought and the inculcation of unquestioned obedience.

Eric Hoffer and the Art of the Notebook (2005)

It has been my experience that there is no substitute for time where thinking is concerned. Why is it so? The answer seems to be that in many cases to think means to be able to allow the mind to stray from the task at hand. The mind must be able to be "elsewhere." This needs time.

Eric Hoffer and the Art of the Notebook (2005)

The chief difference between me and others is that I have plenty of time — not only because I am without a multitude of responsibilities and without daily tasks, which demand attention: But also because I am basically without ambition. Neither the present nor the future has claims on me.

Eric Hoffer and the Art of the Notebook (2005)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Eric Hoffer (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.