Eric Hoffer Biography

Eric Hoffer, Writer
Occup.Writer
FromUSA
BornJuly 25, 1902
New York City, New York, USA
DiedMay 21, 1983
San Francisco, California, USA
CauseNatural Causes
Aged80 years
Eric Hoffer was a renowned American social thinker who was birthed in 1902 in New York City. He was of modest origin, and his parents were German immigrants that might not talk English. Hoffer's daddy died when he was seven years old, as well as his mommy abandoned him when he was fifteen years of ages. Thus, he invested his early years as a travelling worker, operating at tasks and traveling from state to state.

Hoffer's life took a significant kip down 1943 when he released his very first book, "Truth Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements". Guide was an immediate classic as well as ended up being a bestseller in the US as well as Europe. It discovered the psychology of mass activities and why individuals are brought in to them. Hoffer argued that mass motions fulfill a basic requirement in individuals for identification, certainty, and a feeling of belonging. He took place to write a number of various other publications on social and political issues, including "The Experience of Change", "The Temper of Our Time", and "First Thing We Do, Allow's Deregulate All the Attorneys".

In spite of his lack of official education, Hoffer was a profound thinker as well as an eager observer of humanity. He had an exceptional ability to distill intricate suggestions right into straightforward and effective understandings. His writing was clear, succinct, and typically intriguing. Hoffer was likewise a ravenous visitor, as well as he attracted inspiration from a large range of resources, including background, literary works, and philosophy.

Hoffer was a man of few close connections, yet he did have a few notable colleagues. One was the journalist and author Tom Wolfe, who was a fantastic admirer of Hoffer's work. Wolfe once referred to Hoffer as "America's greatest living philosopher." An additional was the American author John Steinbeck, who wrote the intro to "Real Follower". Steinbeck defined Hoffer as "an intelligent and extensive onlooker of the scene in America".

Hoffer obtained numerous honors during his life time, including the Presidential Medal of Liberty in 1983, quickly prior to his death. His tradition survives with his books, which remain to read and also examined by scholars as well as general visitors alike. Eric Hoffer was a special voice in American intellectual life, and his understandings right into the nature of human inspiration and also behavior remain to be relevant today.

Our collection contains 86 quotes who is written / told by Eric.

Related authors: John Steinbeck (Author), Philo (Philosopher), Tom Wolfe (Journalist)

Eric Hoffer Famous Works:
Source / external links:

86 Famous quotes by Eric Hoffer

Small: You can never get enough of what you dont need to make you happy
"You can never get enough of what you don't need to make you happy"
Small: It is the child in man that is the source of his uniqueness and creativeness, and the playground is the
"It is the child in man that is the source of his uniqueness and creativeness, and the playground is the optimal milieu for the unfolding of his capacities and talents"
Small: Our passionate preoccupation with the sky, the stars, and a God somewhere in outer space is a homing im
"Our passionate preoccupation with the sky, the stars, and a God somewhere in outer space is a homing impulse. We are drawn back to where we came from"
Small: I hang onto my prejudices, they are the testicles of my mind
"I hang onto my prejudices, they are the testicles of my mind"
Small: Those in possession of absolute power can not only prophesy and make their prophecies come true, but th
"Those in possession of absolute power can not only prophesy and make their prophecies come true, but they can also lie and make their lies come true"
Small: Man is the only creature that strives to surpass himself, and yearns for the impossible
"Man is the only creature that strives to surpass himself, and yearns for the impossible"
Small: In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themsel
"In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists"
Small: The game of history is usually played by the best and the worst over the heads of the majority in the m
"The game of history is usually played by the best and the worst over the heads of the majority in the middle"
Small: To the old, the new is usually bad news
"To the old, the new is usually bad news"
Small: Where everything is possible miracles become commonplaces, but the familiar ceases to be self-evident
"Where everything is possible miracles become commonplaces, but the familiar ceases to be self-evident"
Small: Creativity is the ability to introduce order into the randomness of nature
"Creativity is the ability to introduce order into the randomness of nature"
Small: An empty head is not really empty it is stuffed with rubbish. Hence the difficulty of forcing anything
"An empty head is not really empty; it is stuffed with rubbish. Hence the difficulty of forcing anything into an empty head"
Small: Action is at bottom a swinging and flailing of the arms to regain ones balance and keep afloat
"Action is at bottom a swinging and flailing of the arms to regain one's balance and keep afloat"
Small: A nation without dregs and malcontents is orderly, peaceful and pleasant, but perhaps without the seed
"A nation without dregs and malcontents is orderly, peaceful and pleasant, but perhaps without the seed of things to come"
Small: A man by himself is in bad company
"A man by himself is in bad company"
Small: A heresy can spring only from a system that is in full vigor
"A heresy can spring only from a system that is in full vigor"
Small: A grievance is most poignant when almost redressed
"A grievance is most poignant when almost redressed"
Small: A great mans greatest good luck is to die at the right time
"A great man's greatest good luck is to die at the right time"
Small: A dissenting minority feels free only when it can impose its will on the majority: what it abominates m
"A dissenting minority feels free only when it can impose its will on the majority: what it abominates most is the dissent of the majority"
Small: Where there is the necessary technical skill to move mountains, there is no need for the faith that mov
"Where there is the necessary technical skill to move mountains, there is no need for the faith that moves mountains"
Small: Craving, not having, is the mother of a reckless giving of oneself
"Craving, not having, is the mother of a reckless giving of oneself"
Small: Compassion is the antitoxin of the soul: where there is compassion even the most poisonous impulses rem
"Compassion is the antitoxin of the soul: where there is compassion even the most poisonous impulses remain relatively harmless"
Small: Compassion alone stands apart from the continuous traffic between good and evil proceeding within us
"Compassion alone stands apart from the continuous traffic between good and evil proceeding within us"
Small: Children are the keys of paradise
"Children are the keys of paradise"
Small: Charlatanism of some degree is indispensable to effective leadership
"Charlatanism of some degree is indispensable to effective leadership"
Small: Call not that man wretched, who whatever ills he suffers, has a child to love
"Call not that man wretched, who whatever ills he suffers, has a child to love"
Small: Animals often strike us as passionate machines
"Animals often strike us as passionate machines"
Small: Our greatest pretenses are built up not to hide the evil and the ugly in us, but our emptiness. The har
"Our greatest pretenses are built up not to hide the evil and the ugly in us, but our emptiness. The hardest thing to hide is something that is not there"
Small: It is not so much the example of others we imitate as the reflection of ourselves in their eyes and the
"It is not so much the example of others we imitate as the reflection of ourselves in their eyes and the echo of ourselves in their words"
Small: With some people solitariness is an escape not from others but from themselves. For they see in the eye
"With some people solitariness is an escape not from others but from themselves. For they see in the eyes of others only a reflection of themselves"
Small: It is the malady of our age that the young are so busy teaching us that they have no time left to learn
"It is the malady of our age that the young are so busy teaching us that they have no time left to learn"
Small: It is the around-the-corner brand of hope that prompts people to action, while the distant hope acts as
"It is the around-the-corner brand of hope that prompts people to action, while the distant hope acts as an opiate"
Small: Every new adjustment is a crisis in self-esteem
"Every new adjustment is a crisis in self-esteem"
Small: Every intense desire is perhaps a desire to be different from what we are
"Every intense desire is perhaps a desire to be different from what we are"
Small: Dissipation is a form of self-sacrifice
"Dissipation is a form of self-sacrifice"
Small: Disappointment is a sort of bankruptcy - the bankruptcy of a soul that expends too much in hope and exp
"Disappointment is a sort of bankruptcy - the bankruptcy of a soul that expends too much in hope and expectation"
Small: We can be absolutely certain only about things we do not understand
"We can be absolutely certain only about things we do not understand"
Small: Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life
"Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life"
Small: Our sense of power is more vivid when we break a mans spirit than when we win his heart
"Our sense of power is more vivid when we break a man's spirit than when we win his heart"
Small: We feel free when we escape - even if it be but from the frying pan to the fire
"We feel free when we escape - even if it be but from the frying pan to the fire"
Small: The savior who wants to turn men into angels is as much a hater of human nature as the totalitarian des
"The savior who wants to turn men into angels is as much a hater of human nature as the totalitarian despot who wants to turn them into puppets"
Small: It sometimes seems that intense desire creates not only its own opportunities, but its own talents
"It sometimes seems that intense desire creates not only its own opportunities, but its own talents"
Small: It is the awareness of unfulfilled desires which gives a nation the feeling that it has a mission and a
"It is the awareness of unfulfilled desires which gives a nation the feeling that it has a mission and a destiny"
Small: Whenever you trace the origin of a skill or practices which played a crucial role in the ascent of man,
"Whenever you trace the origin of a skill or practices which played a crucial role in the ascent of man, we usually reach the realm of play"
Small: When we believe ourselves in possession of the only truth, we are likely to be indifferent to common ev
"When we believe ourselves in possession of the only truth, we are likely to be indifferent to common everyday truths"
Small: When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other
"When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other"
Small: When people are bored it is primarily with themselves
"When people are bored it is primarily with themselves"
Small: When cowardice is made respectable, its followers are without number both from among the weak and the s
"When cowardice is made respectable, its followers are without number both from among the weak and the strong; it easily becomes a fashion"
Small: What greater reassurance can the weak have than that they are like anyone else?
"What greater reassurance can the weak have than that they are like anyone else?"
Small: We used to think that revolutions are the cause of change. Actually it is the other way around: change
"We used to think that revolutions are the cause of change. Actually it is the other way around: change prepares the ground for revolution"
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