« The position in which the individual finds himself in our time was foretold by visionary thinkers in the 19th century. Kierkegaard describes the helpless individual, torn and tormented by doubts, upset by the feeling of loneliness and insignificance. Nietzsche visualizes the coming nihilism, which was to become manifest in Nazism, and he portrays the image of a "superman" as the negation of the insignificant and directionless individual he actually saw. It is in Kafka's work that the theme of man's impotence is expressed in the most precise way. In The Castle, he describes a man who wants to stay in touch with the mysterious inhabitants of a castle, who are supposed to tell him what to do and show him his place in the world. His whole life boils down to a frantic effort to get in touch with them, but he never succeeds and he is left alone with a sense of extreme futility and helplessness. »

« The other aspect of the process of individualization is the growing loneliness. Primary links provide security and a fundamental unity between the individual and the outside world. As the child emerges from this world, he understands that he is alone, that he is a separate entity from the others. This separation from an incredibly strong and powerful world compared to one's own individual existence, and often threatening and dangerous, creates a sense of helplessness and anxiety. As long as he was an integral part of this world, ignoring the faculties and responsibilities of individual action, the child had no reason to be frightened. But when he becomes an individual, he has to deal with the dangerous and overwhelming aspects of the world on his own. »

« Another way to deter original thinking is to think of any truth as relative. Truth is conceived as a metaphysical concept and if someone says they want to discover the truth, they are repelled by the "progressive" thinkers of our time. Truth is considered to be a matter of taste. The scientific enterprise must be detached from subjective factors, and its purpose is to look at the world without passion or interest. The scientist must approach the facts with sterilized hands as a surgeon approaches his patient. »