A society that fears knowledge is a society that fears itself. Bernard Beckett More Quotes by Bernard Beckett More Quotes From Bernard Beckett I cant see any great evidence that humans have any ability to access anything other than the material world. Beyond that, who knows, but theres no good evidence that would take me to any particular belief. Bernard Beckett ability belief world I respond well to what I read of Immanuel Kants idea that the world as we see it is absolutely a function of the way our brain works. In the modern parlance, its an evolved machine that we carry with us. Bernard Beckett machines brain ideas I write with teenagers in mind. Bernard Beckett teenager mind writing Human spirit is the ability to face the uncertainty of the future with curiosity and optimism. It is the belief that problems can be solved, differences resolved. It is a type of confidence. And it is fragile. It can be blackened by fear, and superstition. By the year 2050, when the conflict began, the world had fallen upon fearful, superstitious times. Bernard Beckett optimistic fear years This is always the problem with building heroes. To keep them pure, we must build them stupid. The world is built on compromise and uncertainty, and such a place is too complex for heroes to flourish. Bernard Beckett stupid hero world The mind is not a machine, it is an idea. And the Idea resists all attempts to control it. Bernard Beckett machines mind ideas There is a fascination with fear. It grabs our attention. Bernard Beckett our fascination fear attention The successful Idea travels from mind to mind, claiming new territory, mutating as it goes. Bernard Beckett new territory successful mind I like the concept of teenagers and philosophy. Bernard Beckett teenagers concept like philosophy I'm a school teacher, and later on, well past my formal education, I became very interested in science. Bernard Beckett education teacher science past The Idea enters the brain from the outside. It rearranges the furniture to make it more to its liking. It finds other Ideas already in residence, and picks fights or forms alliances. The alliances build new structures, to defend themselves against intruders. Bernard Beckett new furniture brain ideas I didn't study science beyond high school level, but I'd been reading a lot of science books by people like Richard Dawkins, Matt Ridley and Daniel Dennett. I also spent a year working on a fellowship in a research centre - the Allan Wilson Centre - where I got a hands-on look at their work sequencing DNA. Bernard Beckett look work science people