“Oppression tries to defend itself by its utility. But we have seen that it is one of the lies of the serious mind to attempt to give the word "useful" an absolute meaning; nothing is useful if it is not useful to man; nothing is useful to man if the latter is not in a position to define his own ends and values, if he is not free.” IfsMenGivingTryingMindEndsLyingValuesPositionSeriousAbsolutesOppressionLatterUtilityMeaning Nothing Book:The Ethics of Ambiguity Source: The Ethics of Ambiguity
“Subjects who reciprocally recognize each other as such, must consider each other as identical, insofar as they both take up the position of subject; they must at all times subsume themselves and the other under the same category. At the same time, the relation of reciprocity of recognition demands the non-identity of one and the other, both must also maintain their absolute difference, for to be a subject implies the claim of individuation.” DifferencesSubjectsIdentityPositionDemandClaimsRelationAbsolutesAll TimeRecognitionCategoriesIdenticalReciprocityIndividuation Author:Jurgen Habermas
“There is no absolute up or down, as Aristotle taught; no absolute position in space; but the position of a body is relative to that of other bodies. Everywhere there is incessant relative change in position throughout the universe, and the observer is always at the center of things.” BodyUniverseSpaceAtheismPositionTaughtAbsolutesPositive AtheismRelativeObserversIncessant Author:Giordano Bruno
“Meiklejohn's position is that free speech in a democracy is not an absolute flowing from the boundless source of some presumed 'natural right.' It is a practical necessity of 'self-government by universal suffrage,' for if the citizens are not permitted to argue out the issues of government, how can they be what they must be in a democracy - the rulers as well as the ruled?” IfsWellsSelfGovernmentNaturalDemocracyIssuesAtheismPositionSourceCitizensSpeechUniversalAbsolutesArguingPracticalsRulersFree SpeechBoundlessSuffrageSelf-governmentUniversal Suffrage Author:Max Lerner
“Anyone who thinks that the vice-president can take a position independent of the president of his administration simply has no knowledge of politics or government. You are his choice in a political marriage, and he expects your absolute loyalty.” ThinkingGovernmentPoliticalChoicesPoliticsPresidentPositionAbsolutesIndependentVicesLoyaltyAdministrationVice President Author:Hubert H. Humphrey
“I sometimes think that the very essence of the whole Christian position and the secret of a successful spiritual life is just to realize two things... I must have complete, absolute confidence in God and no confidence in myself."” ThinkingTwoSometimesWholeChristianSpiritualLife IsRealizingSecretSuccessfulPositionEssenceAbsolutesTwo ThingsSpiritual LifeConfidence In GodNo Confidence Book:Reflections: A Treasury of Daily Readings Source: Reflections: A Treasury of Daily Readings
“My analysis is that most faith based systems depend upon an absolute moral order. The declaration of things as absolutely evil or absolutely good, as sin or virtue, puts liberalism into a horrible position because it's founded on no judgment on anything. As a result, any faith that is seriously practiced or understood is a challenge to the politics that depend on constituencies that would rather not be told that their choices are bad and their lives are not virtuous.” OrderChoicesEvilChallengesSinResultsMoralVirtuePositionDependsJudgmentUnderstoodAbsolutesHorribleAnalysisLiberalismVirtuousDeclarationFaith Based Author:Hugh Hewitt
“If neuroscientific research shows that those mechanisms only contain comparative information about colour differences, and have 'thrown away' more fine-grained information about the absolute colours of single surfaces, then that would support my position, in a way that just introspecting our colour experiences can't.” IfsWayShowsDifferencesSupportInformationPositionFineResearchAbsolutesSurfaceColourThrownMechanismScientific Research Author:David Papineau
“Animals are God's creatures, not human property, nor utilities, nor resources, nor commodities, but precious beings in God's sight. ...Christians whose eyes are fixed on the awfulness of crucifixion are in a special position to understand the awfulness of innocent suffering. The Cross of Christ is God's absolute identification with the weak, the powerless, and the vulnerable, but most of all with unprotected, undefended, innocent suffering.” HumansEyeChristianSufferingChristAnimalSpecialPositionCreaturesResourcesCrossesWeakSightAbsolutesPropertyInnocentVulnerableFixedVegetarianVeganAnimal RightsCommodityPowerlessUtilityIdentificationCrucifixionVegan HealthAwfulness Author:Andrew Linzey
“[Most progressive in the Democratic Party] won't stop the Trans-Pacific Partnership or take a position against it, you know, which is an absolute assault on our democracy.” KnowsPartyDemocracyPositionAbsolutesDemocraticProgressivePartnershipAssaultDemocratic PartyTransPacific Author:Jill Stein
“The Cuban people along with international solidarity defeated this imperial position [America] in the middle of the 21st century and have demonstrated the potential of a nation that has lived under an iron handed blockade and permanent aggression including state sponsored terrorism and yet has survived. In the new circumstances we have the absolute conviction that we will move forward even more than we already have.” PeopleStatesAmericaMovingNationsMiddleCenturyPositionCircumstancesAbsolutesIncludingInternationalConvictionTerrorismMoving ForwardPermanentIronAggressionDefeatedSolidaritySurvived21st CenturyCubanBlockades Author:Alejandro Castro Espin
“Now, we occupy a lowly position, both in space and rank in comparison with the heavenly sphere, and the Almighty is Most High not in space, but with respect to absolute existence, greatness and power.” SpaceExistencePositionGreatnessAbsolutesComparisonHeavenlySpheresAlmighty Book:Guide for the perplexed Source: Guide for the perplexed
“A modern theory of knowledge which takes account of the relational as distinct from the merely relative character of all historical knowledge must start with the assumption that there are spheres of thought in which it is impossible to conceive of absolute truth existing independently of the values and position of the subject and unrelated to the social context.” CharacterValuesSocialKnowledgeImpossibleModernSubjectsPositionTheoryAccountsAbsolutesHistoricalAssumptionRelativeSpheresAbsolute TruthTheory Of KnowledgeHistorical Knowledge Author:Karl Mannheim
“Any measurement must take into account the position of the observer. There is no such thing as measurement absolute, there is only measurement relative.” JusticePositionDiversityAccountsAbsolutesSocial JusticeRelativeObserversMeasurement Author:Jeanette Winterson
“A man who examines the saddle and bridle and not the animal itself when he is out to buy a horse is a fool; similarly, only an absolute fool values a man according to his clothes, or according to his position, which after all is only something we wear like clothing.” MenValuesAnimalPositionJudgingFoolClothesHorseAbsolutesClothingsSaddles Author:Seneca the Younger