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Rationalism Quotes

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Rationalism Quotes

“La ciencia es más que un cuerpo de conocimiento, es una manera de pensar. Tengo un presagio de la época de mis hijos o mis nietos, cuando Estados Unidos sea una economía de servicios e información; cuando casi todas las principales industrias manufactureras se hayan ido a otros países; cuando los increíbles poderes tecnológicos estén en manos de muy pocos, y nadie que represente el interés público pueda si quiera comprender los problemas; cuando la gente haya perdido la capacidad de establecer sus propias agendas o cuestionar sabiamente a los que tienen autoridad; cuando, abrazados a nuestras bolas de cristal y consultando nerviosamente nuestros horóscopos, con nuestras facultades críticas en declive, incapaces de distinguir entre lo que se siente bien y lo que es verdad, nos deslicemos de vuelta, casi sin darnos cuenta, en la superstición y la oscuridad. La caída en la estupidez de Norteamérica se hace evidente principalmente en la lenta decadencia del contenido de los medios de comunicación, de enorme influencia, las cuñas de sonido de treinta segundos (ahora reducidas a diez o menos), la programación de nivel ínfimo, las crédulas presentaciones de pseudociencia y superstición, pero sobre todo en una especie de celebración de la ignorancia.”

ScienceEducationSkepticismCritical ThinkingSuperstitionRationalismPseudoscienceAnti IntellectualismTechnocracy
Book:The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
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“Hellenic science is a victory of rationalism, which appears greater, not smaller, when one is made to realize that it had been won in spite of the irrational beliefs of the Greek people; all in all, it was a triumph of reason in the face of unreason. Some knowledge of Greek superstitions is needed not only for a proper appreciation of that triumph but also for the justification of occasional failures, such as the many Platonic aberrations.”

PeopleMadeReasonFacesBeliefRealizingGreaterNeededVictoryAppreciationTriumphGreekSpiteSuperstitionsJustificationIrrationalOccasionalRationalismPlatonicAberrationIrrational Beliefs
Book:Ancient Science Through the Golden Age of Greece
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“The rationalism of the creative minds was tempered by abundant fantasies, and the supreme beauty of the monuments was probably spoiled by the circumambient vanities and ugliness; in a few cases the Greeks came as close to perfection as it was possible to do, yet they were human and imperfect.”

MindHumansCasesFantasyCreativePerfectionSupremeVanityGreekImperfectUglinessMonumentSpoiledRationalismCreative Mind
Book:Ancient Science Through the Golden Age of Greece
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“Whatever their limitations, Freud and Marx developed complex and subtle theories of human nature grounded in their observation of individual and social behavior. The crackpot rationalism of free-market economics merely relies on an abstract model of how people "must" behave.”

PeopleHumansIndividualSocialHuman NatureTheoryBehaviorModelsEconomicsComplexesObservationLimitationBehaveRelyAbstractSubtleGroundedFree MarketRationalismSocial BehaviorCrackpots
Author:Ellen Willis
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“Unlike the rationalism of the French Revolution, true liberalism has no quarrel with religion, and I can only deplore the militant and essentially illiberal antireligionism which animated so much of nineteenth-century Continental liberalism. ... What distinguishes the liberal from the conservative here is that, however profound his own spiritual beliefs, he will never regard himself as entitled to impose them on others and that for him the spiritual and the temporal are different sphere which ought not to be confused.”

I CanDifferentSpiritualReligionBeliefCenturyRevolutionOughtRespectRegardProfoundConservativeConfusedLiberalismSpheresEntitledQuarrelsAnimatedNineteenth CenturyMilitantRationalismFrench RevolutionContinentalSpiritual Beliefs
Author:Friedrich August von Hayek
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“Dostoevsky believed that the gods of rationalism and materialist utilitarianism had joined in conspiracy against all other ethical systems. ... The accumulation of capital, or the acquisition of money, are endeavors par excellence which establish a quantifiable goal: hence they are directly amenable to maximization formulae.”

GoalExcellenceEndeavorEthicalConspiracyAccumulationAcquisitionRationalismUtilitarianismAmenable
Book:Break-Out from the Crystal Palace: The Anarcho-Psychological Critique: Stirner, Nietzsche, Dostoevsky
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“There is nothing more negative than the result of the critical study of the life of Jesus. The Jesus of Nazareth who came forward publicly as the Messiah, who preached the Kingdom of God, who founded the Kingdom of Heaven upon earth, and died to give his work its final consecration, never had any existence. He is a figure designed by rationalism, endowed with life by liberalism, and clothed by modern theology in an historical garb.”

GivingEarthJesusHeavenResultsExistenceStudyAtheismModernFiguresNegativeDiedHistoricalFinalsCriticalPositive AtheismTheologyKingdomsLiberalismKingdom Of GodMessiahKingdom Of HeavenRationalismConsecrationNazareth
Book:The Quest of the Historical Jesus
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“Because of the confusion surrounding the term "agnosticism," it would seem better to use the very similar term "rationalism" in its place when referring to the original Huxleyan meaning of the term. The use of "rationalist" for "agnostic" would also seem to be less ambiguous.”

UseSeemsTermAtheismOriginalsPositive AtheismConfusionAgnosticAgnosticismReferringAmbiguousRationalism
Book:An Anthology of Atheism and Rationalism
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“There are so many intellectual and moral angels battling for rationalism, good citizenship, and pure spirituality; so many and such eminent ones, so very vocal and authoritative! The poor devil in man needs all the support and advocacy he can get. The artist is his natural champion. When an artist deserts to the side of the angels, it is the most odious of treasons.”

MenNeedsArtistSpiritualitySidesNaturalPoorMoralSupportPureIntellectualDevilAngelDesertChampionCitizenshipVocalAdvocacyRationalismGood CitizenGood Citizenship
Book:Collected Works: Do what you will
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“I was born into a working class Irish Catholic family at the brutal bottom of the Great Depression. I suppose this early imprinting and conditioning made me a life-long radical. My education was mostly scientific, majoring in electrical engineering and applied math. Those imprints made me a life-long rationalist. I have become increasingly skeptical about, or detached from, the assumption that radicalism and rationalism are the only correct perspectives with which to view life, but they remain my favorite perspectives.”

LongMadeBornViewsClassPerspectiveCatholicBottomMy FavoriteMathRadicalAssumptionEngineeringBrutalWorking ClassLong LifeSkepticalConditioningDetachedElectricalGreat DepressionRationalismRadicalismCatholic FamilyImprintingElectrical Engineering
Author:Robert Anton Wilson
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“Evangelicals have like millions of rules. And it's just, uh, we have sort of an accepted, rationalism within which we frame religion. And we think that belief, intellectually, is of the same as relationship. And in our Western family conversation, that's become an incredible impediment toward actual wholeness, where the heart and the head are aligned and relationship -- with not just God but with each other.”

ThinkingHeartBeliefMillionsConversationWesternIncrediblesAcceptedWholenessRationalismImpediments
Author:William P. Young
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“To later Romans Ennius was the personification of the spirit of early Rome; by them he was called "The Father of Roman Poetry." We must remember how truly Greek he was in his point of view. He set the example for later Latin poetry by writing the first epic of Rome in Greek hexameter verses instead of in the old Saturnian verse. He made popular the doctrines of Euhemerus, and he was in general a champion of free thought and rationalism.”

WritingFirstsMadeRememberSpiritFatherViewsExamplePoint Of ViewDoctrineGreekChampionLatinRomeVersesEpicRationalismFree ThoughtPersonification
Author:Quintus Ennius
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“Science is not sacrosanct. The mere fact that it exists, is admired, has results is not sufficient for making it a measure of excellence. Modern science arose from global objections against earlier views and rationalism itself, the idea that there are general rules and standards for conducting our affairs, affairs of knowledge included, arose from global objections to common sense.”

IdeasFactsResultsViewsCommonModernStandardsExcellenceMereAffairCommon SenseSufficientObjectionsModern ScienceConductingRationalism
Author:Paul Feyerabend
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“The most passionate, consistent, extreme and implacable enemy of the Enlightenment and ... all forms of rationalism ... was Johann Georg Hamann. His influence, direct and indirect, upon the romantic revolt against universalism and scientific method ... was considerable and perhaps crucial.”

FormEnemyInfluenceEnlightenmentRomanticDirectMethodPassionateExtremesConsistentCrucialRevoltScientific MethodRationalismIndirectUniversalismDirect And Indirect
Book:Three Critics of the Enlightenment: Vico, Hamann, Herder
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“In no other field of scientific endeavor do otherwise intelligent people feel free to make public claims based on prejudice and ignorance. Yet in relation to psychic phenomena, committed materialists feel free to disregard the evidence and behave irrationally and unscientifically, while claiming to speak in the name of science and reason. They abuse the authority of science and bring rationalism into disrepute.”

PeopleFeelsReasonScienceNamesSpeakFieldsIgnoranceAuthorityEvidenceAbuseClaimsPrejudiceRelationIntelligentCommittedBehaveEndeavorPsychicsDisregardRationalism
Book:Science Set Free: 10 Paths to New Discovery
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“The great ideas of the West - rationalism, self-criticism, the disinterested search for truth, the separation of church and state, the rule of law, equality before the law, freedom of conscience, thought, and expression, human rights, and liberal democracy- quite an achievement, surely, for any civilization- - remain the best, and perhaps the only, means for all people, no matter of what race or creed, to reach their full potential and live in freedom.”

PeopleHumansMeanIdeasSelfMatterStatesLawChurchRaceDemocracyRightsExpressionCivilizationAchievementConscienceCriticismWestHuman RightsSeparationCreedsChurch And StateGreat IdeaRule Of LawSeparation Of Church And StateRationalismFull PotentialSearch For TruthDisinterestedSelf CriticismLiberal Democracy
Book:Virgins? What Virgins?: And Other Essays
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“There are also two Christianities in the world today. There is (1) the Christianity of the New Testament, and there is (2) the Christianity of accommodation to modernism, egalitarianism, niceness, naturalism, pop psychology, secular humanism, relativism, subjectivism, individualism, "Enlightenment" rationalism or postmodern irrationalism. New converts to the first Christianity are constantly amazed and scandalized by finding many of their clergy to be in love with the second and in fear of the first.”

WorldFirstsTwoTodayChristianityPsychologyFindingsEnlightenmentHumanismPopsIndividualismSecularAmazedTestamentNew TestamentWorld TodayModernismNaturalismClergyRationalismRelativismPostmodernAccommodationsEgalitarianismNicenessSecular HumanismSubjectivism
Author:Peter Kreeft
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“The truth is that my work - I was going to say my mission - is to shatter the faith of men here, there, and everywhere, faith in affirmation, faith in negation, and faith in abstention in faith, and this for the sake of faith in faith itself; it is to war against all those who submit, whether it be to Catholicism, or to rationalism, or to agnosticism; it is to make all men live the life of inquietude and passionate desire.”

MenWarDesireTruth IsSakePassionateMissionsLive LifeCatholicismSubmitAffirmationAgnosticismRationalismNegationAbstentionPassionate Desire
Author:Miguel de Unamuno
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“We've learned a lot from the great psychologists. Wilhelm Reich wrote about the relationship between fascism and sexual repression. Freud rediscovered the underworld of consciousness that European rationalism had denied. But when you have a nation of people in therapy and counselling, "support" groups for every kind of human condition, where, in the clichés of that milieu, people "share" and "heal," the question, "What for?", "What now?" is no longer asked.”

PeopleHumansKindNationsConsciousnessSupportGroupsShareConditionsHealTherapyFascismDeniedHuman ConditionRepressionPsychologistRationalismUnderworldMilieuSupport Groups
Author:Adrienne Rich
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“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.”

InspirationalMindWisdomSpiritualityPeaceInspiringPrinciplesMeditationSocietyEmotionalWise WordsHonorTransformationSacredForgottenIntelligenceIntuitionRationalFaithfulServantSpiritual WisdomGiftedRationalityPsychicsLinkedHeart And MindPhysicistIntuitiveRational ThinkingListen To Your HeartArt And ScienceThrough The EyesRationalismBeing At PeaceImagination And CreativityImagination CreativityRational ThoughtGifts And TalentsMeditation MindfulnessPeaceful MindInstinct IntuitionGifts Of The SpiritGut InstinctSpiritual EyesFaithful ServantsSpiritual ChangeEnlightened SocietyPeaceful Society
Author:Albert Einstein
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“and while faith based on theological reasoning is today universally engaged in a bitter struggle with doubt and resistance from the prevailing brand of rationalism, it does seem that the naked fundamental experience itself, that primal seizure of mystic insight, stripped of religious concepts, perhaps no longer to be regarded as a religious experience at all, has undergone an immense expansion and now forms the soul of that complex irrationalism that haunts our era like a night bird lost in the dawn.”

DoeSoulSeemsTodayFormNightLostReligiousStruggleDoubtBirdConceptsFundamentalsComplexesInsightResistanceNakedBitterBrandsErasDawnEngagedReasoningImmenseExpansionMysticTheologicalPrimalPrevailingRationalismReligious ExperienceFaith BasedSeizures
Author:Robert Musil
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“The central problem of our age is not liberalism or modernism, nor the old Roman Catholicism or the new Roman Catholicism, nor the threat of communism, nor even the threat of rationalism and the monolithic consensus which surrounds us. All these are dangerous but not the primary threat. The real problem is this: the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, individually corporately, tending to do the Lord’s work in the power of the flesh rather than of the Spirit. The central problem is always in the midst of the people of God, not in the circumstances surrounding them.”

PeopleRealProblemAgeSpiritJesusChristChurchLordDangerousCircumstancesJesus ChristThreatFleshCommunismPrimariesLiberalismMidstCatholicismSurroundConsensusModernismReal ProblemsLord Jesus ChristRationalism
Author:Francis Schaeffer
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“It is for Muslim scholars to study the whole history of Islamic science completely and not only the chapters and periods which influenced Western science. It is also for Muslim scholars to present the tradition of Islamic science from the point of view of Islam itself and not from the point of view of the scientism, rationalism and positivism which have dominated the history of science in the West since the establishment of the discipline in the early part of the 20th century in Europe and America.”

WholeAmericaViewsStudyCenturyDisciplinePeriodsEuropeTraditionWestIslamWesternPoint Of ViewIslamicEstablishmentScholarChapters20th CenturyScientismRationalismHistory Of SciencePositivismEurope And America
Author:Seyyed Hossein Nasr
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