“All "if" statements about the past are as dubious as prophecies of the future are. It seems fairly plausible that if Alexander or Ghengis Khan had never been born, some other individual would have filled his place and executed the design of the Hellenic or Mongolic expansion; but the Alexanders of philosophy and religion, of science and art, seem less expendable; their impact seems less determined by economic challenges and social pressures; and they seem to have a much wider range of possibilities to influence the direction, shape and texture of civilizations.” IfsArtPhilosophySeemsPastIndividualSocialBornChallengesInfluenceEconomicDesignPossibilityCivilizationShapesPressureImpactFilledDeterminedStatementsRangeProphecyExpansionTextureArt And SciencePlausibleDubiousPhilosophy And ReligionSocial PressureExpendables Author:Arthur Koestler
“It is through an "intimate cessation of all intellectual operations" that the mind is laid bare. If nor, discourse maintains it in its little complacency. ... The difference between inner experience and philosophy resides principally in this: that in experience, ... what counts is no longer the statement of wind, but the wind.” IfsMindLittlesPhilosophyDifferencesWindIntellectualStatementsOperationsIntimateDiscourseComplacency Book:Inner Experience Source: Inner Experience
“Morality must be the heart of our existence, if it is to be what it wants to be for us. The highest form of philosophy is ethics. Thus all philosophy begins with "I am." The highest statement of cognition must be an expression of that fact which is the means and ground for all cognition, namely, the goal of the I.” IfsWantHeartMeanPhilosophyFactsFormGoalExistenceExpressionMoralityHighestEthicsStatementsCognition Author:Novalis
“One of the questions on which clarity of thinking is now most necessary is that of the relation between the methods of science and of Marxist philosophy. Although much has already been written on the subject, yet there is still an enormous amount of confusion and contradictory statement.” ThinkingStillsPhilosophyWrittenSubjectsAmountRelationMethodEnormousStatementsConfusionClarityContradictoryMarxist Author:John Desmond Bernal
“Some people think that macrobiotic philosophy is no more than the teaching of a diet - the eating of brown rice, carrots, and gomashio (sesame salt), others imagine that it is summed up in the statement, "Don't eat cake and sugar." How far from the truth!” PeopleThinkingPhilosophyImagineTeachingEatingStatementsDietsBrownCakeSugarSaltImagine ThatRiceCarrots Author:George Ohsawa
“I did not worry about what a man or woman personally believed, but the nation's official religion should be outwardly practiced by all its citizens. A religion was a political statement. Being a Calvinist, a papist, a Presbyterian, an Anglican labeled a person's philosophy on education, taxes, poor relief, and other secular things. The nation needed an accepted position on such concerns. Hence the fines for not outwardly conforming to the national church.” MenShouldPersonsPhilosophyPoliticalNationsChurchPoorWorryPositionFineNeededCitizensTaxesConcernAcceptedStatementsOfficialsReliefSecularConformPresbyterians Book:Elizabeth I Source: Elizabeth I
“'Climb Every Mountain' is a beautiful statement of philosophy. Critics may think 'The Sound of Music' is saccharine, but I think it's profound. The message, that we can't accommodate evil, is just as important today.” ThinkingMayImportantPhilosophyTodayBeautifulEvilSoundMountainMessagesMusic IsProfoundCriticsStatementsClimbsAccommodateSound Of Music Author:Jon Voight