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"The reason that a good citizen does not use such destructive means to become wealthier is that, if everyone did so, we would all become poorer from the mutual destructiveness."
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"As far as I'm concerned, the entire reason for becoming a writer is not having to get up in the morning."
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Personal Development
"If you follow reason far enough it always leads to conclusions that are contrary to reason."
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Personal Development
"He found insanity no excuse, however, for irrational behavior."
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Personal Development
"Behind every effect there is a cause. You can never eliminate an effect without first understanding its cause."
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Personal Development
"Captain Vimes believed in logic, in much the same way as a man in a desert believed in ice -- i.e., it was something he really needed, but this just wasn't the world for it."
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Personal Development
"It is good to be solitary, for solitude is difficult; that something is difficult must be a reason the more for us to do it."
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Personal Development
"Nothing guarantees that reasonable people will agree about everything, of course, but the unreasonable are certain to be divided by their dogmas. It is time we recognized that this spirit of mutual inquiry, which is the foundation of all real science, is the very antithesis of religious faith."
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Personal Development
"There is no society in human history that ever suffered because its people became too reasonable."
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Personal Development
"Religion is a distraction from true education."
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Personal Development
"The power of reason is thought small in these days, but I remain an unrepentant rationalist. Reason may be a small force, but it is constant, and works always in one direction, while the forces of unreason destroy one another in futile strife. Therefore every orgy of unreason in the end strengthens the friends of reason, and shows afresh that they are the only true friends of humanity."
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"Control over the use of one's ideas really constitutes control over other people's lives; and it is usually used to make their lives more difficult."
People
"The paradigm of competition is a race: by rewarding the winner, we encourage everyone to run faster. When capitalism really works this way, it does a good job; but its defenders are wrong in assuming it always works this way."
Capitalism
"Value your freedom or you will lose it, teaches history. 'Don't bother us with politics', respond those who don't want to learn."
History
"The reason that a good citizen does not use such destructive means to become wealthier is that, if everyone did so, we would all become poorer from the mutual destructiveness."
Reason
"The desire to be rewarded for one's creativity does not justify depriving the world in general of all or part of that creativity."
Creativity
"There is nothing wrong with wanting pay for work, or seeking to maximize one's income, as long as one does not use means that are destructive."
Work
"Fighting patents one by one will never eliminate the danger of software patents, any more than swatting mosquitoes will eliminate malaria."
Danger
"The idea of copyright did not exist in ancient times, when authors frequently copied other authors at length in works of non-fiction. This practice was useful, and is the only way many authors' works have survived even in part."
Idea
"People sometimes ask me if it is a sin in the Church of Emacs to use vi. Using a free version of vi is not a sin; it is a penance. So happy hacking."
People
"Whether gods exist or not, there is no way to get absolute certainty about ethics. Without absolute certainty, what do we do? We do the best we can."
God
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