“He hoped and prayed that there wasn't an afterlife. Then he realized there was a contradiction involved here and merely hoped that there wasn't an afterlife.”
— Douglas Adams
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Simplified Meaning:
Sometimes people wish for things that don't quite make sense when you think about them deeply. For example, someone might hope that life doesn't continue after death because they're scared of what might come. But asking for that in a prayer is contradictory because praying suggests belief in something beyond death. When he catches this contradiction, he stops praying and just hopes instead. This is like wishing for something and then realizing that what you’re doing to make it come true doesn’t fit with what you wish for. So, he decides to simply hope rather than act in a way that doesn't align with his wish. It's a reminder to be consistent in our thoughts and actions, and to understand what we truly believe in.
Related tags
Afterlife Contradiction Doubt Existentialism Hope Irony Life and death Paradox Philosophy PrayerFEATURED QUOTES
