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Julian Baggini Quotes

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Julian Baggini is a British author and philosopher born in 1968. He is known for his popularization and in-depth exploration of philosophy, with a focus on making philosophy more accessible to the general public.

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All Ifs People Thinking Philosophy Reason Should Believe Kind World Trying Accepting Feels Giving Moral Sometimes Argument Choices Different Failing Humans

Famous Julian Baggini Quotes

“Imagination without reason is mere fancy, but reason without imagination is sterile.”

Reason Philosophy Imagination

Book:The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten: 100 Experiments for the Armchair Philosopher

Source: The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten: 100 Experiments for the Armchair Philosopher

“Religion will recede not by atheists shouting condemnation, but by the quiet voice of reason slowly making itself heard.”

Reason Religion Voice Atheism Quiet Condemnation Recede

Book:Atheism: A Very Short Introduction

Source: Atheism: A Very Short Introduction

“No one has ever understood anything better by assuming that there is no reason for why it is the way it is.”

Way Reason Understood Assuming No Reason

Book:The Philosopher's Toolkit: A Compendium of Philosophical Concepts and Methods

Source: The Philosopher's Toolkit: A Compendium of Philosophical Concepts and Methods

“There have been a number of philosophers who have reveled in the dismantling of truth. I think they did so with good ethical motives, and for good philosophical reasons. I can see the sense in what they were talking about; the idea that truth is often claimed by elites in order to further certain agendas. They crowd-out alternative perspectives - particularly those of the powerless. But the undermining of truth contributed - in the weird, indirect way that philosophy contributes to the culture - to a rejection of the idea of truth as having any kind of proper meaning at all.”

Thinking Kind Reason Philosophy Culture Perspective Truth Is Philosophical Philosopher Motive Rejection Ethical Powerless Indirect

Author:Julian Baggini

“One reason why it has become harder to promote the beneficial side of emotions such as anger is that the moral vocabulary of good and bad has been replaced by the self-help lexicon of positive and negative thinking.”

Thinking Has Beens Self Reason Helping Sides Emotion Moral Self Help Negative Harder Reason Why Replaced Vocabulary Good And Bad Beneficial Negative Thinking Lexicon

Author:Julian Baggini

“Philosophy has to be enquiring; it can take nothing on faith, and its methods are based not on the blind acceptance of authority, but on establishing truths by reason and argument.”

Reason Philosophy Acceptance Authority Argument Method Blind Blind Acceptance

Author:Julian Baggini

“The modern believer is not suspicious enough, which is perhaps why when they try to construct arguments in their defence, the convictions are left doing all the work and reason, debilitated by neglect, weakly fails to prop them up.”

Trying Reason Enough Left Failing Modern Argument Conviction Believer Neglect Constructs Suspicious Defence Props

Author:Julian Baggini

“The only good reason to embrace a philosophical position is that you are convinced it is true or at least makes sense of the world better than the alternatives.”

World Reason Position Philosophical Embrace Convinced Alternatives Make Sense

Author:Julian Baggini

“The reason Buddhism can be so naturalised is because, stripped of its supernatural elements, its core teachings can be giving a sound, secular philosophical interpretation. In other words, it becomes a religion acceptable to the contemporary, naturalistic mind only when it ceases to be a religion.”

Giving Mind Reason Sound Teaching Buddhism Elements Philosophical Core Cease Contemporary Interpretation Acceptable Secular Supernatural Elements

Author:Julian Baggini

“Even if we can agree that some things are natural and some are not, what follows from this? The answer is: nothing. There is no factual reason to suppose that what is natural is good (or at least better) and what is unnatural is bad (or at least worse).”

Ifs Reason Natural Answers Agree Unnatural Factual

Author:Julian Baggini

“I don't believe in God because certain reasons and arguments weigh more heavily in my mind than others, not because I have willfully decided to reject my creator, as many religious people seem to think. I could no more simply decide to believe in God than I could decide to like beetroot, just like that.”

People Thinking Mind Believe Reason Seems Certain Religious Argument Decided Don't Believe Creator Rejects Believe In God

Author:Julian Baggini

“The reason to be an atheist is not that it makes us feel better or gives us a more rewarding life. The reason to be an atheist is simply that there is no God and we would prefer to live in full recognition of that, accepting the consequences, even if it makes us less happy.”

Ifs Giving Feels Reason Accepting Consequence Atheist Recognition Feel Better There Is No God

Author:Julian Baggini

About the Author

Born: 1968
Known for: Author
Quotes: 134

Books & Sources

Atheism: A Very Short IntroductionRelated source material

AtheismRelated source material

The Philosopher's Toolkit: A Compendium of Philosophical Concepts and MethodsRelated source material

The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten: 100 Experiments for the Armchair PhilosopherRelated source material

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