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Eric Hoffer was born in New York City to German immigrants. By age five, Eric was reading in both English and German. Struck by unexplained blindness at age seven, Eric regained his sight at 15. The experience of reading deprivation turned him into a nonstop, inveterate reader. He started working as a migrant in California at age 18 and spent most of his life as a dockworker, writing in his spare time—which won him the sobriquet of “the longshoreman philosopher.” His first book, The True Believer (1951), is a classic. Nine other books were published during his lifetime. His autobiography, Truth Imagined, was published posthumously. D. 1983.
“The facts on which the true believer bases his conclusions must not be derived from his experience or observation but from holy writ . . . To rely on the evidence of the senses and of reason is heresy and treason.
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Thus the effectiveness of a doctrine should not be judged by its profundity, sublimity or the validity of the truths it embodies, but by how thoroughly it insulates the individual from his self and the world as it is. What Pascal said of an effective religion is true of any effective doctrine: It must be ‘contrary to nature, to common sense and to pleasure.’ ”Ya. Wow. Right on. Love that quote.
AnonymousSwoosh. Help me. I don’t get it.
@Wayner,
What he is saying is that belief, in this case Christian belief, that is based on holy writings such as the Bible, require a person to deny their own direct experience and their own ability to reason. You find this anti-intellectualism quite often within fundamentalist Christian communities. This is what sustains creationism, because to deny the Genesis story removes the need for Jesus to die in many doctrinal systems. Belief in the literal Bible trumps reason and evidence.
Pascal noted that religion in his day was contrary to “nature, to common sense, and to pleasure.” and this made it rather successful and difficult to remove. Eric Hoffer is noting that this is also true of effective doctrines. These doctrines, while effective and difficult to counter, are effective because they insulate the believer from themselves and the real world. Reality is the basis of truth, not holy writings.
AnonymousI see. I think my confusion was based on me thinking he was endorsing that position. I was doubly confused, if that were the case, that you would be promoting it.
@Wayner The language is a little dated and the implied meanings are difficult to see because of that. I can see how you might be confused.
AnonymousYa, I did a quick Google of him and it made even less sense. Your clarification makes sense, and it’s very familiar. UGH!
This think came up in the movie Religulous.
AnonymousWayner – Don’t feel bad. I was thinking the same thing.
Richard – Thanks for “splainin” the quote. I agree with what he said (now that I understand what he said -ha!)
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