To return to the individual: he of course worships himself; or if he thinks he is altruistic, he is what may be called an alter-egoist—he worships some projection of himself. And in this absolutization of himself he is, I think, assisted by the fact that he is a creature with a language. Now, we can never overestimate the importance of language in the life of human beings. Actually, that which causes us to be human rather than simply another of the apes is our ability to speak. This has given us the power to create a social heredity so that we can accumulate the knowledge amassed in past
...more
