December 2011
48 posts
“People smoke, Dichter explained, because it is both a sign of virility and a legitimate excuse to interrupt the day for a moment of pleasure, “comparable to sucking at the nipples of a gigantic world breast”.”
—In America in the 1930s a Viennese psychologist named Ernest Dichter implored advertisers to explore consumers’ unconscious desires. His insights revolutionised marketing and brought sex to advertising. (via theeconomist)
“There are things one loses in giving up God, and they are not insignificant. Most importantly, you lose the guarantee of redemption. Suppose that you do something morally terrible, something for which you cannot make amends, something, perhaps, for which no human being could ever be expected to forgive you. I imagine that the promise made by many religions, that God will forgive you if you are truly sorry, is a thought would that bring enormous comfort and relief. You cannot have that if you are an atheist. In consequence, you must live your life, and make your choices with the knowledge that every choice you make contributes, in one way or another, to the only value your life can have.”
—Good Minus God: The Moral Atheist - NYTimes.com (via nickdouglas)
“Death is certain, replacing both the siren-song of Paradise and the dread of Hell. Life on this earth, with all its mystery and beauty and pain, is then to be lived far more intensely: we stumble and get up, we are sad, confident, insecure, feel loneliness and joy and love. There is nothing more; but I want nothing more.”
—Christopher Hitchens (via raptoravatar)
