The question is not whether consciousness or whether knowledge, but the quality of the consciousness and of the knowledge. And that invites consideration of the quality of fineness of the human subject—the most problematic standard of all.

Georges Bataille, Story of the Eye

Consider also:

  1. “Given a fulcrum, a long-enough lever, and a place to stand, I could topple this son of a bitch.”
  2. “But an emptiness filled my spirit, not forceful enough to be labeled depression. ‘Malaise’ fit the bill nicely. When night settled in, I felt grateful. Sometimes sleep is the best way to surf time.”
  3. “Each of us is merely one human being, merely an experiment, a way station. But each of us should be on the way toward perfection, should be striving to reach the center, not the periphery.”
  4. “Let the drink sit in your fridge for at least half an hour so the flavors can come to terms with what just happened to them.”
  5. “Remember, Omon, although man, of course, has no soul, every soul is a universe. That’s the dialectic.”