Paul Goodman Quotes

A collection of quotes by Paul Goodman.

Paul Goodman (1911-1972) was an influential American writer and social critic who made significant contributions to various fields including literature, philosophy, education, and urban planning. Born in New York City, Goodman grew up in a working-class Jewish family and experienced a troubled childhood, which greatly influenced his perspectives on social issues.

Although he never received a formal degree, Goodman became a prolific writer, authoring numerous books and essays that explored his ideas on urban life, sexuality, education, and personal freedom. His most famous work, "Growing Up Absurd" (1960), critically examined the disillusionment and alienation experienced by young Americans during the post-World War II era.

Goodman was also an advocate for educational reform, promoting non-authoritarian teaching methods and emphasizing the importance of creativity in the learning process. His writing on education helped shape the progressive education movement and influenced educators around the world.

Additionally, Goodman played a significant role in the field of urban planning, advocating for humane and socially-aware approaches to city design. He emphasized the importance of community involvement and the creation of liveable, sustainable urban spaces.

Throughout his career, Paul Goodman was known for his keen insights, interdisciplinary approach, and commitment to social justice. He challenged conventional thinking and urged individuals to question societal norms, seeking to create a more vibrant, equitable, and humane world. His work continues to inspire scholars, activists, and thinkers today.

When the sciences are supreme, average people lost their fee

When the sciences are supreme, average people lost their feeling of causality.

Science People Causality

In a milieu of resignation, where the young men think of soc

In a milieu of resignation, where the young men think of society as a closed room in which there are no values but the rejected rat race,... it is extremely hard to aim at objective truth or world culture. One's own products are likely to be personal or parochial.

Men Truth Society Products Culture Race

The important thing about travel in foreign lands is that it

The important thing about travel in foreign lands is that it breaks the speech habits and makes you blab less, and breaks the habitual space-feeling because of different village plans and different landscapes. It is less important that there are different mores, for you counteract these with your own reaction-formations.

Comedy deflates the sense precisely so that the underlying l

Comedy deflates the sense precisely so that the underlying lubricity and malice may bubble to the surface.

To translate, one must have a style of his own, for otherwis

To translate, one must have a style of his own, for otherwise the translation will have no rhythm or nuance, which come from the process of artistically thinking through and molding the sentences; they cannot be reconstituted by piecemeal imitation. The problem of translation is to retreat to a simpler tenor of one's own style and creatively adjust this to one's author.

When a village ceases to be a community, it becomes oppressi

When a village ceases to be a community, it becomes oppressive in its narrow conformity. So one becomes an individual and migrates to the city. There, finding others like-minded, one re-establishes a village community. Nowadays only New Yorkers are yokels.

There is such a thing as food and such a thing as poison. Bu

There is such a thing as food and such a thing as poison. But the damage done by those who pass off poison as food is far less than that done by those who generation after generation convince people that food is poison.

For mankind, speech with a capital S is especially meaningfu

For mankind, speech with a capital S is especially meaningful and committing, more than the content communicated. The outcry of the newborn and the sound of the bells are fraught with mystery more than the baby's woeful face or the venerable tower.

Few great men could pass personal.

Few great men could pass personal.

It rarely adds anything to say, In my opinion --not even mod

It rarely adds anything to say, In my opinion --not even modesty. Naturally a sentence is only your opinion; and you are not the Pope.

Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies im

Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity.