Ideological Barriers Quotes

The slowness of one section of the world about adopting the valuable ideas of another section of it is a curious thing and unaccountable. This form of stupidity is confined to no community, to no nation; it is universal. The fat is the human race is not only slow about borrowing valuable ideas—but sometimes persists in not borrowing them at all.

The concept of reason itself appears as an artificial attempt to separate intellectual powers from the frustrations, emotions, and accidents which cause events; the concept of reason is viewed as facade to prevent change.

I am happy that I have so many friends all over the world who contributed to my research work, and I believe that also in the future, basic research offers the best opportunity of reaching across borders and overcoming ideological barriers.

I think that what led largely to Trump's election was the manifestation of the too-common mindset that facts don't matter; in other words, "manifest destiny" - the truth will not penetrate the barriers of our ideology if the truth doesn't sit well with our predispositions.

I remain convinced that obstinate addiction to ordinary language in our private thoughts is one of the main obstacles to progress in philosophy.

The real significance of the [Spanish] Inquisition lay in the isolation to which it condemned the land, and its benumbing influence on the intellectual development of the people…. It [also] obstructed … commercial relations by imposing absurd and costly regulations at the ports to prevent the slightest chance of the introduction of heretical opinions.

Sociology almost always dominates technology. Ideas often lie unused because people do not want to use them.

Barack Obama won such a big electoral mandate because a lot of people thought he was - transcended partisan and ideological barriers and was going to put aside the old debates. So, he was able to get a lot of moderates and a lot of independents.

Any initiative which patently served the interests of society was immediately viewed with suspicion and even with overt hostility. Why was our system so unresponsive to renewal and innovation?

Isn't it strange that people build walls to keep an enemy out, and there's only one part of the world and one philosophy where they have to build walls to keep their people in.

I believe that the only important structural obstacles to world prosperity are the obsolete doctrines that clutter the minds of men.

When I look around the world and think why is everything working or not working, it's because it's entrenched ideology. You can't solve a problem if you're sitting down with people who say, "All these ideas are off the table because of what I believe."

What gets in our way is history and culture and religion and economic conditions. It is part of the hypnosis of our social conditioning.

Obviously, there are people who constrict themselves and build walls around themselves, whether it's from a moral standpoint or a patriotic standpoint, or just plain old conformity, and who therefore live in those little prisons, and when things breach those walls, it's shocking for them.