Human Progress Quotes

“So it was not superior thinkers, inventors or businesses that made Europe rich, but the fact that European elites were less successful in obstructing them... This is somewhat similar to our era of globalization. More countries, in more places, now have access to the sum of humanity's knowledge, and are open to the best innovations from other places... If progress is blocked in one place, many others will continue humanity's journey. (217-218)”
― Johan Norberg, Progress - Ten Reasons to Look Forward to the Future

“Global harmony is only the reflection of humankind's internal harmony.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Fabric of Humanity

“the
strongest principle of growth lies in human choice. The sons of Judah have
to choose that God may again choose them. The Messianic time is the time
when Israel shall will the planting of the national ensign. The Nile
overflowed and rushed onward: the Egyptian could not choose the overflow,
but he chose to work and make channels for the fructifying waters, and
Egypt became the land of corn. Shall man, whose soul is set in the royalty
of discernment and resolve, deny his rank and say, I am an onlooker, ask
no choice or purpose of me? That is the blasphemy of this time. The divine
principle of our race is action, choice, resolved memory. Let us
contradict the blasphemy, and help to will our own better future and the
better future of the world--not renounce our higher gift and say, 'Let us
be as if we were not among the populations;' but choose our full heritage,
claim the brotherhood of our nation, and carry into it a new brotherhood
with the nations of the Gentiles. The vision is there; it will be
fulfilled.”
― George Eliot, Daniel Deronda

“As a species, wise, harmonious progress is our mission.”
― Abhijit Naskar, I Am The Thread: My Mission

“Socialism' should not be taken to mean merely subordinating the economy to the needs and values of society. It also involves the creation, as an effect of ever shorter and increasingly flexible working hours, of a growing sphere of sharing within the community, of voluntary and self-organized co-operation, of increasingly extensive self-determined activities.”
― André Gorz, Capitalism, Socialism, Ecology

“There is no greater jihad than to help the helpless - there is no greater crusade than to bring hope to the hopeless - there is no greater advancement than to lift the fallen - there is no greater humanity than to burn oneself for others to have warmth.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Aşkanjali: The Sufi Sermon

“Progress does not mean that we will ever reach a paradisiacal end state where everything will be optimal for everyone everywhere. New problems will arise, and they will have to be solved, however imperfectly, by future generations. As such, the world will never be a perfect place. After all, the beings who inhabit it are themselves imperfect. As the German philosopher and advocate of gradual human progress Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) observed in 1784, “From such crooked timber as humankind is made of nothing entirely straight can be made.”
― Marian L Tupy, Superabundance: The Story of Population Growth, Innovation, and Human Flourishing on an Infinitely Bountiful Planet

“Progress begins when you liberate your mind from the shackles of your ingrained tendencies of authoritarianism – the tendencies of greed – the tendencies of hatred, rage and lust.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Wise Mating: A Treatise on Monogamy

“Be skeptic, be doubtful, be rebellious towards every single dogma of the society. Only then there will be hope of progress for humanity.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Illusion of Religion: A Treatise on Religious Fundamentalism

“Patriotism or Nationalism without reasoning is what I call “Nationalist Fundamentalism”, which is as dangerous as “Religious Fundamentalism”.”
― Abhijit Naskar, I Am The Thread: My Mission

“Prayers bring comfort, not change. Change requires tangible human efforts.”
― Abhijit Naskar, 7 Billion Gods: Humans Above All

“Science does not stand as a moral guardian of humanity, rather it attempts to stand as the least subjective, least biased and least sociologically conditioned friend to humanity, when humanity seeks answers of real significance.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Morality Absolute

“We are a stupid species with smart phones.”
― Abhijit Naskar

“Human progress isn't measured by industry, it's measured by the value you put on a life.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Time to Save Medicine

“Progress means progress of all humans from all walks of life, not just the progress in science, progress in technology or progress in philosophy.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Saint of The Sapiens

“The need has finally arisen, for the humans to stand up, in order to make humanity come true, otherwise, we will end up as yet another dying species - and unlike other animal species, we will not die probably of starvation or sickness, rather we will die due to our intellectual stupidity - due to the unrealization of our innate humanity.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Time to Save Medicine

“One human's despair is all humans' despair - one human's joy is all humans' joy - one human's accomplishments are all humans’ accomplishments. Such should be the genuine thinking of a civilized and conscientious human, if there is to be peace and harmony in the world.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Fabric of Humanity

“It changed the life of mankind more radically than the printing press. It created suburbs and a hundred other dependencies—sexual and economic and narcotic—upon the automobile. And the automobile paved the way for more profound – more inward- inner dependencies upon Television and then robots, and finally the ultimate and predictable conclusion of it all: the perfection of the chemistry of the mind…It all began, I suppose, with learning to build fires—to warm the cave and keep the predators out. And it ended with time-release Valium.”
― Walter Tevis, Mockingbird

“Impossible? Utopic?
Sure!
But for how long?
Can any human endeavor be eternally impossible or utopic ?
A time factor should be integrated to every affirmation of utopia, or else the people affirming that would only be affirming that they are not the ones who can make it happen.”
― Haroutioun Bochnakian

“Bring all your power out my friend, and throw away such Gods, such doctrines, such institutions, that impede in the path of human progress.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Illusion of Religion: A Treatise on Religious Fundamentalism

“Modern society is modern because of its mental cocktail of reasoning and compassion. Turn the compassion network in the brain off, and it will be a society of heartless robots. On the other hand, turn the reasoning network off, and it will be a society of dumb sentimental apes.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Human Making is Our Mission: A Treatise on Parenting

“In order to build a truly wise society devoid of any kind of existential crisis, it is imperative that the individuals foster a healthy integration between cognition and behavior. When cognition and behavior are not in sync, no civilization can progress in peace and harmony. Without this fundamental integration between cognition and behavior, the so-called “civilization” only miserizes itself by always confusing the acquirement of instant gratifications to be peace and happiness.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Morality Absolute

“Almost everyone talks about world peace. They expect that somehow peace is going to magically appear all around them, and everybody is going to be happy then on. What they do not realize is that, in reality, peace can rise from nowhere else but their own mind. How can you expect the world to be a peaceful place, if you yourself are not at peace within yourself! World peace is nothing but the collective mental state of peaceful humans. Hence, it all starts with the humans – each human – each one of us.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Morality Absolute

“The purpose of the pattern is to serve the humans, but today's so-called modern society takes the pattern to be of more value than the human, henceforth it makes slaves out of the humans to serve the pattern - and that's where all the troubles of the society begin - then to eliminate those troubles the humans create more patterns - thus the humans get ever-lastingly swallowed by the authoritarianism of patterns.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Fabric of Humanity

“The resources invested in protecting the borders if put to use to uplift humanity then we could give all humans of the world all the happiness they require.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Fabric of Humanity

“A civilized society should mean non-judgmental communication - it should mean warm interconnection - it should mean shared psychology - it should mean a true psychological singularity. The world needs psychological singularity, that is oneness among humans, not some pompous biotechnological singularity.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Fabric of Humanity

“All issues in the society prevail, because the person thinks, the self is separate from the society. And this is the gravest mistake that any sentient species could ever make. With great sentience, comes great responsibility.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Citizens of Peace: Beyond the Savagery of Sovereignty

“The measure of progress is not in how many smart cities we’ve built, or how many revolutionary technologies we’ve invented – the measure of progress is in how many lives we’ve improved.”
― Abhijit Naskar, The Gospel of Technology

“There is no such thing as fall of humanity, for humankind never rose to civilization. Our ancestors were savages with bow and arrow, we are modern savages with nuclear ammunition.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Giants in Jeans: 100 Sonnets of United Earth

“If - with great impatience - you want the known path you are on to end immediately and new discoveries and adventures begin by embarking on an unknown path, then you have the very right spirit and excitement that is necessary for the progress of humanity!”
― Mehmet Murat ildan