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Philosophical Quotes

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Philosophical Quotes

“Without doubt, if we are to go back to that ultimate, integral experience, unwarped by the sophistications of theory, that experience whose elucidation is the final aim of philosophy, the flux of things is one ultimate generalization around which we must weave our philosophical system.”

Ifs Philosophy Doubt Theory Ultimate Philosophical Aim Finals Sophistication Flux Generalization

Book:Process and Reality

Source: Process and Reality

“Blasphemy is an artistic effect, because blasphemy depends upon a philosophical conviction. Blasphemy depends upon belief and is fading with it. If any one doubts this, let him sit down seriously and try to think blasphemous thoughts about Thor.”

Ifs Thinking Trying Belief Doubt Effects Depends Philosophical Conviction Artistic Blasphemy Fading

Book:The Essential Gilbert K. Chesterton

Source: The Essential Gilbert K. Chesterton

“In a sense, every human construction, whether mental or material, is a component in a landscape of fear because it exists in constant chaos. Thus children's fairy tales as well as adult's legends, cosmological myths, and indeed philosophical systems are shelters built by the mind in which human beings can rest, at least temporarily, from the siege of inchoate experience and of doubt.”

Mind Humans Wells Children Human Beings Doubt Materials Adults Built Philosophical Constant Chaos Myth Tales Landscape Fairy Legends Construction Fairy Tale Shelter Components Siege

Author:Yi-Fu Tuan

“By late accounts from Rotterdam, that city seems to be in a high state of philosophical excitement. Indeed, phenomena have there occurred of a nature so completely unexpected--so entirely novel--so utterly at variance with preconceived opinions--as to leave no doubt on my mind that long ere this all Europe is in an uproar, all physics in a ferment, all reason and astronomy together by the ears.”

Source: The Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe (Illustrated Edition): Annabel Lee, Ligeia, The Sphinx, The Raven, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Tell-tale Heart, Berenice, Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Philosophy of Composition, The Poetic Principle, Eureka…

“The conduct of a man, who studies philosophy in this careless manner, is more truly sceptical than that of any one, who feeling inhimself an inclination to it, is yet so over-whelm'd with doubts and scruples, as totally to reject it. A true sceptic will be diffident of his philosophical doubts, as well as of his philosophical conviction; and will never refuse any innocent satisfaction, which offers itself, upon account of either of them.”

Men Wells Philosophy Feelings Study Doubt Offers Accounts Philosophical Satisfaction Refuse Conviction Innocent Rejects Skepticism Inclination Careless Scruples Sceptic

Book:A Treatise of Human Nature

Source: A Treatise of Human Nature

“The whole is a riddle, an enigma, an inexplicable mystery. Doubt, uncertainty, suspence of judgment appear the only result of ourmost accurate scrutiny, concerning this subject. But such is the frailty of human reason, and such the irresistible contagion of opinion, that even this deliberate doubt could scarcely be upheld; did we not enlarge our view, and opposing one species of superstition to another, set them a quarrelling; while we ourselves, during their fury and contention, happily make our escape into the calm, though obscure, regions of philosophy.”

“Faith means belief in something concerning which doubt is theoretically possible.”

Believe Mean Faith Belief Doubt Philosophical Faithfulness Great Faith Faith And Reason

Author:William James

“As my personal explorations continued, I experienced this quality of inner reality more and more and could no longer doubt that the meaning of God lay in this direction. At the same time, these undeniable experiences lit up and were in turn illuminated by all the philosophical and historical knowledge I had by then amassed and I began to understand in an entirely new way the teachings of both Judaism and Christianity as well as the teachings of Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam.”

Reality Quality Christianity Doubt Teaching Buddhism Philosophical Historical Islam Exploration Hinduism Judaism Lit

Author:Jacob Needleman

“The philosophical connection between the Islamic world and the West is much closer than I thought. Doubt did not begin with Descartes. We have this construction today that the West and Islam are entirely separate worlds. This is wrong.”

World Today Doubt Connections Philosophical West Islam Islamic Construction

Author:Tariq Ramadan

“There is no doubt that life is given us, not to be enjoyed, but to be overcome; to be got over.”

Life Is Given Doubt Overcoming Philosophical Adversity Enjoyed No Doubt Pessimism

Book:The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer - Counsels and maxims (illustrated)

Source: The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer - Counsels and maxims (illustrated)

“It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.”

“Philosophy is a necessary activity because we, all of us, take a great number of things for granted, and many of these assumptions are of a philosophical character; we act on them in private life, in politics, in our work, and in every other sphere of our lives -- but while some of these assumptions are no doubt true, it is likely, that more are false and some are harmful. So the critical examination of our presuppositions -- which is a philosophical activity -- is morally as well as intellectually important.”

Wells Important Philosophy Character Numbers Doubt Our Lives Activity Philosophical Critical Granted Assumption No Doubt Spheres Private Life Examination

Author:Karl Popper

“A lot of people see doubt as legitimate philosophical posture. They think of themselves in the middle, whereas of course really, they're nowhere.”

People Thinking Courses Doubt Middle Philosophical Posture

Book:The Honourable Schoolboy

Source: The Honourable Schoolboy

“All pain is either severe or slight, if slight, it is easily endured; if severe, it will without doubt be brief.”

Ifs Pain Doubt Philosophical Fierce Severe Without Pain Severe Pain

Author:Marcus Tullius Cicero

“No doubt, intuitions deserve respect. ...[but] I think that it is always up for grabs what an intuition is an intuition of. At a minimum, it is surely sometimes up for grabs.”

Thinking Sometimes Doubt Deserve Philosophical Intuition No Doubt Minimum

Author:Jerry Fodor

“I shall no doubt be blamed by certain scientists, and, I am afraid, by some philosophers, for having taken serious account of the alleged facts which are investigated by Psychical Researchers. I am wholly impenitent about this. The scientists in question seem to me to confuse the Author of Nature with the Editor of Nature; or at any rate to suppose that there can be no productions of the former which would not be accepted for publication by the latter. And I see no reason to believe this.”

“Reason well from the beginning and then there will never be any need to look back with confusion and doubt.”

Needs Wells Looks Reason Doubt Philosophical Confusion

Book:The Path to Enlightenment

Source: The Path to Enlightenment

“I slept with faith and found a corpse in my arms on awakening; I drank and danced all night with doubt and found her a virgin in the morning.”

Night Faith Found Morning Doubt Arms Philosophical Awakening Virgins All Night Corpses Drank Thelema Faith And Doubt

Author:Aleister Crowley

“The revolutionary spirit is mighty convenient in this, that it frees one from all scruples as regards ideas. Its hard absolute optimism is repulsive to my mind by the menace of fanaticism and intolerance it contains. No doubt one should smile at these things; but, imperfect Esthete, I am no better Philosopher. All claim to special righteousness awakens in me that scorn and anger from which a philosophical mind should be free.”

Source: A Personal Record

“If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.”

“The first precept was never to accept a thing as true until I knew it as such without a single doubt.”

Firsts Accepting Doubt Philosophical Aries

Author:Rene Descartes

“There is no doubt that healthy-mindedness is inadequate as a philosophical doctrine, because the evil facts which it refuses positively to account for are a genuine portion of reality; and they may after all be the best key to life's significance, and possibly the only openers of our eyes to the deepest levels of truth.”

May Facts Reality Eye Evil Levels Doubt Keys Healthy Accounts Philosophical Refuse Genuine Doctrine No Doubt Being The Best Significance Portions Existential Positively Inadequate

Book:The William James Reader

Source: The William James Reader