Best theory & philosopher Quotes | Short & Famous Sayings

“The Theatre of the Absurd has renounced arguing about the absurdity of the human condition; it merely presents it in being - that is, in terms of concrete stage images. This is the difference between the approach of the philosopher and that of the poet; the difference, to take an example from another sphere, between the idea of God in the works of Thomas Aquinas or Spinoza and the intuition of God in those of St. John of the Cross or Meister Eckhart - the difference between theory and experience.”

Source: The Theatre of the Absurd

“Another curious aspect of the theory of evolution is that everybody thinks he understands it. I mean philosophers, social scientists, and so on. While in fact very few people understand it, actually, as it stands, even as it stood when Darwin expressed it, and even less as we now may be able to understand it in biology.”

People Thinking May Mean Facts Able Social Theory Evolution Aspect Scientist Philosopher Curious Biology Theory Of Evolution

Author:Jacques Monod

“It is well said, then, that it is by doing just acts that the just man is produced, and by doing temperate acts the temperate man; without doing these no one would have even a prospect of becoming good. But most people do not do these, but take refuge in theory and think they are being philosophers and will become good in this way, behaving somewhat like patients who listen attentively to their doctors, but do none of the things they are ordered to do.”

People Thinking Men Way Wells Said Theory Becoming Doctors Patient Philosopher Refuge Well Said Nicomachean Ethics

Book:Complete Works of Aristotle, Volume 2: The Revised Oxford Translation

Source: Complete Works of Aristotle, Volume 2: The Revised Oxford Translation

“Evolution throws a wonderful light on all the struggles, eccentricities, tortuous developments of the human conscience in the past. It is the only theory of morals that does. And evolution throws just as much light on the ethical and social struggle today; and it is the only theory that does. What a strange age ours is from the religious point of view! What a hopeless age from the philosopher's point of view! Yet it is a very good age, the best that ever was. No evolutionist is a pessimist.”

“Jefferson's Declaration of Independence is a practical document for the use of practical men. It is not a thesis for philosophers, but a whip for tyrants; it is not a theory of government but a program of action.”

Men Use Government Action Theory Program Independence Philosopher Practicals Tyrants Documents Declaration Whips Declaration Of Independence Thesis

Book:Wit and Wisdom of Woodrow Wilson: Extracts from the Public Speeches of the Leader and Interpreter of American Democracy, with Masterpieces of Eloquence

Source: Wit and Wisdom of Woodrow Wilson: Extracts from the Public Speeches of the Leader and Interpreter of American Democracy, with Masterpieces of Eloquence

“Philosophers have actually devoted themselves, in the main, neither to perceiving the world, nor to spinning webs of conceptual theory, but to interpreting the meaning of the civilizations which they have represented, and to attempting the interpretation of whatever minds in the universe, human or divine, they believed to be real.”

World Mind Humans Real Universe Divine Theory Civilization Philosophical Philosopher Interpretation Being Real Devoted Attempting Spinning Interpreting

Book:Josiah Royce: Selected Writings

Source: Josiah Royce: Selected Writings

“It is clear that everybody interested in science must be interested in world 3 objects. A physical scientist, to start with, may be interested mainly in world 1 objects--say crystals and X-rays. But very soon he must realize how much depends on our interpretation of the facts, that is, on our theories, and so on world 3 objects. Similarly, a historian of science, or a philosopher interested in science must be largely a student of world 3 objects.”

World May Facts Language Realizing Clear Objects Students Theory Depends Scientist Philosopher Interpretation Historian Rays Crystals Subjectivity

Book:Unended Quest: An Intellectual Autobiography

Source: Unended Quest: An Intellectual Autobiography

“Philosophers of science constantly discuss theories and representation of reality, but say almost nothing about experiment, technology, or the use of knowledge to alter the world. This is odd, because 'experimental method' used to be just another name for scientific method.... I hope [to] initiate a Back-to-Bacon movement, in which we attend more seriously to experimental science. Experimentation has a life of its own.”

Source: Representing and Intervening: Introductory Topics in the Philosophy of Natural Science

“This book is the best treatment of the best American Marxist philosopher-and the best philosopher to emerge from American slums. Young Sidney Hook is essential reading for anyone interested in democratic theory and practice in America.”

Book America Young Reading Practice Theory Essentials Democratic Philosopher Treatment Hook Marxist Slums Theory And Practice Best American

Author:Cornel West

“Modern historians are all would-be philosophers; who, instead of relating facts as they occurred, give us their version, or rather perversions of them, always colored by their political prejudices, or distorted to establish some theory . . .”

Giving Facts Would Be Political Modern Theory Prejudice Philosopher Versions Historian Perversion

Book:The Confessions of an Elderly Lady

Source: The Confessions of an Elderly Lady

“If we do discover a complete theory, it should be in time understandable in broad principle by everyone. Then we shall all, philosophers, scientists, and just ordinary people be able to take part in the discussion of why we and the universe exist.”

People Ifs Should Able Universe Principles Theory Ordinary Scientist Philosopher Discussion Broads Ordinary People Understanding The Universe

Book:A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes

Source: A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes

“Being a physicist, not a philosopher, I have devised an entirely new theory of consciousness, allowing one to numerically calculate the level of consciounsess of humans and even animals.”

Humans Animal Levels Consciousness Theory Philosopher Allowing Physicist

Author:Michio Kaku

“All are sure in their days except the most wise ... He is the wisest philosopher who holds his theory with some doubt.”

Doubt Wise Theory Philosopher Wisest Most Wise

Book:The Life and Letters of Faraday

Source: The Life and Letters of Faraday

“Philosophers, comedians, and tipsy birthday celebrants all have proposed theories about why time seems to move increasingly swiftly as we grow older. But the most disconcerting rationale is not a theory. It is the undeniable realization that every day we live constitutes a smaller percentage of the accrued experience with which we awaken each morning, and therefore seems proportionately a smidgen quicker and smaller than the day before.”

Seems Moving Grows Morning Theory Philosopher Realization Comedian Percentages Rationale Tipsy

Book:Apollo's Fire: A Journey Through the Extraordinary Wonders of an Ordinary Day

Source: Apollo's Fire: A Journey Through the Extraordinary Wonders of an Ordinary Day

“The triumph of science has been mainly due to its practical utility, and there has been an attempt to divorce this aspect from that of theory, thus making science more and more a technique, and less and less a doctrine as to the nature of the world. The penetration of this point of view to philosophers is very recent.”

World Has Beens Views Theory Aspect Philosopher Divorce Dues Point Of View Technique Practicals Doctrine Triumph Utility Penetration

Book:History of Western Philosophy

Source: History of Western Philosophy

“The words 'theory' and 'practice' are of Greek origin; they carry our thoughts back to the ancient philosophers by whom they were contrived, and by whom they were also contrasted and placed in opposition, as denoting two mutually conflicting and mutually inconsistent ideas. ... [this fallacy] based on a double system of natural laws retarded for centuries the development of physical science, notably mechanics.”

“Whereas many philosophers and theologians appear to possess an emotional attachment to their theories and ideas........scientists feel no qualms about suggesting different but mutually exclusive explanations for the same phenomenon.”

Feels Ideas Different Emotional Theory Scientist Philosopher Explanation Attachment Phenomenon Theologian Exclusive Suggesting Qualms Qualms About

Author:Frank J. Tipler

“It is thus hardly surprising that so many of the great minds in recent history have concerned themselves with economic matters. Indeed, they have come to regard economic theory in precisely the same way the ancient philosophers viewed the heavens - as the key to understanding and controlling our fate.”

Way Mind Matter Heaven Understanding Fate Economic Theory Keys Concerned Regard Ancient Philosopher Surprising Great Minds Economic Theory

Book:Unlimited Wealth: The Theory and Practice of Economic Alchemy

Source: Unlimited Wealth: The Theory and Practice of Economic Alchemy

“As a philosopher, you define constraints for any good theory explaining what you are interested in, then you go out and search for help in other disciplines.”

Helping Theory Discipline Philosopher Explaining Constraints

Author:Thomas Metzinger

“The fact that these scientific theories have a fine track record of successful prediction and explanation speaks for itself. (Which is not to say that I don't directly discuss the work of those philosophers who would disagree.) But even if we grant this, many will argue that scientific knowledge in humans, and, indeed, reflective knowledge in general, is quite different in kind from the knowledge we see in other animals.”

“It is rational to choose the right means to your ends to develop very elegant abstract formal theories of rational choice, and then turn these into what look like moral theories. Philosophers tend to be ravished by the formal beauty of such theories, and they don't pay much attention to the fact that our human limitations make them pretty useless in practice, while the simple point about instrumental reasoning is too shallow to be of much real moral interest.”

Humans Looks Mean Real Ends Facts Turns Choices Interest Simple Pay Attention Moral Practice Theory Philosopher Rational Limitation Useless Abstract Reasoning Formal Shallow Elegant

Author:Allen W. Wood

“What Smith and Marx have in common is that they were both philosophers of great vision and perceptiveness, deep humanity, and a sense of social reality that has been lost in the abstractly formalistic economic theories that have dominated the field since the last third of the nineteenth century.”

Has Beens Reality Lasts Humanity Lost Social Common Vision Economic Century Fields Theory Thirds Philosopher Nineteenth Century Great Vision Economic Theory

Author:Allen W. Wood

“Methodological naturalism gives advice to scientists about what they should include in their theories. There is a second type of methodological naturalism that gives advice to philosophers, which I call "methodological naturalismp." It says that the methods that philosophers should use in assessing philosophical theories are limited to the methods that scientists ought to use in assessing scientific theories.”

Giving Should Use Advice Theory Type Ought Scientist Philosophical Method Philosopher Call Me Naturalism Scientific Theory Assessing

Author:Elliott Sober

“Philosophers (and probably most intellectuals) are more interested in pursuing what they see as the logical implications of their theories than they are in paying attention to the shlumpy diversity of defensible values that people actually have, and then trying to figure out how these might be negotiated in the life of an agent or community.”

People Trying Might Values Community Attention Figures Theory Diversity Philosopher Agents Pay Attention Logical Implications

Author:Dale Jamieson

“Philosophers are often actively disinterested in what happens between the cup and the lips (after all, that's "non-ideal theory").”

Happens Theory Ideals Lips Philosopher Cups Disinterested

Author:Dale Jamieson

“Some philosophers think that the idea of a consequentialist virtue theory is strange, but the real strength of consequentialism is that it can emulate the requirements of other moral theories when it is the case that acting on those theories would improve the world.”

Thinking World Ideas Real Acting Moral Cases Virtue Strange Theory Philosopher Requirements Emulate Real Strength Consequentialism

Author:Dale Jamieson

“When you ask why did some particular question occur to a scientist or philosopher for the first time, or why did this particular approach seem natural, then your questions concern the context of discovery. When you ask whether the argument the philosopher puts forth to answer that question is sound, or whether the evidence justifies the scientific theory proposed, then you've entered the context of justification. Considerations of history, sociology, anthropology, and psychology are relevant to the context of discovery, but not to justification.”

Source: Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won't Go Away

“Theories of love are found in the works of scientists, philosophers, and theologians.”

Found Theory Scientist Philosopher Theologian

Author:Mortimer Adler

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