To look at the symbolic dimensions of social action—art, religion, ideology, science, law, morality, common sense—is not to turn away from the existential dilemmas of life for some empyrean realm of deemotionalized forms; it is to plunge into the midst of them.
关注社会行动的符号维度——艺术、宗教、意识形态、科学、法律、道德、常识——并不是为了逃避生活的存在困境，进入某种超然的、去情感化的形式领域；而是为了深入这些困境的核心。
I believe in the discipline of mastering the best that other people have ever figured out.I don't believe in just sitting down and trying to dream it all up yourself.
存在两种可能性：要么我们在宇宙中是孤独的，要么不是。两者都同样可怕。
生存下来的不是最强壮的物种，也不是最聪明的物种，而是对变化反应最迅速的物种。