A Quote by William S. Burroughs

In the magical universe there are no coincidences and there are no accidents. Nothing happens unless someone wills it to happen. The dogma of science is that the will cannot possibly affect external forces, and I think that’s just ridiculous. It’s as bad as the church. My viewpoint is the exact contrary of the scientific viewpoint. I believe that if you run into somebody in the street it’s for a reason.

William S. Burroughs

Quote Topics

Accidents Affect Bad Believe Cannot Church Coincidences Contrary Dogma Exact External External Forces Forces Happen Happens I Believe Just Magical Nothing Possibly Reason Ridiculous Run Science Scientific Somebody Someone Street Think Universe Unless Viewpoint Will Wills

Quote Author

William S. Burroughs
American - Writer
February 5, 1914 - August 2, 1997

in the magical universe there are no coincidences and there are no accidents. nothing happens unless someone wills it to happen

William S. Burroughs

If you and I are not having a dialogue, when you're having an argument, the reason the argument happen is because we are not listening to each other. Then, the argument comes in, but if we truly listen instead of hearing, argument will not happen. Then, we'll empathize, and then once the empathy kicks in, you will be much more inclining with my viewpoint and I'll be inclining with your viewpoint, and that's what is missing in organizations.

Subir Chowdhury

I personally believe in some sort of divine order - or energy. I do believe that everything happens for a reason. I do think that when something bad happens to someone it's with the purpose of awakening them. I do think there is some force behind that. I don't think there are accidents.

Gwyneth Paltrow

Perspective starts from one viewpoint and never gets away from it. But the viewpoint is quite unimportant. It is though someone were to draw profiles all his life, leading people to think that a man has only one eye.

Georges Braque

Suggesting that just because someone who is on the telly has a superior moral viewpoint to someone who say, shelf stacks at Aldi is ridiculous.

Alan Carr

We must avoid the spiritual disease of the Church that can become self-referential: when this happens, the Church itself becomes sick. It’s true that accidents can happen when you go out into the street, as can happen to any man or woman. But if the Church remains closed onto itself, self-referential, it grows old. Between a Church that goes into the street and gets into an accident and a Church that is sick with self-referentiality, I have no doubts in preferring the first.

Pope Francis

From a historical viewpoint, religion is just a kind of superstition, and from a political viewpoint it is a tool of social control.

Mario Bunge

I don't believe in coincidences. I believe that things happen for a reason, and I think God has things - whether it's good or bad - happen towards a bigger picture that you don't necessarily understand at the present time.

Goldlink

Nothing, therefore, happens unless the Omnipotent wills it to happen. He either permits it to happen, or He brings it about Himself.

Saint Augustine

If you consider any set of data without a preconceived viewpoint, then a viewpoint will emerge from the data.

William S. Burroughs

One might think this means that imaginary numbers are just a mathematical game having nothing to do with the real world. From the viewpoint of positivist philosophy, however, one cannot determine what is real. All one can do is find which mathematical models describe the universe we live in. It turns out that a mathematical model involving imaginary time predicts not only effects we have already observed but also effects we have not been able to measure yet nevertheless believe in for other reasons. So what is real and what is imaginary? Is the distinction just in our minds?

Stephen Hawking

I'm all for free speech, and I don't need my viewpoint to be the only viewpoint.

Brett Gelman

How else do you think life happens? A series of coincidences and occurrences have to happen somehow. Our lives all crash and collide and you think there's no reason or rhyme to it? If there wasn't any reason for it all, what would be the point? Why do you think anything happens at all? There is an outcome, repercussions and occurrences to everybody you meet and everything you say.

Cecelia Ahern

The only truth is that we cannot speak the truth . The only acceptable viewpoint is that we cannot express a viewpoint.

Murong Xuecun

We foresee no limit to scientific advancement in the future, and in scientific truth there is nothing dead; science is always a living and growing body of knowledge; but art on the contrary has many times run its course to an end, and exhausted its vital power.