“all life is conscious, but it is not conscious of being conscious”

“Interviewer:What surprises you in life?Nabokov:...the marvel of consciousness- that sudden window swinging open on a sunlit landscape amidst the night of non-being.”

“Become conscious of being conscious.”

“Consciousness is a being the nature of which is to be conscious of the nothingness of its being.”

“It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but, on the contrary, their social being that determines their consciousness.”

“Vail: "There are worse things than being shot at."Bannon: "Like...?"Vail: "Living a life where you're never shot at.”

“When you are born without the ordinary feelings and emotions shared by most other human beings, life looks different to you. It seems at times like a movie you’re walking through, more a spectator than a participant. There is above all a lack of empathy with most of mankind, a sense of detachment. But with detachment comes perspective. The less you care, the more you know, and the more you know the less you care.”