green numbers give full details | back to texts | expand these ideas
20262 | Don't use wisdom in order to become clever! |
20255 | Early 19th century German philosophers enjoyed concepts, rather than scientific explanations |
20260 | Carlyle spent his life vainly trying to make reason appear romantic |
20256 | What we think is totally dictated by the language available to express it |
20265 | The desire for a complete system requires making the weak parts look equal to the rest |
20380 | Why should truth be omnipotent? It is enough that it is very powerful |
20235 | Like animals, we seek truth because we want safety |
20258 | Most people treat knowledge as a private possession |
20250 | We may be unable to remember, but we may never actually forget |
20270 | There is no one scientific method; we must try many approaches, and many emotions |
20131 | We can cultivate our drives, of anger, pity, curiosity, vanity, like a gardener, with good or bad taste |
20242 | Things are the boundaries of humanity, so all things must be known, for self-knowledge |
20249 | Our knowledge of the many drives that constitute us is hopelessly incomplete |
20231 | People used to think that outcomes were from God, rather than consequences of acts |
20266 | It is essential that wise people learn to express their wisdom, possibly even as foolishness |
20251 | Actions done for a purpose are least understood, because we complacently think it's obvious |
20271 | Beauty in art is the imitation of happiness |
20230 | The very idea of a critique of morality is regarded as immoral! |
20234 | Morality prevents us from developing better customs |
20237 | Moral feelings are entirely different from the moral concepts used to judge actions |
20238 | Treating morality as feelings is just obeying your ancestors |
20243 | Human beings are not majestic, either through divine origins, or through grand aims |
20268 | Most dying people have probably lost more important things than what they are about to lose |
20252 | Marriage is too serious to be permitted for people in love! |
20263 | Fear reveals the natures of other people much more clearly than love does |
20236 | Marriage upholds the idea that love, though a passion, can endure |
20233 | Punishment has distorted the pure innocence of the contingency of outcomes |
20248 | People do nothing for their real ego, but only for a phantom ego created by other people |
20246 | If you feel to others as they feel to themselves, you must hate a self-hater |
20240 | The Jews treated great anger as holy, and were in awe of those who expressed it |
20244 | Christianity replaces rational philosophical virtues with great passions focused on God |
20272 | Honesty is a new young virtue, and we can promote it, or not |
20274 | The cardinal virtues want us to be honest, brave, magnanimous and polite |
20257 | Cool courage and feverish bravery have one name, but are two very different virtues |
20259 | Teach youth to respect people who differ with them, not people who agree with them |
20267 | Seeing duty as a burden makes it a bit cruel, and it can thus never become a habit |
20275 | Most people think they are already complete, but we can cultivate ourselves |
20229 | No authority ever willingly accepts criticism |
20254 | People govern for the pleasure of it, or just to avoid being governed |
20273 | The French Revolution gave trusting Europe the false delusion of instant recovery |
20232 | Get rid of the idea of punishment! It is a noxious weed! |
20253 | Modern wars arise from the study of history |
20261 | History does not concern what really happened, but supposed events, which have all the influence |
20241 | Enquirers think finding our origin is salvation, but it turns out to be dull |
20245 | Christianity hoped for a short cut to perfection, that skipped the hard labour of morality |
20247 | Christianity was successful because of its heathen rituals |
20269 | 'I believe because it is absurd' - but how about 'I believe because I am absurd' |
20264 | The easy and graceful aspects of a person are called 'soul', and inner awkwardness is called 'soulless' |