Posted: 6/10/2019 Updated: 10/3/2019
Update Of 10/3/2019
It has come to my attention today that the French philosopher Raymond Aron in 1955 published a book by the title “The Opium of the Intellectuals”. “The title of the book is an inversion of Karl Marx's famous dictum that religion is the opium of the people, and is a derivation from Simone Weil's quotation that "Marxism is undoubtedly a religion, in the lowest sense of the word. ... [I]t has been continually used ... as an opiate for the people."”
Original Post
Today, I was reading up on Paul Dirac (one of the most preeminent physicists of the 20th century), in particular his religious views, on Wikipedia (S2). His views, apparently were extremely ignorant and full of hubris as is not uncommon among the intellectual elite. Though, in later years, Dirac may have become more moderate in his views of religion.
“The full quote from Karl Marx translates as: "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people"” (S1; emphasis added)
How many intellectuals, particularly on the left, have adopted this utter nonsense of a weirdo like Karl Marx? I am afraid, way too many!
Where does the universe come from? Where do all the many smaller and larger kind acts of goodness come from that we humans witness every day?
Sources (S):
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