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Quotes from The Soul of the Marionette: A Short Enquiry into Human Freedom — John Gray

born 1948 England

← All quotes by John Gray

4 quotes

Near-ubiquitous technological monitoring is a consequence of the decline of cohesive societies that has occurred alongside the rising demand for individual freedom.

The Soul of the Marionette: A Short Enquiry into Human Freedom (2015)

Humans kill one another – and in some cases themselves – for many reasons, but none is more human than the attempt to make sense of their lives. More than the loss of life, they fear loss of meaning.

The Soul of the Marionette: A Short Enquiry into Human Freedom (2015)

The belief that there is some hidden cabal directing the course of events is a type of anthropomorphism – a way of finding agency in the entropy of history.

The Soul of the Marionette: A Short Enquiry into Human Freedom (2015)

Human beings act, certainly. But none of them knows why they act as they do. There is a scattering of facts, which can be known and reported. Beyond these facts are the stories that are told. Human beings may behave like puppets, but no one is pulling the strings.

The Soul of the Marionette: A Short Enquiry into Human Freedom (2015)

Attribution

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