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Our civilization is first and foremost a civilization of means in the reality of modern life, the means, it would seem, are more important than the ends.

Jacques Ellul

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Jacques Ellul
Age: 82 †
Born: 1912
Born: January 6
Died: 1994
Died: May 19
French Resistance Fighter
Philosopher
Sociologist
Theologian
University Teacher
Writer
Bordèu
Important
Modern
Would
Means
Life
Reality
Ends
Seems
Firsts
Foremost
First
Civilization
Mean
Seem

More quotes by Jacques Ellul

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For in a civilization which has lost the meaning of life, the most important thing a Christian can do is to live, and life, understood from the point of view of faith, has an extraordinary explosive force.
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Human life as a whole is not inundated by technique. It has room for activities that are not rationally or systematically ordered. But the collision between spontaneous activities and technique is catastrophic for the spontaneous activities.
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It is the emergence of mass media which makes possible the use of propaganda techniques on a societal scale.
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I describe a world with no exit, convinced that God accompanies man throughout his history.
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It is not true that the perfection of police power is the result of the state's Machiavellianism or of some transitory influence. The whole structure of society implies it, of necessity. The more we mobilize the forces of nature, the more must we mobilize men and the more do we require order.
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Propaganda begins when dialogue ends.
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Belief is reassuring. People who live in the world of belief feel safe. On the contrary, faith is forever placing us on the razor's edge.
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Freedom is completely without meaning unless it is related to necessity, unless it represents victory over necessity.
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Am I a pessimist? Not at all. I am convinced that the history of the human race, no matter how tragic, will ultimately lead to the Kingdom of God. I am convinced that all the works of humankind will be reintegrated in the work of God, and that each of us, no matter how sinful, will ultimately be saved.
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The most favorable moment to seize a man and influence him is when he is alone in the mass. It is at this point that propaganda can be most effective.
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Again I want to emphasize that the study of propaganda must be conducted within the context of a technological society. Propaganda is called upon to solve problems created by technology, to play on maladjustments, and to integrate the individual into a technological world.
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No technique is possible when men are free. Technique requires predictability and, no less, exactness of prediction. It is necessary, then, that technique prevail over the human being.
Jacques Ellul
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Mass media provides the essential link between the individual and the demands of the technological society.
Jacques Ellul
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Thinking has become a superfluous exercise... purely internal, without compelling force, more or less a game.
Jacques Ellul
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For the word is dialectical in itself and at the same time is integrated into the whole of existence. By this I mean that the word is intended to be lived.
Jacques Ellul
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Philosophy which asserts that human experience repeats itself is ineffectual.
Jacques Ellul
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Prayer is not a discourse. It is a form of life, the life with God. That is why it is not confined to the moment of verbal statement.
Jacques Ellul
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Journalistic content is a technical complex expressly intended to adapt man to the machine.
Jacques Ellul
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Technical civilization has made a great error in not suppressing death, the only human reality still intact
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And an apprenticeship to whatever gadgetry is useful in a technical world
Jacques Ellul