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Quotes by Philosopher
"Listen to the cry of a woman in labor at the hour of giving birth - look at the dying man's struggle at his last extremity, and then tell me whether something that begins and ends thus could be intended for enjoyment."
83
"Every step and every movement of the multitude, even in what are termed enlightened ages, are made with equal blindness to the future; and nations stumble upon establishments, which are indeed the result of human action, but not the execution of any human design."
83
"Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacle s, discouragement s, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak."
81
"Truly, it is in darkness that one finds the light, so when we are in sorrow, then this light is nearest of all to us."
81
"Joy is a loyal companion, love is a faithful friend, fear is a terrible adversary, and hatred is a merciless enemy."
80
"Everything is pathology, except for indifference."
79
"There are three principles in a man's being and life, the principle of thought, the principle of speech, and the principle of action. The origin of all conflict between me and my fellow-men is that I do not say what I mean and I don't do what I say."
79
"Indeed, this epistemological theory of the relation between theory and experiment differs sharply from the epistemological theory of naive falsificationism."
78
"Of all our infirmities, the most savage is to despise our being."
78
"Consciousness is what makes the mind-body problem really intractable."
78
"The two enemies of human happiness are pain and boredom."
77
"As a philosopher, if I were speaking to a purely philosophic audience I should say that I ought to describe myself as an Agnostic, because I do not think that there is a conclusive argument by which one can prove that there is not a God. On the other hand, if I am to convey the right impression to the ordinary man in the street I think that I ought to say that I am an Atheist, because, when I say that I cannot prove that there is not a God, I ought to add equally that I cannot prove that there are not the Homeric gods."
77
"He who has health, has hope; and he who has hope, has everything."
76
"The tyranny of a prince in an oligarchy is not so dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of a citizen in a democracy."
76
"The sky belongs to eagles, even during storms."
74
"The Universe is the periodical manifestation of this unknown Absolute Essence."
74
"War is a quarrel between two thieves too cowardly to fight their own battle."
74
"Whatsoever is, is in God, and without God nothing can be, or be conceived."
73
"A person may cause evil to others not only by his actions but by his inaction, and in either case he is justly accountable to them for the injury."
73
"There is nothing with which every man is so afraid as getting to know how enormously much he is capable of doing and becoming."
72
"The highest and most beautiful things in life are not to be heard about, nor read about, nor seen but, if one will, are to be lived."
71
"Happiness is not an ideal of reason, but of imagination."
71
"Be the sun in someone's dark sky."
70
"Experience without theory is blind, but theory without experience is mere intellectual play."
70
"The amount of eccentricity in a society has generally been proportional to the amount of genius, mental vigor, and moral courage it contained. That so few now dare to be eccentric marks the chief danger of the time."
69
"Injustice, poverty, slavery, ignorance - these may be cured by reform or revolution. But men do not live only by fighting evils. They live by positive goals, individual and collective, a vast variety of them, seldom predictable, at times incompatible."
69
"Don't water anything that you don't want to grow in your life."
68
"Old age realizes the dreams of youth: look at Dean Swift; in his youth he built an asylum for the insane, in his old age he was himself an inmate."
68
"Let philosophy resolutely aim to be as scientific as possible, but let her not forget her strong kinship with literature."
68
"Mass media provides the essential link between the individual and the demands of the technological society."
68
"What a peculiar privilege has this little agitation of the brain which we call 'thought'."
67
"Travelling, whether in the mental or the physical world, is a joy, and it is good to know that, in the mental world at least, there are vast countries still very imperfectly explored."
67
"Anyone who speaks in the name of others is always an imposter."
66
"The price of inaction is far greater than the cost of making a mistake."
66
"Wise men argue causes; fools decide them."
66
"Truth springs from argument amongst friends."
65
"The good is, like nature, an immense landscape in which man advances through centuries of exploration."
65
"What is the meaning of the togetherness of the perceiving mind, in that peculiar modification of perceiving which makes it perceive not a star but a tree, and the tree itself, is a problem for philosophy."
65
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