Philosopher Quotes

It is foolish, generally speaking, for a philosopher to set fire to another philosopher in Smithfield Market because they do not agree in their theory of the universe. That was done very frequently in the last decadence of the Middle Ages, and it failed altogether in its object. But there is one thing that is infinitely more absurd and unpractical than burning a man for his philosophy. This is the habit of saying that his philosophy does not matter, and this is done universally in the twentieth century, in the decadence of the great revolutionary period. ~ G.K. Chesterton

They deem him their worst enemy who tells them the truth. -Plato, philosopher (427-347 BCE) ~ Plato

This is an accessible work of philosophy in the best sense, sharply focused on matters of vital human concern and free of the domain tics that mar even allegedly popular works by Anglo-American philosophers. ~ Mark Lilla

In the entire first Christian century Jesus is not mentioned by a single Greek or Roman historian, religion scholar, politician, philosopher or poet. His name never occurs in a single inscription, and it is never found in a single piece of private correspondence. Zero! Zip references! ~ Bart D. Ehrman

I am a fictionalizing philosopher, not a novelist. ~ Philip K. Dick

The Philosopher, too, says of the wicked (Ethic. ix, 4) that "their soul is divided against itself ... one part pulls this way, another that"; and afterwards he concludes, saying: "If wickedness makes a man so miserable, he should strain every nerve to avoid vice. ~ Thomas Aquinas

Are you aware that the people you hate, become more successful than you and without you. After, they are unable to help you, because of the hate you have for them . Your hate is standing in your way of being successful and happy. It's time to let go of your hate , it's now a heavy burden on you that your life can't move on. ~ De Philosopher DJ Kyos

The world's most beautiful pearls are inside your heart. The universe's most beautiful diamonds are inside your soul. ~ Matshona Dhliwayo

Some philosophers are drawn to the subject [of philosophy] via their interest in the nature and structure of the world external to us. Others are drawn to it by an interest in the capacities that make humans distinctive in the world. I am a philosopher of the latter sort. My work thus far has been clustered around the nexus of knowledge, communication, and human action. ~ Jason Stanley

I know a lot of people who are philosophers and they sit by the river and talk about what that underwater world might look like. And I'll say 'Dive in, man, and go see it. Swim around. You'll be okay. ~ Stana Katic

When Eudaemonidas heard a philosopher arguing that only a wise man can be a good general, "This is a wonderful speech," said he; "but he that saith it never heard the sound of trumpets. ~ Plutarch

Space is infinite. To the mind that means freedom, liberation.' So wrote Arisko, our greatest turkle philosopher, in his most famous work, 'Thoughts In A Bathtub'," said Dottia, dreamily, in an inspired state. ~ Philip Dodd

Philosophy goes no further than probabilities, and in every assertion keeps a doubt in reserve. ~ James Anthony Froude

I've been labelled many times - a criminal, an anarchist, a rebel, sometimes human garbage, but never a philosopher, which is a pity because that's what I am. I chose a life apart from the common flow, not only because the common flow makes me sick but because I question the logic of the flow, and not only that - I don't know if the flow exists! Why should I chain myself to the wheel when the wheel itself might be a construct, an invention, a common dream to enslave us? ~ Steve Toltz

When I see memories, I see the past.
When I see thoughts, I see the present.
When I see intentions, I see the future.

When I see regret, I see the past.
When I see hope, I see the present.
When I see expectation, I see the future.

When I see habits, I see the past.
When I see actions, I see the present.
When I see character, I see the future.

When I see karma, I see the past.
When I see chance, I see the present.
When I see destiny, I see the future.

When I see knowledge, I see the past.
When I see understanding, I see the present.
When I see wisdom, I see the future.

When I see elders, I see the past.
When I see adults, I see the present.
When I see children, I see the future. ~ Matshona Dhliwayo

If you wish to understand a philosopher, do not ask what he says, but find out what he wants ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Novelists don't age as quickly as philosophers, who often face professional senility in their late twenties. ~ Martin Amis

Your philosophy determines whether you will go for the disciplines or continue the errors. ~ Jim Rohn

We discover truth by asking rapier-like questions that cut through the thick fog of doctrinarism. Artists and philosophers must be subversive: we need these rebellious cynics to ask questions, they must resist cultural norms; seek out truths that are not self-evident and challenge everything. Doubt, not blind belief, is essential for discovering truth. ~ Kilroy J. Oldster

Earnshaw was not to be civilized with a wish, and my young lady was no philosopher, and no paragon of patience; but both their minds tending to the same point - one loving and desiring to esteem, and the other loving and desiring to be esteemed - they contrived in the end to reach it. ~ Emily Bronte

Does it bother me that in my lifetime I'll never get to travel to the furthest reaches of The Milky Way and beyond? Hell yes it does, although Jesse, The Philosophy, and the followers of The Philosophy will be there to see it on my behalf I hope. ~ Cometan

Wonder is the feeling of the philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder. ~ Plato

The human race will have no respite from evils until those who are really philosophers acquire political power or until, through some divine dispensation, those who rule and have political authority in the cities become real philosophers. ~ Plato

At the very time that philosophers of the most enterprising benevolence were founding in Greece those institutions which have rendered it the wonder and luminary of the world, am I required to believe that the weak and wicked king of an obscure and barbarous nation, a murderer, a traitor and a tyrant, was the man after God's own heart? ~ Percy Bysshe Shelley

There was a philosopher who said that all of life is just shadows. He said that people were just sitting in a cave, watching shadows on the cave wall. Aye - shadows of something much bigger and grander than themselves. ~ Lemony Snicket

Where there is no understanding there is hostility.
Where there is no brotherhood there is enmity.
Where there is no war there is serenity.
Where there is no abundance there is scarcity.
Where there is no shortage there is sufficiency.
Where there is no wealth there is poverty.
Where there is no greed there is humanity.
Where there is no falsehood there is integrity.
Where there is no prejudice there is diversity.
Where there is no tolerance there is bigotry.
Where there is no injustice there is equality.
Where there is no law there is disharmony.
Where there is no freedom there is slavery.
Where there is no order there is disharmony.
Where there is no government there is anarchy.
Where there is no republic there is tyranny. ~ Matshona Dhliwayo

...It would hardly be a waste of time if sometimes even the most advanced students in the cognitive sciences were to pay a visit to their ancestors. It is frequently claimed in American philosophy departments that, in order to be a philosopher, it is not necessary to revisit the history of philosophy. It is like the claim that one can become a painter without having ever seen a single work by Raphael, or a writer without having ever read the classics. Such things are theoretically possible; but the 'primitive' artist, condemned to an ignorance of the past, is always recognizable as such and rightly labeled as naïf. It is only when we consider past projects revealed as utopian or as failures that we are apprised of the dangers and possibilities for failure for our allegedly new projects. The study of the deeds of our ancestors is thus more than an atiquarian pastime, it is an immunological precaution. ~ Umberto Eco

Only a genius can overlook the chaos ~ Philosopher 'X'

A township where one primitive forest waves above, while another primitive forest rots below, - such a town is fitted to raise not only corn and potatoes, but poets and philosophers for the coming ages. In such a soil grew Homer and Confucius and the rest, and out of such a wilderness comes the Reformer eating locusts and wild honey. ~ Henry David Thoreau

If you have days, you have riches.
If you have months, you have fortune.
If you have years, you have treasure.
If you have decades, you have wealth.
If you have time, you have affluence.

If you have excitement, you have luxury.
If you have pleasure, you have privilege.
If you have peace, you have comfort.
If you have happiness, you have prosperity.
If you have joy, you have triumph.

If you have knowledge, you have currency.
If you have understanding, you have capital.
If you have discernment, you have assets.
If you have insight, you have benefits.
If you have wisdom, you have profit.

If you have religion, you have influence.
If you have philosophy, you have muscle.
If you have will, you have strength.
If you have courage, you have might.
If you have faith, you have power. ~ Matshona Dhliwayo

I have been told, that in some public discourses of mine my reverence for the intellect has made me unjustly cold to the personalrelations. But now I almost shrink at the remembrance of such disparaging words. For persons are love's world, and the coldest philosopher cannot recount the debt of the young soul wandering here in nature to the power of love, without being tempted to unsay, as treasonable to nature, aught derogatory to the social instincts. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Grand Duke [of Tuscany] ... after observing the Medicaean plants several times with me ... has now invited me to attach myself to him with the annual salary of one thousand florins, and with the title of Philosopher and Principal Mathematicial to His Highness; without the duties of office to perform, but with the most complete leisure; so that I can complete my Treatises ... ~ Galileo Galilei

It is doubt that makes faith precious,
deciet that makes honesty precious,
grief that makes happiness precious,
error that makes truth precious,
fear that makes love precious,
pride that makes humility precious,
shame that makes honor precious,
anger that makes peace precious,
greed that makes contentment precious,
despair that makes hope precious,
cruelty that makes kindness precious,
disloyalty that makes commitment precious,
lawlessness that makes justice precious,
vengance that makes forgiveness precious,
frustration that makes patience precious,
hatred that makes tolerance precious,
disbelief that makes trust precious,
uncertainty that makes confidence precious,
skepticism that makes conviction precious,
insolence that makes courtesy precious,
impoliteness that makes manners precious,
imprudence that makes civility precious,
contempt that esteem precious,
meanness that makes hospitality precious,
stinginess that makes generosity precious,
roughness that makes gentleness precious,
negligence that makes discipline precious,
and confusion that makes order precious. ~ Matshona Dhliwayo

The fact is, every thinker, every philosopher, the moment he is forced to abandon his one-sided intellectual occupation by practical necessity, immediately returns to the general point of view of mankind. ~ Ernst Mach

But no moral philosopher, from Aristotle to Aquinas, to John Locke and Adam Smith, divorced economics from a set of moral ends or held the production of wealth to be an end in itself; rather it was seen as a means to the realization of virtue, a means of leading a civilized life. ~ Daniel Bell

Why is it the philosopher who is expected to be easier and not some scientist who is even more inaccessible? ~ Jacques Derrida

You will not find the warrior, the poet, the philosopher or the Christian by staring into his eyes as if he were your mistress: better fight beside him, read with him, argue with him, pray with him. ~ C.S. Lewis

But Adam Smith was a philosopher as well as well as an economist, famous in his time as much for his Theory of Moral Sentiments as for The Wealth of Nations. And as he understood so well, society is more than the sum of its individual parts. ~ Paul Ormerod

Life is a chaplet of little miseries which the philosopher counts with a smile. Be philosophers, as I am, gentlemen; sit down at the table and let us drink. Nothing makes the future look so bright as surveying it through a glass of chambertin. ~ Alexandre Dumas

We have started the journey- no turning back now. Three steps lie between us and the goal:

(1) Know who you are.
(2) Know what you need.
(3) Get it.

These steps need to be taken in sequence. I cannot know what I need before I know who I am. I cannot go after what I need before I know what I need. ~ Mark Hebwood

Don't waste days,
for they become weeks.
Don't waste weeks,
for they become months.
Don't waste months,
for they become years;
and don't waste years,
for they become a lifetime.

Utilize days,
for they are your wealth.
Utilize weeks,
for they are your reward.
Utilize months,
for they are your blessing,
and utilize years,
for they are your legacy. ~ Matshona Dhliwayo

How I understand the philosopher - as a terrible explosive, endangering everthing ... my concept of the philosopher is worlds removed from any concept that would include even a Kant, not to speak of academic "ruminants" and other professors of philosophy ... ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

The King and Queen did the best they could. They hired the most superior tutors and governesses to teach Cimorene all the things a princess ought to know - dancing, embroidery, drawing, and etiquette. There was a great deal of etiquette, from the proper way to curtsy before a visiting prince to how loudly it was permissible to scream when being carried off by a giant. (...)

Cimorene found it all very dull, but she pressed her lips together and learned it anyway. When she couldn't stand it any longer, she would go down to the castle armory and bully the armsmaster into giving her a fencing lesson. As she got older, she found her regular lessons more and more boring. Consequently, the fencing lessons became more and more frequent.

When she was twelve, her father found out.

"Fencing is not proper behavior for a princess," he told her in the gentle-but-firm tone recommended by the court philosopher.

Cimorene tilted her head to one side. "Why not?"

"It's ... well, it's simply not done."

Cimorene considered. "Aren't I a princess?"

"Yes, of course you are, my dear," said her father with relief. He had been bracing himself for a storm of tears, which was the way his other daughters reacted to reprimands.

"Well, I fence," Cimorene said with the air of one delivering an unshakable argument. "So it is too done by a princess. ~ Patricia C. Wrede

A Russian philosopher, Mikhail Bakhtin said that "the self is the gift of the other" It seems to me most true now. The genes I carry, the clothes I wear, the food I eat all have come through the hands of others. Even those words I write now, my vocabulary, are not only mine. They are an agreement, a social contract between the two of us. ~ Rhonda Riley

The philosopher forms his principles on an infinity of particular observations ... He does not confuse truth with plausibility ... he takes for truth what is true, for false what is false, for doubtful what is doubtful, and probable what is probable ... The philosophical spirit is thus a spirit of observation and accuracy. ~ Denis Diderot

Dandamis then looked at Alexander with pity. 'You have nothing I want,' he said. 'Once, you might have been a passable philosopher, but now you value no opinion save your own. You wander because you cannot bear to be still-you conquer because you cannot bear to rule. ~ Christian Cameron

I was introduced to Mr. Davy, who has rooms adjoining mine (in the Royal Institution); he is a very agreeable and intelligent young man, and we have interesting conversation in an evening ... ~ John Dalton

Tom said to himself that it was not such a hollow world, after all. He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it
namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain. If he had been a great and wise philosopher, like the writer of this book, he would now have comprehended that Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do. And this would help him to understand why constructing artificial flowers or performing on a tread-mill is work, while rolling ten-pins or climbing Mont Blanc is only amusement. There are wealthy gentlemen in England who drive four-horse passenger-coaches twenty or thirty miles on a daily line, in the summer, because the privilege costs them considerable money; but if they were offered wages for the service, that would turn it into work and then they would resign. ~ Mark Twain

That philosopher who said we think, therefore we are, should have spent an hour in the maternity ward of Waite Memorial Hospital. He'd have had to change his whole philosophy. The ~ Janet Fitch

7 Laws of Money

1.Seek money.
2.Make money.
3.Save money.
4.Spend money.
5.Enjoy money.
6.Share money.
7.Respect money. ~ Matshona Dhliwayo

Marry a good woman, and be happy the rest of your life. Or, marry a bad, and become a good philosopher ~ Socrates

A rich man's lie has more validity than a poor man's truth in a materialistc world ~ Rassool Jibraeel Snyman

Most expert, skilled behavior works this way, whether it is playing tennis or a musical instrument, or doing mathematics and science. Experts minimize the need for conscious reasoning. Philosopher ~ Donald A. Norman

And yet, in Raissa, at every moment there is a child in a window who laughs seeing a dog that has jumped on a shed to bite into a piece of polenta dropped by a stonemason who has shouted from the top of the scaffolding, "Darling, let me dip into it," to a young servant-maid who holds up a dish of ragout under the pergola, happy to serve it to the umbrella-maker who is celebrating a successful transaction, a white lace parasol bought to display at the races by a great lady in love with an officer who has smiled at her taking the last jump, happy man, and still happier his horse, flying over the obstacles, seeing a francolin flying in the sky, happy bird freed from its cage by a painter happy at having painted it feather by feather, speckled with red and yellow in the illumination of that page in the volume where the philosopher says: "Also in Raissa, city of sadness, there runs an invisible thread that binds one living being to another for a moment, then unravels, then is stretched again between moving points as it draws new and rapid patterns so that at every second the unhappy city contains a happy city unaware of its own existence. ~ Italo Calvino

The philosopher may sometimes love the infinite; the poet always loves the finite. For him the great moment is not the creation of light, but the creation of the sun and moon. ~ G.K. Chesterton

A philosopher once asked, "Are we human because we gaze at the stars, or do we gaze at them because we are human?" Pointless, really ... "Do the stars gaze back?" Now, that's a question. ~ Neil Gaiman

You seem to be in a state of such absolute contradiction that I would not be surprised if your face tore in half. ~ Mary-Jean Harris

While one could hardly say that philosophers have given much attention to the place that the concept of evil has among our moral concepts, they have done so more in the last ten or so years than they had before. I have, therefore, often wondered why there has been so little discussion of goodness. In Search of Goodness is not only an exception: it is an admirable one. It is original and provocative, impressive both in its breadth and depth. ~ Raimond Gaita

As Enlightenment philosophers and scholars consciously adopted the methods of science to establish such abstract concepts as rights, liberty, and justice, successive generations have become schooled in thinking of these abstractions as applied to others in matrices-like mental rotations. ~ Michael Shermer

The greatest modern philosopher was moved by nothing more than by duty. His life, in consequence, was unremarkable. ~ Roger Scruton

Art requires philosophy, just as philosophy requires art. Otherwise, what would become of beauty? ~ Paul Gauguin

I make no claim to be a philosopher, but this much I have observed: that whenever a thing seems at its zenith, you may be sure its destruction has already started. ~ Robert Harris

The impulse of the journalist is to be novel, yet to relate his curiosities to the urgencies of the moment; the philosopher seeks what he conceives to be true, regardless of the moment. ~ Daniel Bell

For Dawkins, atheism is a necessary consequence of evolution. He has argued that the religious impulse is simply an evolutionary mistake, a 'misfiring of something useful', it is a kind if virus, parasitic on cognitive systems naturally selected because they had enabled a species to survive.

Dawkins is an extreme exponent of the scientific naturalism, originally formulated by d'Holbach, that has now become a major worldview among intellectuals. More moderate versions of this "scientism" have been articulated by Carl Sagan, Steven Weinberg, and Daniel Dennett, who have all claimed that one has to choose between science and faith. For Dennett, theology has been rendered superfluous, because biology can provide a better explanation of why people are religious. But for Dawkins, like the other "new atheists" – Sam Harris, the young American philosopher and student of neuroscience, and Christopher Hitchens, critic and journalist – religion is the cause of the problems of our world; it is the source of absolute evil and "poisons everything." They see themselves in the vanguard of a scientific/rational movement that will eventually expunge the idea of God from human consciousness.

But other atheists and scientists are wary of this approach. The American zoologist Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002) followed Monod in his discussion of the implications of evolution. Everything in the natural world could indeed be explained by natural selection, but Gould insisted that s ~ Karen Armstrong

Nothing exists; even if something exists, nothing can be known about it; and even if something can be known about it, knowledge about it can't be communicated to others. ~ Gorgias

At times, I have been criticized by some philosophers of education, who place me in postures that they classify pejoratively as 'revolutionary.' But I have had the satisfaction of being invited to work in societies making progressive efforts without wavering. They were changing, and so they called on me. ~ Paulo Freire

In PLATO AT THE GOOGLEPLEX, Rebecca Newberger Goldstein set out to showcase, in sometimes startling ways, the continuing relevance of a classic philosopher. But what's remarkable is that she actually brings off this tour de force with both madcap brilliance and commanding authority. ~ Michael Dirda

I had tried to be happy by telling myself that man is an animal, like any other which sought its meat from God. But now I really was happy, for I had learnt that man is a monstrosity. I had been right in feeling all things as odd, for I myself was at once worse and better than all things. The optimist's pleasure was prosaic, for it dwelt on the naturalness of everything; the Christian pleasure was poetic, for it dwelt on the unnaturalness of everything in the light of the supernatural. The modern philosopher had told me again and again that I was in the right place, and I had still felt depressed even in acquiescence. But I had heard that I was in the wrong place, and my soul sang for joy, like a bird in spring. The knowledge found out and illuminated forgotten chambers in the dark house of infancy. I knew now why grass had always seemed to me as queer as the green beard of a giant, and why I could feel homesick at home. ~ G.K. Chesterton

LEADING LESSONS
Use your fears; don't let them direct or define you.

Fear sends your brain a message that it's time to make a decision--like when I decided I would ride that coaster. You can also decide to do nothing; you can stand watching the world zip by from the sidelines. I choose to see my fears as a green light. They mean go, not stop, and you're always in the driver's seat. Don't give fear any more power than it already has. As I said, I was often afraid of failure. But instead of letting the fear keep me from reaching my goals, I let it propel me. In the movie After Earth, Will Smith's character states that fear is simply made up by our own imaginations. "Danger is real, but fear is a choice." Who knew Will was such a gifted philosopher? I agree 100 percent. Why is one person afraid of something and another other person isn't? We're all humans, but we've all had different experiences and therefore we have different associations. It's personal. The possibility of freedom exists wherever fear lies. When you realize that it's you who is creating this fear, the fear loses its ability to control you. ~ Derek Hough

Solomon never had a degree,
but he mastered wisdom.
David never had a degree,
but he mastered warfare.
Moses never had a degree,
but he mastered leadership.
Asaph never had a degree,
but he mastered music.
Ahitophel never had a degree,
but he mastered common sense.

Job never had a degree,
but he mastered patience.
Elijah never had a degree,
but he mastered preaching.
Daniel never had a degree,
but he mastered oracles.
Paul never had a degree,
but he mastered theology.
Jesus never had a degree,
but he mastered life.

Imhotep never went to university,
but he built pyramids.
Amenhotep never went to university,
but he built schools.
Thutmose never went to university,
but he built pyramids.
Akhenaten never went to university,
but he built states.
Ramses never went to university,
but he built empires. ~ Matshona Dhliwayo

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 – August 25, 1900) was a German philosopher. His writing included critiques of religion, morality, contemporary culture, philosophy, and science, using a distinctive style and displaying a fondness for aphorism. Nietzsche's influence remains substantial within and beyond philosophy, notably in existentialism and postmodernism. Nietzsche began his career as a philologist before turning to philosophy. At the age of 24 he became Professor of Classical Philology at the University of Basel, but resigned in 1879 due to health problems, which would plague him for most of his life. In 1889 he exhibited symptoms of a serious mental illness, living out his remaining years in the care of his mother and sister until his death in 1900. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

I am absolutely convinced of the lack of true scientific evidence in favour of Darwinian dogma. Nobody in the biological sciences, medicine included, needs Darwinism at all. Darwinism is certainly needed, however, in order to pose as a philosopher, since it is primarily a worldview. And an awful one, as George Bernard Shaw used to say. ~ Raul O. Leguizamon

To paraphrase the philosopher Nietzsche, he who has a strong enough why can bear almost any how. I've found that 20 percent of any change is knowing how; but 80 percent is knowing why. If we gather a set of strong enough reasons to change, we can change in a minute something we've failed to change for years. ~ Tony Robbins

You must be one man, either good or bad. You must cultivate either your own ruling faculty or externals, and apply yourself either to things within or without you; that is, be either a philosopher, or one of the vulgar. ~ Epictetus

One athlete does not make a team.
One singer does not make a band.
One actor does not make an ensemble.
One participant does not make a contest.
One employee does not make a company.

One stroke does not make a portrait.
One word does not make an essay.
One paragraph does not make a thesis.
One note does not make a symphony.
One instrument does not make an orchestra.

One finger does not make a hand.
One toe does not make a foot.
One lip does not make a voice.
One member does not make a body.
One cell does not make a being.

One memory does not make an experience.
One habit does not make a character.
One act does not make a destiny.
One day does not make a year.
One moment does not make a lifetime.

One man does not make a family.
One home does not make a neighborhood.
One clan does not make nation.
One tribe does not make a continent.
One people does not make a world. ~ Matshona Dhliwayo

The philosopher says
I am, and the church scouts his philosophy. She answers:
No! you are NOT, you have no existence of your own. You were and are and ever will be only a part of the supreme I AM, of which the church is the emblem. ~ Henry Adams

There is no record in history of a happy philosopher. ~ H.L. Mencken

I always thought a laughing philosopher a much wiser man than the sniveling one (cmizdrenje) ~ Lynne Withey

The very fact of having fixed conclusions to strive for in orthodox belief does not render the Christian philosopher dogmatic but rather intellectually fruitful, willing to take and follow reason further than the putatively undogmatic unbelieving philosopher ~ Gregory B. Sadler

The matter of sedition is of two kinds: much poverty and much discontentment....The causes and motives of sedition are, innovation in religion; taxes; alteration of laws and customs; breaking of privileges; general oppression; advancement of unworthy persons, strangers; dearths; disbanded soldiers; factions grown desperate; and whatsoever in offending people joineth them in a common cause.' The cue of every leader, of course, is to divide his enemies and to unite his friends. 'Generally, the dividing and breaking of all factions...that are adverse to the state, and setting them at a distance, or at least distrust, among themselves, is not one of the worst remedies; for it is a desperate case, if those that hold with the proceeding of the state be full of discord and faction, and those that are against it be entire and united.' A better recipe for the avoidance of revolutions is an equitable distribution of wealth: 'Money is like muck, not good unless it be spread.' But this does not mean socialism, or even democracy; Bacon distrusts the people, who were in his day quite without access to education; 'the lowest of all flatteries is the flattery of the common people;' and 'Phocion took it right, who, being applauded by the multitude, asked, What had he done amiss?' What Bacon wants is first a yeomanry of owning farmers; then an aristocracy for administration; and above all a philosopher-king. 'It is almost without instance that any government was unprosperous under learned gove ~ Will Durant

If we mean to have Heroes, Statesmen and Philosophers, we should have learned women. The world perhaps would laugh at me, and accuse me of vanity, but you I know have a mind too enlarged and liberal to disregard the Sentiment. If much depends as is allowed upon the early Education of youth and the first principals which are instill'd take the deepest root, great benefit must arise from literary accomplishments in women. ~ Abigail Adams

If you believe in learning, you believe in inquiry.
If you believe in education, you believe in literacy.
If you believe in knowledge, you believe in curiosity.
If you believe in understanding, you believe in practicality.
If you believe in reason, you believe in sanity.
If you believe in wisdom, you believe in sagacity.
If you believe in dreams, you believe in fantasy.
If you believe in diligence, you believe in prosperity.
If you believe in exellence, you believe in mastery.
If you believe in brilliance, you believe in longevity.
If you believe in wealth, you believe in luxury.
If you believe in justice, you believe in liberty.
If you believe in tolerance, you believe in equality.
If you believe in respect, you believe in courtesy.
If you believe in manners, you believe in civility.
If you believe in honor, you believe in decency.
If you believe in culture, you believe in history.
If you believe in tradition, you believe in stability.
If you believe in order, you believe in harmony.
If you believe in time, you believe in eternity.
If you believe in fate, you believe in destiny.
If you believe in life, you believe in reality.
If you believe in permanance, you believe in infinity.
If you believe in virtue, you believe in morality.
If you believe in peace, you believe in humanity.
If you believe in love, you believe in divinity.
If you believe in Go ~ Matshona Dhliwayo

The poets and philosophers before me discovered the unconscious; what I discovered was the scientific method by which the unconscious can be studied. ~ Sigmund Freud

The humanist philosopher who bends over his brothers like an elder brother who is conscious of his responsibilities; the humanist who loves men as they are, the one who loves them as they ought to be, the one who wants to save them with their consent, and the one who will save them in spite of themselves, the one who wants to create myths, and the one who is satisfied with the old myths, the one who loves man for his death, the one who loves man for his life, the happy humanist who always knows what to say to make people laugh, the gloomy humanist whom you usually meet at wakes. They all hate one another : as individuals, of course, not as men. ~ Jean-Paul Sartre

You may have no computer,
but thank The Divine One for giving you a brain.
You may have no television,
but thank The Divine One for giving you an imagination.
You may have no counselor,
but thank The Divine One for giving you a conscience.
You may have no binoculars,
but thank The Divine One for giving you eyes.
You may have no megaphone,
but thank The Divine One for giving you a mouth.
You may have no defender,
but thank The Divine One for giving you hands.
You may have no food,
but thank The Divine One for giving you teeth.
You may have no car,
but thank The Divine One for giving you feet.

You may have no degrees,
but thank The Divine One for giving you talents.
You may have no job,
but thank The Divine One for giving you potential.
You may have no career,
but thank The Divine One for giving you inspiration.
You may have no money,
but thank The Divine One for giving you ambition.
You may have no possessions,
but thank The Divine One for giving you character.
You may have no titles,
but thank The Divine One for giving you honor.
You may have no magic,
but thank The Divine One for giving you intuition.
You may have no friends,
but thank The Divine One for giving you angels. ~ Matshona Dhliwayo

For us scientists, on the other wing, life is not quite so simple. Because we learn the unknown. Unlike, hah-hah, our esteemed friends the philosophers, who learn the unknowable. ~ Ken MacLeod

There is nothing so absurd that some philosopher has not already said it. ~ Marcus Tullius Cicero

The grand reason of the burst of public sentiment in anathemas upon Christ and his disciples, causing his crucifixion, was evidently based upon polygamy, according to the testimony of the philosophers who rose in that age. A belief in the doctrine of a plurality of wives caused the persecution of Jesus and his followers. We might almost think they were 'Mormons.' ~ Jedediah M. Grant

The mind is the key,
the heart is the door,
the soul is the corridor,
the divine is the destination.

The past is the key,
the present is the door,
the future is the corridor,
the hereafter is the destination.

The world is the key,
the sky is the door,
the cosmos is the corridor,
the universe is the destination. ~ Matshona Dhliwayo

Alvin Plantinga is arguably the greatest philosopher of the last century. ~ Alvin Plantinga

I do realise that talk of natural kinds dates back to Aristotle, but I'd better not say too much about ancient philosophers lest I be convicted of practicing history of philosophy without a license. ~ Hilary Kornblith

All our contemporary philosophers perhaps without knowing it are looking through eyeglasses that Baruch Spinoza polished. Spinoza was a philosopher who earned his livelihood by grinding lenses. ~ Heinrich Heine

only dare tread the waters of insanity at night as they lie dreaming. Cowards. Dive deep into your psychopathy. Let loose the demons of delusion and know, in the end, when they finally devour you, you swam with sharks. - VERSKLAVEN SCHWACHE, GEFAHRGEIST PHILOSOPHER ~ Michael R. Fletcher

It is impossible to separate these things:
peace and happiness,
hope and patience,
courage and confidence,
mercy and kindness,
integrity and faithfulness,
and love and goodness. ~ Matshona Dhliwayo

Is God really real?"This is a perennial question for the philosophy of religion. Fortunately, the Pythons have answers to it. Perhaps too many answers. If we asked Arthur, King of the Britons, he would certainly testify that God exists, speaks English, and can't stand people groveling, averting their eyes, ceaselessly apologizing, and deeming themselves unworthy. Yet when we begin inquiring into Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, "there is some doubt" about whether God is really real, or, to put it more philosophically, there is doubt over whether God's existence can be established through a valid argument. There is a long philosophical tradition of constructing rational arguments for the existence and attributes of God, and an equally long skeptical tradition of deconstructing those same arguments. The Pythons have been exemplary participants in the latter tradition, either through parody, or by echoing in a funnier and more succinct way the skeptical arguments of such philosophical predecessors as Scottish philosopher David Hume (1711-1776). ~ George A. Reisch

When the philosopher's argument becomes tedious, complicated, and opaque, it is usually a sign that he is attempting to prove as true to the intellect what is plainly false to common sense. ~ Edward Abbey

Knowledge is the way. Wisdom is the path. Understanding is the guide. Enlightenment is the destination. ~ Matshona Dhliwayo

The quality of authors determines the quality of books.
The quality of musicians determines the quality of songs.
The quality of artists determines the quality of paintings.
The quality of architects determines the quality of buildings.

The quality of generals determines the quality of warriors.
The quality of preachers determines the quality of sermons.
The quality of scientists determines the quality of inventions.
The quality of leaders determines the quality of followers.

The quality of scholars determines the quality of lectures.
The quality of teachers determines the quality of students.
The quality of schools determines the quality of graduates.
The quality of graduates determines the quality of nations.

The quality of plants determines the quality of air.
The quality of air determies the quality of animals.
The quality of animals determines the quality of food.
The quality of food determines the quality of the planet. ~ Matshona Dhliwayo

[Beware of] the fallacy of misplaced concreteness [mistaking an abstraction for concrete reality, for actuality]

In the inescapable flux, there is something that abides; in the overwhelming permanence, there is an element that escapes into flux. Permanence can be snatched only out of flux; and the passing moment can find its adequate intensity only by its submission to permanence.

Error is the price we pay for progress.

In the real world it is more important that a proposition be interesting than that it be true. The importance of truth is that it adds to interest.

Creativity is the universal of universals characterizing ultimate matter of fact. It is that ultimate principle by which the many, which are the universe disjunctively, become the one actual occasion, which is the universe conjunctively. It lies in the nature of things that the many enter into complex unity.

The aim of science is to seek the simplest explanations of complex facts. We are apt to fall into the error of thinking that the facts are simple because simplicity is the goal of our quest. The guiding motto in the life of every natural philosopher should be, "Seek simplicity and distrust it."

It requires a very unusual mind to undertake the analysis of the obvious.

[From various of Whitehead's books, not only PR] ~ Alfred North Whitehead

Since the princes take the Earth for their own, it's fair that the philosophers reserve the sky for themselves and rule there, but they should never permit the entry of others. ~ Bernard Le Bovier De Fontenelle