“Man's quest for knowledge is an expanding series whose limit is infinity, but philosophy seeks to attain that limit at one blow, by a short circuit providing the certainty of complete and inalterable truth. Science meanwhile advances at its gradual pace, often slowing to a crawl, and for periods it even walks in place, but eventually it reaches the various ultimate trenches dug by philosophical thought, and, quite heedless of the fact that it is not supposed to be able to cross those final barriers to the intellect, goes right on.” MenPhilosophyFactsAbleWalksPeriodsLimitsCrossesUltimatePhilosophicalSeriesFinalsBlowVariousIntellectCertaintySupposed To BeBarriersPaceInfinityQuestsProvidingExpandingCircuitsTrenchesSlowingShort Circuit Book:His Master's Voice Source: His Master's Voice
“To a certain extent all philosophers have been involved in a systematic questioning that undermines confidence and certainty. Philosophy as a whole unleashed skeptical forces which, outside of the tightly controlled environment of a rigorous philosophical debate, led a lot of people to throw their hands up in despair and think 'what's the point?'. A lot of the public perception of philosophy is that it leaves you with no answers, and more confused than you were at the beginning.” PeopleThinkingPhilosophyEnvironmentDespairPerceptionPhilosophicalPhilosopherDebateCertaintyConfusedQuestioningSkeptical Author:Julian Baggini
“We come to recognize that playfulness, as a philosophical stance, can be very serious indeed; and moreover, that it possesses an unfailing capacity to arouse ridicule and hostility in those among us who crave certainty, reverence, and restraint.” FunSeriousCapacityPhilosophicalCertaintyReverenceRestraintRidiculeCraveHostilityStancePlayfulness Author:Friedrich Nietzsche
“...it is absurd to try to confine our knowledge and belief to matters which are conclusively established by sound deductive arguments. The demand for certainty will inevitably be disappointed, leaving skepticism in command of almost every issue.” TryingMatterBeliefSoundIssuesDemandArgumentPhilosophicalLeavingAbsurdCommandCertaintyDisappointedSkepticism Author:J. L. Mackie
“We know next to nothing with any certainty about Pythagoras, except that he was not really called Pythagoras. The name by which he is known to us was probably a nickname bestowed by his followers. According to one source, it meant ‘He who spoke truth like an oracle’. Rather than entrust his mathematical and philosophical ideas to paper, Pythagoras is said to have expounded them before large crowds. The world’s most famous mathematician was also its first rhetorician.” KnowsWorldFirstsSaidIdeasNextNamesKnownSourcePaperPhilosophicalCrowdsCertaintyMathematicalSpokesFollowersMathematicianNicknamesOraclesLarge Crowds Author:Daniel Tammet
“Science asks no questions about the ontological pedigree or a priori character of a theory, but is content to judge it by its performance; and it is thus that a knowledge of nature, having all the certainty which the senses are competent to inspire, has been attained--a knowledge which maintains a strict neutrality toward all philosophical systems and concerns itself not with the genesis or a priori grounds of ideas.” Has BeensIdeasCharacterAsksInspireJudgingTheoryConcernPerformancesPhilosophicalSensesCertaintyStrictCompetentGenesisNeutralityPedigree Book:Philosphical Discussions Source: Philosphical Discussions
“In philosophical terms, the opposite of rationalism is not irrationalism but empiricism, that is, a willingness to form beliefs on the basis of experience rather than from a priori deduction. Empirical evidence never yields the dogmatic certainty that accompanies logical deduction.” FormBeliefTermEvidenceOppositesBasesPhilosophicalLibertarianCertaintyLogicalWillingnessYieldAccompanyRationalismDogmaticDeductionsEmpiricismEmpirical Evidence Author:John Quiggin