A curious paradox: people have only the narrowest private i… - Walter Benjamin

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A curious paradox: people have only the narrowest private interest in mind when they act, yet they are at the same time more than ever determined in their behavior by the instincts of the mass. ... The diversity of individual goals is immaterial in face of the identity of the determining forces.

Walter Benjamin

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About Walter Benjamin

Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin (15 July 1892 – 26 September 1940) was a German Jewish literary critic and philosopher. He was at times associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory, and was also greatly inspired by the Marxism of Bertolt Brecht and the Jewish mysticism of Gershom Scholem.

Also Known As

Pen Names: Benedix Schönflies • Detlev Holz

Alternative Names: Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin

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George Steiner Jorge Luis Borges Northrop Frye Alfred North Whitehead George Santayana

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Ich packe meine Bibliothek aus ("Unpacking my library", 1931), p. 2

Der Beruf folgt so wenig aus der Wissenschaft, dass sie ihn sogar ausschließen kann. Denn die Wissenschaft duldet ihrem Wesen nach keine Lösung von sich.

The enslavement of language in prattle is joined by the enslavement of things in folly almost as its inevitable consequence.

A curious paradox: people have only the narrowest private interest in mind when they act, yet they are at the same time more than ever determined in … - Walter Benjamin

About Walter Benjamin

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