Enhance Your Quote Experience
Enjoy ad-free browsing, unlimited collections, and advanced search features with Premium.
Actually, there are never motives behind actions. All actions are fixed. What we call motives evidently are rationalizations by the helpless observin… - James Blish
" "Actually, there are never motives behind actions. All actions are fixed. What we call motives evidently are rationalizations by the helpless observing consciousness, which is intelligent enough to smell an event coming—and, since it cannot avert the event, instead cooks up reasons for wanting it to happen...or ascribes it to the malice of God or man.
English
Collect this quote
About James Blish
James Benjamin Blish (May 23, 1921 – July 30, 1975) was an American author of fantasy and science fiction. Blish also wrote literary criticism of science fiction using the pen-name William Atheling Jr.
Also Known As
Pen Names:
William Atheling, Jr.
Birth Name:
James Benjamin Blish
Related quotes. More quotes will automatically load as you scroll down, or you can use the load more buttons.
Additional quotes by James Blish
Limited Time Offer
Premium members can get their quote collection automatically imported into their Quotewise collections.
“Your concept is a tremendous network of inconsistencies.”
“In what way?” the countess said, not very much interested.
“It seems to be based on reverence for the young, and an extremely patient and protective attitude toward their physical and mental welfare. Yet you make them live in these huge caves, utterly out of contact with the natural world, and you teach them to be afraid of death—which of course makes them a little insane, because there is nothing anybody can do about death. It is like teaching them to be afraid of the second law of thermodynamics, just because living matter sets that law aside for a very brief period.
Loading...