Václav Havel — Quote from Address to US Congress
“The salvation of this human world lies nowhere else than in the human heart, in the human power to reflect, in human meekness and in human responsibility.”
Address to US Congress (1990)
Concepts: agency, praxis, solidarity
Resonant Quotes
- “I have no idea what's awaiting me, or what will happen when this all ends. Fo...” — Albert Camus, The Plague Both embody the existentialist ethics of radical responsibility in the face of absurdity—Havel's call for human refle...
- “The evil that is in the world always comes of ignorance, and good intentions ...” — Albert Camus, The Plague Both authors locate the source of both evil and salvation in human consciousness itself—Camus in our capacity for und...
- “With word and deed we insert ourselves into the human world, and this inserti...” — Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition Both locate human dignity in our capacity for self-transformation through conscious engagement—Arendt's 'second birth...
- “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until...” — James Baldwin, The Cross of Redemption Both quotes locate transformative power in honest human confrontation with reality—Havel's salvation through reflecti...
- “Action, the only activity that goes on directly between men without the inter...” — Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition Havel's emphasis on human responsibility and reflection as world-saving forces aligns with Arendt's vision of action ...
- “I rebel; therefore we exist.” — Albert Camus, The Rebel Both locate human meaning in our capacity to respond—whether through rebellion or reflection—to conditions that trans...
- “To exist, humanly, is to name the world, to change it. Once named, the world ...” — Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed Both ground human transformation in fundamental capacities — Freire in the naming consciousness, Havel in reflective ...
- “Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless me...” — Paulo Freire, The Politics of Education Both reject the possibility of moral neutrality, with Havel's emphasis on human responsibility directly countering th...