#los

William James describes a man who got the experience from laughing-gas; whenever he was under its influence, he knew the secret of the universe, but when he came to, he had forgotten it. At last, with immense effort, he wrote down the secret before the vision had faded. When completely recovered, he rushed to see what he had written. It was: "A smell of petroleum prevails throughout. ↗

— Bertrand Russell

#science #experience

Whatever their future, at the dawn of their lives, men seek a noble vision of man's nature and of life's potential. ↗

— Ayn Rand

#philosophy #life

Kitalah planet yang hidup itu, Sophie! Kitalah kapal besar yang berlayar mengelilingi matahari yang membakar alam raya. Tapi kita masing-masing adalah juga sebuah kapal bermuatan gen-gen yang melayari kehidupan. Jika kita sudah membawa muatan ini dengan selamat ke pelabuhan berikut --berarti hidup kita tidak sia-sia. ↗

— Jostein Gaarder

#dunia-sophie #inspirational #life #philosophy #inspirational

The May sunshine makes both the trolls and the elves disappear, he thought. They burst like soap bubbles. Only human beings remain, for a little while. We are a brief song beneath the sky, laughter in the wind that ends in a sigh. Then we too are gone. ↗

— Johan Theorin

#life

... the river is everywhere at once, at the source and at the mouth, at the waterfall, at the ferry, at the rapids, in the sea, in the mountains, everywhere at once, and that there is only the present time for it, not the shadow of the past, not the shadow of the future. ↗

— Hermann Hesse

#time #life

Maybe we should always start everything from the inside and work to the outside, and not from the outside to the inside. What d'you think? ↗

— Aidan Chambers

#philosophy #questions #life

Success can bring you happiness, finding happiness is success ↗

— Benny Bellamacina

#life #love #philosophy #wisdom #family

It is a strange fancy to suppose that science can bring reason to an irrational world, when all it can ever do is give another twist to a normal madness. ↗

— John Gray

#science

It is quite true what Philosophy says: that Life must be understood backwards. But that makes one forget the other saying: that it must be lived—forwards. The more one ponders this, the more it comes to mean that life in the temporal existence never becomes quite intelligible, precisely because at no moment can I find complete quiet to take the backward- looking position. ↗

— Søren Kierkegaard

#philosophy #intelligence

Socrates himself said, 'One thing only I know, and this is that I know nothing.' Remember this statement, because it is an admission that is rare, even among philosophers. Moreover, it can be so dangerous to say in public that it can cost you your life. The most subversive people are those who ask questions. Giving answers is not nearly as threatening. Any one question can be more explosive than a thousand answers. ↗

— Jostein Gaarder

#ask-questions #philosophy #questions #subversive #life