Most people . . . think that abstract thinking must be “impersonal”—which
means that ideas must hold no personal meaning, value or importance to the
thinker. This notion rests on the premise that a personal interest is an agent
of distortion. But “personal” does not mean “nonobjective”; it depends on the
kind of person you are. If your thinking is determined by your emotions, then
you will not be able to judge anything, personally or impersonally. But if you
are the kind of person who knows that reality is not your enemy, that truth and
knowledge are of crucial, personal, selfish importance to you and to your own
life—then, the more passionately personal the thinking, the clearer and truer.