Philosophy Quotes – A Pondering Mind

Free Will

You can choose whatever you desire, but you’re not free to choose your desires. ~Arthur Schopenhauer

Reading….

Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what read ours. -John Locke

January

To read a poem in January is as lovely as to go for a walk in June. ~Jean-Paul Sartre

“There’s simply no polite way to tell people they’ve dedicated their lives to an illusion.” ~Daniel Dennett

Daniel Dennett, Philosopher

Change

The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance. ~ Alan Watts

“Things of this world are in so constant a flux, that nothing remains long in the same state.” ~John Locke

Opinions

“New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not already common.” ~ John Locke

“The world we see that seems so insane is the result of a belief system that is not working. To perceive the world differently, we must be willing to change our belief system, let the past slip away, expand our sense of now, and dissolve the fear in our minds.” ~ William James

Expression Of An Opinion

“The peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth: ifContinue reading “Expression Of An Opinion”

“Who are we to tell anyone what they can or can’t do?” ~John Locke

“Art is not the possession of the few who are recognized writers, painters, musicians; it is the authentic expression of any and all individuality.” ~John Dewey

John Dewey – Philosopher, 1859 – 1952

Children

“There is frequently more to be learned from the unexpected questions of a child than the discourses of men.” ~ John Locke, Philosopher, 1632 – 1704

All Truth

“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.” ~ Arthur Schopenhauer

“Those who fear the facts will forever try to discredit the fact-finders.” ~ Denis Diderot

Denis Diderot, Philosopher, 1713 – 1784

Independent Thinkers

“A society with too few independent thinkers is vulnerable to control by disturbed and opportunistic leaders. A society which wants to create and maintain a free and democratic social system must create responsible independence of thought among its young.” ~ John Dewey, Philosopher, 1859 – 1952

A Higher Revelation

Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy. Music is the electrical soils in which the spirit lives, thinks and invents. Ludwig van Beethoven

Poor People

There are two types of poor people, those who are poor together and those who are poor alone. The first are the true poor, the others are rich people out of luck. ~ Jean-Paul Sartre

“The most thought-provoking thing in our thought-provoking time is that we are still not thinking.” ~Martin Heidegger

“Nothing is everything that doesn’t happen at this very moment.” ~Martin Heidegger

Pursuit Of Money

“In constant pursuit of money to finance campaigns, the political system is simply unable to function. Its deliberative powers are paralyzed.” ~ John Rawls, Philosopher, 1921 – 2002

“Lawyers sometimes tell the truth. They’ll do anything to win a case.” ~Jeremy Bentham

Jeremy Bentham, Philosopher, 1748 – 1832

“There is no such thing as freedom of choice unless there is freedom to refuse.” ~David Hume

Bricks

“A concept is a brick. It can be used to build a courthouse of reason. Or it can be thrown through the window.” ~ Gilles Deleuze, Philosopher, 1925 – 1995

“No matter how thin you slice it, there will always be two sides.” ~Baruch Spinoza

Two Ways To Be Fooled

“There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ~ Soren Kierkegaard

Words

Words differently arranged have a different meaning, and meanings differently arranged have different effects. ~ Blaise Pascal

The Poor

The poor don’t know that their function in life is to exercise our generosity. ~ Jean-Paul Sartre

The secret of theory is that truth does not exist. ~Jean Baudrillard

Freedom Of Choice

“When we can’t think for ourselves, we can always quote” ~ Ludwig Wittgenstein

Living

What is called a reason for living is also an excellent reason for dying. ~Albert Camus

Hell isn’t other people. Hell is yourself. ~Ludwig Wittgenstein

Treasured Wealth

Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations. ~Henry David Thoreau

The absurd is the essential concept and the first truth. ~Albert Camus

Mostly it is loss which teaches us the worth things. ~Arthur Schopenauer

Senseless To Think Of Complaining

It is therefore senseless to think of complaining since nothing foreign has decided what we feel, what we live, or what we are. `~Jean-Paul Sartre

Every book is the wreck of a perfect idea. ~Iris Murdoch

“Rules for Happiness: something to do, someone to love, something to hope for.” ~Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant, Philosopher, Born: April 22, 1724 – Died: February 12, 1804

Three Great Things

The three great things of life are: good health; work, and a philosophy of life. ~Jack London

Science is what you know. Philosophy is what you don’t know. ~Bertrand Russell

People

To know what people really think, pay regard to what they do rather than what they say. ~Rene Descartes

“Nothing is everything that doesn’t happen at this very moment.” ~ Martin Heidegger

Boundaries

“A boundary is not that at which something stops, but that from which something begins.” ~ Martin Heidegger, Philosopher ~ 1889 – 1976

Simplify Your Life

“Simplify your life. Don’t waste the years struggling for things that are unimportant. Don’t burden yourself with possessions. Keep your needs and wants simple and enjoy what you have. Don’t destroy your peace of mind by looking back, worrying about the past. Live in the present. Simplify!” ~ Henry David Thoreau

Dreaming

“It is possible that I am dreaming right now and that all of my perceptions are false.” ~ Rene Descartes, Philosopher ~ 1596 – 1650

“I know that I exist; the question is, What is this ‘I’ that ‘I’ know.” ~Rene Descartes

“How can you be certain that your whole life is not a dream?” ~Rene Descartes

Fear

“To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead.” ~ Bertrand Russell

“The wise man can change his mind; the stubborn one, never.” ~Immanuel Kant

Sometimes people don’t want to hear the truth because they don’t want their illusions destroyed. ~Friedrich Nietzsche

I don’t know why we are here, but I’m pretty sure it is not in order to enjoy ourselves. ~Ludwig Wittgenstein

There is a life and there is a death, and there are beauty and melancholy between. ~Albert Camus

To Be

“To be is to be perceived (Esse est percipi).” Or, “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?” ~ George Berkeley

“All perception is a gamble.” ~Edmund Husserl

People Know What They Do

“People know what they do; frequently they know why they do what they do; but what they don’t know is what what they do does.” ~ Michel Foucault, Philosopher – Born: October 15, 1926 – Died: June 25, 1984

“Ignorance leads to fear, fear leads to hate, and hate leads to violence. This is the equation.” ~Averroes

Averroes, Philosopher – Born: April 14, 1126-Died: December 10, 1198

The body

“The body is to be compared, not to a physical object, but rather to a work of art.” ~ Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Philosopher ~ 1908-1961

“All consciousness is consciousness of something” ~Edmund Husserl

Two People

“Whenever two people meet, there are really six people present. There is each man as he sees himself, each man as the other person sees him, and each man as he really is.” ~ William James

Time is the most unknown of all unknown things. ~Aristotle

Life is a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats. ~Voltaire

Materials Of Knowledge

“Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours.” ~ John Locke

“What worries you, masters you.” ~ John Locke

“Life is a constant process of dying.” ~Arthur Schopenhauer

“Just remember, once you’re over the hill you begin to pick up speed.” ~Arthur Schopenhauer

Majority Of Men

“The majority of men… are not capable of thinking, but only of believing, and… are not accessible to reason, but only to authority.” ~ Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher – 1788-1860

“If you want the present to be different from the past, study the past.” ~Baruch Spinoza

Thinking is difficult, that’s why most people judge. ~Carl Jung

To be is to be perceived. (Esse est percipi) ~Bishop ~George Berkeley

“To choose not to choose is still to act.” ~Jean-Paul Sartre

One Day Left

“There is only one day left, always starting over: it is given to us at dawn and taken away from us at dusk.” ~ Jean-Paul Sartre

“I rebel; therefore I exist.” ~Albert Camus

Nihilist

A nihilist is not one who believes in nothing, but one who does not believe in what exists. ~ Albert Camus

“Curiosity is the lust of the mind.” ~ Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes – Philosopher, 1588-1679

“We are our choices.” ~Jean-Paul Sartre

“If you are lonely when you’re alone, you are in bad company.” ~Jean-Paul Sartre

“I know what I can know, and am not troubled about what I cannot know.” ~Johann Gottlieb Fichte*

*Philosopher, 1762-1814

Lie Is A Lie

“But a lie is a lie, and in itself intrinsically evil, whether it be told with good or bad intents.” ~ Immanuel Kant

You only know me as you see me, not as I actually am. ~Immanuel Kant

Three Things

“Three things tell a man: his eyes, his friends and his favorite quotes” ~ Immanuel Kant

“Every word has consequences. Every silence, too.” ~Jean-Paul Sartre

“How can you be certain that your whole life is not a dream?” ~ Rene Descartes

Good Books

“The reading of all good books is like a conversation with the finest minds of past centuries.” ~ Rene Descartes

Free Will

“Life is like a game of cards. The hand you are dealt is determinism; the way you play it is free will.” ~ Jawaharlal Nehru

“Who lies for you will lie against you.” ~ John Locke

Philosophy is common sense with big words. ~James Madison

“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” ~Soren Kierkegaard

Watch Your Thoughts

“Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habit.” ~ Laozi

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” ~ Aristotle

Philosophical Animal

“It is difficult to obtain the friendship of a cat. It is a philosophical animal… one that does not place its affections thoughtlessly.” ~ Theophile Gautier

Philosophical Questions

“Philosophical questions are not by their nature insoluble. They are, indeed, radically different from scientific questions, because they concern the implications and other interrelations of ideas, not the order of physical events; their answers are interpretations instead of factual reports, and their function is to increase not our knowledge of nature, but our understanding ofContinue reading “Philosophical Questions”