#philosophy

There is much in this vision that will remind you of your mystics; yet between them and us there is far more difference than similarity, in respect both of the matter and the manner of our thought. For while they are confident that the cosmos is perfect, we are sure only that it is very beautiful. While they pass to their conclusion without the aid of intellect, we have used that staff every step of the way. Thus, even when in respect of conclusions we agree with your mystics rather than your plodding intellectuals, in respect of method we applaud most your intellectuals; for they scorned to deceive themselves with comfortable fantasies. ↗

— Olaf Stapledon

#religion #science #thought #beauty

Maybe philosophy - I love talking about ideas. Or maybe art history. I was thinking about psychology, then I got really afraid because everybody says it's terribly boring. ↗

— Claire Danes

#afraid #art #art history #because #boring

Those who are without compassion cannot see what is seen with the eyes of compassion. ↗

— Thích Nhất Hạnh

#religion #religion

My mother is probably the wisest person I've ever known. She's not schooled, she's not well read. But she has a philosophy of life that makes well-read people seem like morons. ↗

— Gene Simmons

#i #known #life #like #makes

Hey, if it's a good philosophy, it works. Death is imminent. Live every day like it's your last. ↗

— Justina Chen

#momento-mori #philosophy-of-life #beauty

Take it from me, whenever you see a bunch of buggers puttering around talking about truth and beauty and the best way of attacking Ethics, you can bet your sandals it's all because dozens of other poor buggers are doing all the real work around the place. ↗

— Terry Pratchett

#philosophy #work #beauty

There is no unmoving mover behind the movement. It is only movement. It is not correct to say that life is moving, but life is movement itself. Life and movement are not two different things. In other words, there is no thinker behind the thought. Thought itself is the thinker. If you remove the thought, there is no thinker to be found. ↗

— Walpola Rahula

#cogito-ergo-sum #existence #existentialism #god #humanity

As a scholar I am interested in the philosophy of language, semiotics, call it what you want, and one of the main features of the human language is the possibility of lying. ↗

— Umberto Eco

#call #features #human #human language #i

I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig-tree, starving to death, just because I couldn't make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, I as sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet. ↗

— Sylvia Plath

#truths #death

The society which scorns excellence in plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water. ↗

— John W. Gardner

#activity #because #exalted #excellence #good