By Steve Otto
There are times when I like to look at philosophy and the various aspects of being a philosopher. Recently I came across some quotes from Mother Teresa[1] and I realized that despite the differences in ideology between her and Mao Zedong[2] there are still some similarities in their out outlook on life and philosophy.
For example, Mao said this about the importance of a person's life:
"All men must die, but death
can vary in its significance. The ancient Chinese writer Szuma Chien said,
"Though death befalls all men alike, it may be weightier than
This is similar to a quote by Mother Teresa:
“A life not lived for others is not a life.”
It is easy to see the similarities in these quotes. I have found that many famous quotes seem to overlap. As well as similar quotes to Mao, Mother Teresa has quotes similar to other person's:
For example:
“Love is a fruit in season at all times and within reach of every hand.” -Mother Teresa
“Love is an angle disguised as lust.” -Patti Smith
They are somewhat similar. Then she has a quote similar to Epicurus[3]:
“When you don’t have anything,
then you have everything.” .” -Mother Teresa
And Epicurus said:
The things you really need are
few and easy to come by; but the things you can imagine you need are infinite
and you will never be satisfied.
Again, this leftwing philosopher said things similar to Mother Teresa.
There are other examples I have found of philosophies that over lap. For example,
the quote "Yes we can" was used by both- Bob the Builder and Barack Obama.
So philosophies overlap even though the quotes may be by people who seem to have little in common. That may be an example of the unity of opposites theory.
Pix from CBeebies - Bob the
Builder.
[2] 毛泽东.
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