"Cause and effect, means and ends, seed and fruit, cannot be severed; for the
effect already blooms in the cause, the end preexists in the means, the fruit in
the seed.
Ralph Waldo Emerson 19th century transcendental philosopher
Wonderful quote, and I couldn't agree more. Emerson, along with his friend Henry David Thoreau, has always been one of my favorite philosophers. I first discovered his writings when I was eighteen and a freshman at El Camino College, and I've admired him ever since.
The corollary is also inescapably true: There is no such thing as "the end justifies the means." And YES, I do apply this to politics, as did Emerson and Thoreau in their day. Which makes me a radical by default, but at least I'm in good company!
1 comment:
Wonderful quote, and I couldn't agree more. Emerson, along with his friend Henry David Thoreau, has always been one of my favorite philosophers. I first discovered his writings when I was eighteen and a freshman at El Camino College, and I've admired him ever since.
The corollary is also inescapably true: There is no such thing as "the end justifies the means." And YES, I do apply this to politics, as did Emerson and Thoreau in their day. Which makes me a radical by default, but at least I'm in good company!
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