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George Orwell (Zitate)


Wissenschaften


Basiswissen


Der englische Autor George Orwell (1903 bis 1950) setzte sich intensiv mit der Frage auseinander, wie man Wahrheit von Lüge oder (Selbst)Täuschung unterscheiden kann. Hier stehen einige Zitate dazu, chronologisch aufsteigend sortiert.

Vorhersagbarkeit


1944, Januar: "But the test of a political theory is its power to foretell the future."[1]

Wissenschaft


1945, Oktober: "[...] scientific education ought to mean the implanting of a rational, sceptical, experimental habit of mind. [...] Science means a way of looking at the world, and not simply a body of knowledge."[2] Mehr dazu unter Wissenschaft (George Orwell) ↗

Teufelskreis


1945, Dezember, über die englische Sprache: "It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenlinessss of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish toughts."[3, Seite 954]

Politiker-Sprech


1945, Dezember: "In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defence of the indefensible"[3, Seite 963]

Inhalt statt Verpackung


1945, Dezember, über die Verteidigung der englischen Sprache: "It has nothing to do with correct grammar and syntax, which are of no importance so long as one makes one's meaning clear."[3, Seite 965]

Soziointegrative Degeneration


1946, Januar, über die einschläfernde Wirkung von Spaß: "[...] the tendency of many modern inventions - in particular the film, the radio and the aeroplane - is to weaken his [mans] consciousness, dull his curiosity, and, in general, drive him nearer to the animals."[4]

Lesefaulheit


1946, Februar, über mangelndes Leseinteresse: "[...] if our book-consumption remains as low as it has been, at least let us admit that it is because reading is a less exciting pastime than going to the dogs, the pictures or the pub, and not because books, whether bought or borrowed, are too expensive."

Doppeldenk I


1946, März: die englische Presse beklagt einerseits einen großen Arbeitskräftemangel in der Bergbauindustrie, andererseits warnt sie vor Gastarbeitern aus Polen oder Deutschland, da diese die Arbeitslosigkeit unter Bergleuten erhöhen könnten: "[...] but there must certainly be many people who are capable of holding these totally contradictory ideas in their heads at a single moment."[6]

Doppeldenk II


1946, März: Orwell beschreibt, wie in der Bibel die genealogische Herkunft von Jesus eklatant widersprüchlich beschrieben wird. Dann: "Medically, I believe, this manner of thinking is called schizophrenia: at any rate, it is the power of holding simultaneously two beliefs which cancel out. Closely allied to it is the power of ignoring facts which are obvious and unalterable, and which will have to be faced sooner or later. It is especially in our political thinking that these vices flourish.[7]" Für einen Bezug zur Zeit um 2020 siehe unter Erderwärmung (Zitate) ↗

Doppeldenk III


1946, März, als einzigen Schutz gegen das oben beschriebene Doppeldenk (doublethink) ist die Kollision mit der harten Realität: "[...] sooner or later a false belief bumps up against solid reality, usually on a battlefield."[8] Für einen Bezug zur Zeit um 2020 siehe Klimawandel ↗

Politikfrust


1946, März: "Politics, on the other hand, is a sort of subatomic or non-Euclidean world where it is quite easy for the part to be greater than the whole or for two objects to be in the same place simultaneously."[9]. Für weitere physikalische Denk-Unmöglichkeiten siehe unter Quantenphysik ↗

Flat Earth Theory


1946, Dezember: "As for the Flat Earth theory, I believe I could refute it. If you stand by the seashore on a clear day, you can see the masts and funnels of invisible ships passing along the horizons. This phenomenon can only be explained by assuming that the earth’s surface is curved. But it does not follow that the earth is spherical. […] My second card is the earth’s shadow: when cast on the moon during eclipses, it appears to be the shadow of a round object. But how do I know, demands the Oval Earth man, that eclipses of the moon are caused by the shadow of the earth?" Siehe mehr zu dem Thema unter Erdkugel ↗

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