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Independent Quotes

“We think of the number "five" as applying to appropriate groups of any entities whatsoever - to five fishes, five children, five apples, five days... We are merely thinking of those relationships between those two groups which are entirely independent of the individual essences of any of the members of either group. This is a very remarkable feat of abstraction; and it must have taken ages for the human race to rise to it”

“But the further step, by means of which a civilization is given its quality or culture, is only attained by a process of cellular division, in the course of which the individual is differentiated, made distinct from and independent of the parent group.”

Mean Made Culture Courses Individual Given Process Parent Quality Steps Groups Civilization Independent Division Cellular

Book:Selected writings: poetry and criticism

Source: Selected writings: poetry and criticism

“When watching men of power in action it must be always kept in mind that, whether they know it or not, their main purpose is the elimination or neutralization of the independent individual- the independent voter, consumer, worker, owner, thinker- and that every device they employ aims at turning men into a manipulable animated instrument which is Aristotle's definition of a slave.”

Source: Between the Devil and the Dragon: The Best Essays and Aphorisms of Eric Hoffer

“In a society that restricts individual freedoms and violates human rights, anything that calls itself creative or independent is a pretence. It is impossible for a totalitarian society to create anything with passion and imagination.”

Humans Passion Individual Imagination Creative Rights Impossible Independent Human Rights Tyranny Pretence Individual Freedom

Author:Ai Weiwei

“In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual.”

“Morandi suggests we are all single in this world, hoping for independent repose. But our best opportunity for a community of excellence depends upon a collection of enlightened individuals.”

World Opportunity Individual Community This World Depends Independent Excellence Collections Enlightened Repose Best Opportunity

Author:Wayne Thiebaud

“An artist, in my experience, is a man or woman of unusual talent and peculiar, highly individual sensibility, with an independent and probably contrary mind, driven by mysterious passions for which another word is neurosis. In getting from point A to point B, the neurotic goes via point Q. It's in that roundabout that people are either completely crippled and hopeless in life, or highly creative.”

People Men Mind Artist Passion Individual Creative Talent Independent Driven Contrary Mysterious Hopeless Peculiar Unusual Sensibility Neurotic Neurosis Crippled

Author:Peter Schjeldahl

“An intelligent couple can read their Darwin and know that the ultimate reason for their sexual urges is procreation. They know that the woman cannot conceive because she is on the pill. Yet they find that their sexual desire is in no way diminished by the knowledge. Sexual desire is sexual desire and its force, in an individual's psychology, is independent of the ultimate Darwinian pressure that drove it. It is a strong urge which exists independently of its ultimate rationale.”

Knows Way Reason Desire Individual Strong Force Psychology Couple Ultimate Pressure Intelligent Independent Urges Pills Procreation Rationale Sexual Desire

Book:The God Delusion

Source: The God Delusion

“Physics is to be regarded not so much as the study of something a priori given, but rather as the development of methods of ordering and surveying human experience. In this respect our task must be to account for such experience in a manner independent of individual subjective judgement and therefore objective in the sense that it can be unambiguously communicated in ordinary human language.”

Humans Individual Language Given Study Development Ordinary Tasks Accounts Independent Method Physics Objectives Judgement Human Experience Subjective Human Language

Book:Collected Works

Source: Collected Works

“The conception that government should be guided by majority opinion makes sense only if that opinion is independent of government. The ideal of democracy rests on the belief that the view which will direct government emerges from an independent and spontaneous process. It requires, therefore, the existence of a large sphere independent of majority control in which the opinions of the individuals are formed.”

“In your works, you have realized what I, albeit in uncertain form, have so greatly longed for in music. The independent progress through their own destinies, the independent life of the individual voices in your compositions, is exactly what I am trying to find in my painting.”

Trying Form Individual Voice Destiny Progress Painting Independent Composition Uncertain Independent Life

Author:Wassily Kandinsky

“All men, and all created nature, have been at work, from the beginning of time to this day, to produce the circumstances which now influence our actions. AS soon as an act has been performed, it becomes independent of the individual performing it, and forthwith gives birth to some other act, which last gives birth to still another, and so they continue, and will continue, until the law of cause and effect shall cease to operate.”

Source: The Doctrine of Life: With Some of Its Theological Applications

“The physical life of an individual person is limited, but the life of the masses united as an independent social-political organism is immortal. Only when an individual becomes a member of this community can he acquire the immortal social-political life.”

Persons Political Individual Social Community United Members Mass Independent Acquire Immortal Organisms Political Life

Author:Kim Jong Il

“It is doubtful whether our present system of popular education does not retard independent or self thinking as much as it promotes it. All genuine education is self-education. It will incite the individual to think for himself, by rethinking what the race's great thinkers have already thought for him, thus enabling him to go ahead under his own mental steam.”

Thinking Doe Self Individual Race Independent Genuine Thinker Steam Doubtful Self Education Enabling Retard Great Thinkers Rethinking Popular Education

Book:The Field of Philosophy: An Outline of Lectures on Introduction to Philosophy

Source: The Field of Philosophy: An Outline of Lectures on Introduction to Philosophy

“The way of Zen is to become independent and strong. Don't rely on others for perceptions of life and truth. Do it individually. Go to a teacher of Zen to learn how to do that, not to get answers for individual life situations.”

Way Individual Strong Answers Situation Teacher Masters Perception Independent Rely Individual Life Zen Master Perception Of Life

Author:Frederick Lenz

“We need others for our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Without others we are nothing. Our sense that we are an island, an independent, self-sufficient individual, bears no relation to reality. It is closer to the truth to picture ourself as a cell in the vast body of life, distinct yet intimately bound up with all living beings. We cannot exist without others, and they in turn are affected by everything we do. The idea that it is possible to secure our own welfare while neglecting the welfare of others, or even at the expense of others, is completely unrealistic.”

“The most perfect education ... is such an exercise of the understanding as is best calculated to strengthen the body and form the heart. Or, in other words, to enable the individual to attain such habits of virtue as will render it independent.”

Heart Body Form Individual Understanding Perfect Education Virtue Habit Exercise Independent

Book:Wollstonecraft: A Vindication of the Rights of Men and a Vindication of the Rights of Woman and Hints

Source: Wollstonecraft: A Vindication of the Rights of Men and a Vindication of the Rights of Woman and Hints

“Industry suffers from the managerial dogma that for the sake of stability and continuity, the company should be independent of the competence of individual employees.”

Should Motivational Suffering Individual Company Industry Independent Sake Employee Stability Dogma Competence Continuity

Author:Edsger Dijkstra

“The soul of me is very selfish. I have gone my way after a fashion that made me the center of the plan. And you who are so individual, who are so independent a spirit, whose soul is also a kingdom, have been so loyal, so forgiving, so self-sacrificing in your willingness to live my life. Nothing but love cold have accomplished so wonderful a thing.”

Way Has Beens Made Soul Self Spirit Individual Gone Plans Wonderful Sacrifice Fashion Cold Independent Forgiving Selfish Kingdoms My Way Accomplished Willingness Loyal Living My Life

Author:Woodrow Wilson

“I think mathematics is a vast territory. The outskirts of mathematics are the outskirts of mathematical civilization. There are certain subjects that people learn about and gather together. Then there is a sort of inevitable development in those fields. You get to the point where a certain theorem is bound to be proved, independent of any particular individual, because it is just in the path of development.”

People Thinking Together Certain Individual Path Subjects Fields Particular Development Civilization Mathematics Independent Bounds Mathematical Inevitable Territory Theorems

Author:William Thurston

“Child! Turn your face to the light, to the science, to the reason, to the truth, to the peace! Child! Be modern, be compassionate, be individual, and be independent! Child! Don't be the man of anyone or any system, don't believe in any religious stories, and don't ever be silent against any oppressor! Child, turn your face to the light and walk towards the light!”

Men Believe Children Reason Stories Light Faces Science Turns Individual Peace Religious Walks Modern He Man Independent Silent Don't Believe Your Face Compassionate Oppressors

Author:Mehmet Murat Ildan

“We no longer see the evolution of the nervous system, but that of a certain individual. The role of the memory is very important but... not as important as we believe. Most of the important things that we do don't depend on memory. To hear, to see, to touch, to feel happiness and pain; these are functions which are independent of memory; it is an a priori thing. Thus, for me, what memory does is to modify that a priori thing, and this it does in a very profound way.”

Way Feels Believe Doe Important Pain Certain Individual Memories Roles Depends Evolution Function Independent Important Things Profound Nervous Nervous System

Author:Rodolfo Llinas

“Fashion is temporary; fashion is a race. What it's doing is giving you something that you say, "This is the outer wrapping of me." Style is something else. It's not quantifiable. Fashion is about selling. Fashion is about what's in. Style is independent of that; style is individual.”

Giving Individual Race Fashion Style Independent Selling Temporary Wrapping

Author:Annie Lennox

“People vastly overestimate the ability of central planners to improve on the independent action of diverse individuals. What I've learned watching regulators is that they almost always make things worse. If regulators did nothing, the self-correcting mechanisms of the market would mitigate most problems with more finesse. And less cost.”

People Ifs Self Problem Action Individual Ability Cost Independent I've Learned Mechanism Diverse Correcting Planners Overestimate Regulators Finesse

Author:John Stossel

“Innovation, sending civilians to outer space, mapping the mind, curing cancer - all these things, they're great. Obviously these same companies are also making a lot of money and accumulating a lot of our data at the same time, which seemed like independent things and one is beneficial and one is problematic for us as individuals, but in the rush of the new I think a lot of the philosophical, ethical, moral, and legal questions don't get asked in time. It's not in our nature to pause, sit, meditate, question, debate. We move forward. Technology generally answers itself with more technology.”

Thinking Mind Moving Individual Moral Technology Innovation Philosophical Independent Cancer Debate Moving Forward Ethical Outer Space

Author:James Ponsoldt

“The point I am making is that in the more primitive forms of society the individual is merely a unit; in more developed forms of society he is an independent personality.”

Form Individual Personality Independent Primitive Units Independent Women

Book:Selected writings: poetry and criticism

Source: Selected writings: poetry and criticism

“I don't mean to say that I'm about to state my credo here on this page, but merely to affirm, sincerely for the first time in my life, my belief in man as an individual and independent entity. Certainly not independence in the everyday sense of the word, but pertaining to a freedom and mobility of thought that few people are able - or even have the courage - to achieve.”

People Men Firsts Mean States Able Individual Belief Achieve Pages First Time Independent Independence Everyday Entity Sincerely Mobility Credo

Book:Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955-1967

Source: Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955-1967

“It is solely by risking life that freedom is obtained; . . . the individual who has not staked his or her life may, no doubt, be recognized as a Person; but he or she has not attained the truth of this recognition as an independent self-consciousness.”

May Persons Self Individual Consciousness Doubt Independent Recognition No Doubt Self Consciousness

Author:Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

“The first and most important thing an individual can do is to become an individual again, decontrol himself, train himself as to what is going on and win back as much independent ground for himself as possible”

Firsts Art Important Philosophy Winning Individual Can Do Independent Important Things Train

Author:William S. Burroughs

“It is because every individual knows little and, in particular, because we rarely know which of us knows best best that we trust the independent and competitive efforts of many to induce the emergence of what we shall want when we see it.”

Knows Want Littles Individual Effort Particular Independent Emergence

Author:Friedrich August von Hayek

“He saw the cause of his unhappiness in the family--the family as a social institution, which does not permit the child to become an independent individual at the proper time.”

Children Doe Individual Social Causes Saws Independent Institutions Unhappiness Permit Social Institutions Proper Time

Book:Married

Source: Married

“To overcome the anxieties and depressions of contemporary life, individuals must become independent of the social environment to the degree that they no longer respond exclusively in terms of its rewards and punishments. To achieve such autonomy, a person has to learn to provide rewards to herself. She has to develop the ability to find enjoyment and purpose regardless of external circumstances.”

Source: Flow: the psychology of optimal experience

“Love is a power, a mighty principle that exists in its own right independent of any individual. Man changes, but the principle of love does not and cannot. Love does not leave men and women. Men and women leave love.”

Men Life Doe Individual Love Is Principles Men And Women Independent Love Life Leaving Me

Author:Barry Long

“A fundamental concern for others in our individual and community lives would go a long way in making the world the better place we so passionately dreamt of.”

World Way Long Individual Community Compassion Meditation Concern Independent Fundamentals Better Place Long Way Concern For Others

Book:Notes to the Future: Words of Wisdom

Source: Notes to the Future: Words of Wisdom

“A social fact is every way of acting, fixed or not, capable of exercising on the individual an external constraint; or again, every way of acting which is general throughout a given society, while at the same time existing in its own right independent of its individual manifestations.”

Way Facts Individual Given Social Acting Human Nature Exercise Capable Independent Fixed Manifestation Constraints

Author:Emile Durkheim

“[The] erroneous assumption is to the effect that the aim of public education is to fill the young of the species with knowledge and awaken their intelligence, and so make them fit to discharge the duties of citizenship in an enlightened and independent manner. Nothing could be further from the truth. The aim of public education is not to spread enlightenment at all; it is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, to breed and train a standardised citizenry, to put down dissent and originality.”

“The classification of facts and the formation of absolute judgments upon the basis of this classification-judgments independent of the idiosyncrasies of the individual mind-essentially sum up the aim and method of modern science. The scientific man has above all things to strive at self-elimination in his judgments, to provide an argument which is as true for each individual mind as for his own.”

Source: The Grammar of Science

“This constitution we designate by the word genotype. The word is entirely independent of any hypothesis; it is fact, not hypothesis that different zygotes arising by fertilisation can thereby have different qualities, that, even under quite similar conditions of life, phenotypically diverse individuals can develop.”

Different Facts Science Individual Quality Conditions Diversity Constitution Independent Diverse Hypothesis Nomenclature

Author:Wilhelm Johannsen

“An Individual, whatever species it might be, is nothing in the Universe. A hundred, a thousand individuals are still nothing. The species are the only creatures of Nature, perpetual creatures, as old and as permanent as it. In order to judge it better, we no longer consider the species as a collection or as a series of similar individuals, but as a whole independent of number, independent of time, a whole always living, always the same, a whole which has been counted as one in the works of creation, and which, as a consequence, makes only a unity in Nature.”

“Civilization can only revive when there shall come into being in a number of individuals a new tone of mind, independent of the prevalent one among the crowds, and in opposition to it - a tone of mind which will gradually win influence over the collective one, and in the end determine its character. Only an ethical movement can rescue us from barbarism, and the ethical comes into existence only in individuals.”

Source: A Treasury of Albert Schweitzer

“The individual woman is required . . . a thousand times a day to choose either to accept her appointed role and thereby rescue her good disposition out of the wreckage of her self-respect, or else follow an independent line of behavior and rescue her self-respect out of the wreckage of her good disposition.”

Self Individual Lines Accepting Roles Thousand Behavior Respect Independent Individuality Self Respect Rescue Disposition Wreckage

Author:Jeannette Rankin

“I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be.”

World Way Made I Can Individual Nations Ought Independent Our World Standing Out Boast Interdependence

Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.

“You may ask what kind of a republic I dream of. Let me reply: I dream of a republic independent, free, and democratic, of a republic economically prosperous and yet socially just; in short, of a humane republic which serves the individual and which therefore holds the hope that the individual will serve it in turn. Of a republic of well-rounded people, because without such it is impossible to solve any of our problems, human, economic, ecological, social, or political.”

People Humans Wells Kind May Problem Dream Political Turns Asks Individual Social Impossible Economic Let Me Independent Democratic Solve Republic Prosperous Humane Ecological Well Rounded

Author:Vaclav Havel

“It is equally clear that a government must govern, must prescribe and enforce laws within its sphere or cease to be a government. Moreover, the individual must be independent and free within his own sphere or cease to be an individual. The fundamental question was then, is now, and always will be through what adjustments, by what actions, these principles may be applied.”

May Government Action Law Individual Principles Independent Fundamentals Cease Spheres Adjustment

Author:Calvin Coolidge

“To those advocates of independent paper moneys who also champion the free market, I would address this simple question: "Why don't you advocate the unlimited freedom of each individual to manufacture dollars?" If dollars are really and properly things-in-themselves, why not let everyone manufacture them as they manufacture wheat and baby food?”

Ifs Individual Freedom Simple Money Baby Paper Independent Dollars Champion Addresses Why Not Unlimited Free Market Wheat

Author:Murray Rothbard

“Libertarianism is what you probably already believe: Libertarian values are American values. Libertarianism is America's heritage of liberty, patriotism and honest work to build a future for your family. It's the idea that being free and independent is a great way to live. That each of us is a unique individual, with great potential. That you own yourself, and that you have the right to decide what's best for you. Americans of all races and creeds built a great and prosperous country with these libertarian ideals. Let's use them to build America's future.”

“We do not support the man. We do not support the individual. We support the idea of independent revolution in the Western Hemisphere, free from American intervention”

Men Ideas Individual Support He Man Revolution Independent Western Intervention Gdp Hemisphere

Book:The Mind of Oswald

Source: The Mind of Oswald

“Civilization can only revive when there shall come into being in a number of individuals a new tone of mind independent of the one prevalent among the crowd and in opposition to it. A new public opinion must be created privately and unobtrusively. The existing one is maintained by the press, by propaganda, by organization, and by financial influences which are at its disposal. The unnatural way of spreading ideas must be opposed by the natural one, which goes from man to man and relies solely on the truth of the thoughts and the hearer's receptiveness of new truth.”

“No one can be free unless he is independent. Therefore, the first active manifestations of the child's individual liberty must be so guided that through this activity he may arrive at independence.”

Firsts May Children Individual Liberty Activity Independent Independence Active Manifestation Individual Liberty Practical Life

Book:The Montessori Method: The Origins of an Educational Innovation : Including an Abridged and Annotated Edition of Maria Montessori's The Montessori Method

Source: The Montessori Method: The Origins of an Educational Innovation : Including an Abridged and Annotated Edition of Maria Montessori's The Montessori Method