There are similarities between absolute power and absolute faith: a demand for absolute obedience, a readiness to attempt the impossible, a bias for simple solutions — to cut the knot rather than unravel it, the viewing of compromise as surrender. Both absolute power and absolute faith are instruments of dehumanization. Hence, absolute faith corrupts as absolutely as absolute power.
Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
The New York Times Magazine, “Thoughts of Eric Hoffer,” p. 24 (25 Apr. 1971)
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Good thought, thank you.
We aim to please.
I’ve never looked at it that way, but I think Hoffer is right.
Mostly what I’ve focused on is the ways in which absolute faith robs people of realism. Such as in denying the theory of evolution, or in promoting abstinence only sex education despite all the evidence showing how it fails.
I think any “absolute” qualifies as being realism-robbing, as it implies a status far beyond anything that humans can achieve.