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Post by Tamrin on Feb 11, 2014 8:54:18 GMT 10
A blank piece of paper is God's way of telling us how hard it to be God
God cannot take sides; for He is in all of us. We are all a part of Him, and when we try to destroy Him, we destroy ourselves
You don't know what can happen tomorrow. Life is like a novel, isn't it? It's filled with suspense. You never know what's going to happen until you turn the page
The difference between a rebel and a patriot depends upon who is in power at the moment
Being poor is only romantic in books
Don't give up. There are too many nay-sayers out there who will try to discour- age you. Don't listen to them. The only one who can make you give up is yourself
You have two choices. you can keep running and hiding and blaming the world for your problems, or you can stand up for yourself and decide to be somebody importantSidney SheldonAmerican playwright, screenwriter and novelist (Born this day 1917) Try to leave the Earth a better place than when you arrived
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Post by Tamrin on Feb 11, 2014 8:55:00 GMT 10
Is there no way out of the mind?
I talk to God but the sky is empty
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead; I lift my eyes and all is born again
Apparently, the most difficult feat for a Cambridge male is to accept a woman not merely as feeling, not merely as thinking, but as managing a complex, vital interweaving of both
I felt like a race horse in a world without racetracks or a champion college footballer suddenly confronted by Wall Street and a business suit, his days of glory shrunk to a little gold cup on his mantel with a date engraved on it like a date on a tombstone
There must be quite a few things that a hot bath won't cure, but I don't know many of them
I took a deep breath and listened to the old bray of my heart. I am. I am. I amSylvia PlathUS poet & novelist ( Ariel) (Died this day 1963) Out of the ash I rise with my red hair and eat men like air
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Post by Tamrin on Feb 11, 2014 8:55:39 GMT 10
What do you despise? By this are you truly known
To attempt seeing Truth without knowing Falsehood. It is the attempt to see the Light without knowing the Darkness. It cannot be
Religion often partakes of the myth of progress that shields us from the terrors of an uncertain future
It is a wise man that does know the contented man is never poor, whilst the discontented man is never rich
How often it is that the angry man rages denial of what his inner self is telling him
There is no escape — we pay for the violence of our ancestors
Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your libertyFrank HerbertUS sci-fi author ( Dune) (Died this day 1986) Respect for the truth comes close to being the basis for all morality
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Post by Tamrin on Feb 11, 2014 8:56:27 GMT 10
Knowledge is not a series of self-consistent theories that converges towards an ideal view; it is rather an ever increasing ocean of mutually incompatible (and perhaps even incommensurable) alternatives, each single theory, each fairy tale, each myth
Everywhere science is enriched by unscientific methods and unscientific results … the separation of science and non-science is not only artificial but also detrimental to the advancement of knowledge. If we want to under- stand nature, if we want to master our physical surroundings, then we must use all ideas, all methods, and not just a small selection of them
Given any rule, however 'fundamental' or 'necessary' for science, there are always cir- cumstances when it is advisable not only to ignore the rule, but to adopt its opposite. For example, there are circumstances when it is advisable to introduce, elaborate and defend ad hoc hypotheses, or hypotheses which contradict well-established and generally accept- ed experimental results, or hypotheses whose content is smaller than the content of the existing and empirically adequate alternative, or self-inconsistent hypotheses, and soon
No theory ever agrees with all the facts in its domain, yet it is not always the theory that is to blame. Facts are constituted by older ideologies, and a clash between facts and theories may be proof of progress. It is also a first step in our attempt to find the principles implicit in familiar observational notions
Science is an essentially anarchic enterprise: theoretical anarchism is more human- itarian and more likely to encourage progress than its law-and-order alternatives
Unanimity of opinion may be fitting for a church, for the frightened or greedy victims of some (ancient, or modern) myth, or for the weak and willing followers of some tyrant. Variety of opinion is necessary for objective knowledge. And a method that encourages variety is also the only method that is comparable with a humanitarian outlook
The separation of state and church must be complemented by the separation of state and science, that most recent, most aggressive, and most dogmatic religious institutionPaul FeyerabendAustrian-born philosopher of science ( Against Method) (Died this day 1994) Anything goes!(Provocative polemic he expected to be countered by his friend Imre Lakatos, who died before able to do so)
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Post by Tamrin on Feb 12, 2014 7:34:08 GMT 10
Quotes for the Day:
1 of 2: Nothing is divine but what is agreeable to reason
Metaphysics is a dark ocean without shores or lighthouse, strewn with many a philosophic wreck
All our knowledge begins with the senses, proceeds then to the under- standing, and ends with reason. There is nothing higher than reason
The only objects of practical reason are therefore those of good and evil. For by the former is meant an object necessarily desired according to a principle of reason; by the latter one necessarily shunned, also according to a principle of reason
Always recognize that human individuals are ends, and do not use them as means to your end
Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life
Is it reasonable to assume a purposiveness in all the parts of nature and to deny it to the whole?Immanuel KantGerman philosopher ( Zum ewigen Frieden) (Died this day 1804) What can I know? What ought I to do? What can I hope?
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Post by Tamrin on Feb 12, 2014 7:35:13 GMT 10
2 of 2: Enlightenment is man’s leaving his self-caused immaturity. Immaturity is the incapacity to use one's intelligence without the guidance of another. Such immaturity is self-caused if it is not caused by lack of intelligence, but by lack of determination and courage to use one's intelligence without being guided by another. Sapere Aude! Have the courage to use your own intelligence! is therefore the motto of the enlightenment
Through laziness and cowardice a large part of mankind, even after nature has freed them from alien guidance, gladly remain immature. It is because of laziness and cowardice that it is so easy for others to usurp the role of guardians. It is so comfortable to be a minor!
A public can only arrive at enlightenment slowly. Through revolution, the abandonment of personal despotism may be engendered and the end of profit-seeking and domineering oppression may occur, but never a true reform of the state of mind. Instead, new prejud- ices, just like the old ones, will serve as the guiding reins of the great, unthinking mass
All that is required for this enlightenment is freedom; and particularly the least harmful of all that may be called freedom, namely, the freedom for man to make public use of his reason in all matters. But I hear people clamor on all sides: Don't argue! The officer says: Don't argue, drill! The tax collector: Don't argue, pay! The pastor: Don't argue, believe! To a high degree we are, through art and science, cultured. We are civilized — perhaps too much for our own good — in all sorts of social grace and decorum. But to consider ourselves as having reached morality — for that, much is lacking
Man has his own inclinations and a natural will which, in his actions, by means of his free choice, he follows and directs. There can be nothing more dreadful than that the actions of one man should be subject to the will of another; hence no abhorrence can be more natural than that which a man has for slavery
Character means that the person derives his rules of conduct from himself and from the dignity of humanity
The greatest problem for the human race, to the solution of which Nature drives man, is the achievement of a universal civic society which administers law among menImmanuel Kant(Died this day 1804) There is ... only a single categorical imperative and it is this: Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law
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Post by Tamrin on Feb 12, 2014 7:36:02 GMT 10
I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term of Natural Selection
It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change
False facts are highly injurious to the progress of science, for they often endure long; but false views, if supported by some evidence, do little harm, for everyone takes a salutary pleasure in proving their falseness
I have steadily endeavored to keep my mind free so as to give up any hypothesis, however much beloved (and I cannot resist forming one on every subject), as soon as the facts are shown to be opposed to it
Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science
A moral being is one who is capable of reflecting on his past actions and their motives — of approving of some and disapproving of others
If the misery of the poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sinCharles Darwin, FRSEnglish evolutionist (Origin of Species) (born this day 1809) Farewell Australia, you are a rising infant and doubtless someday will reign a great princess in the South. But you are too great and ambitious for affection, yet not great enough for respect. I leave your shores without sorrow or regret
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Post by Tamrin on Feb 12, 2014 7:36:53 GMT 10
I don't like that man. I must get to know him better
How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg
When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion
I care not much for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it
I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country... corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed
These capitalists generally act harmoniously and in concert to fleece the people, and now that they have got into a quarrel with themselves, we are called upon to appropriate the people's money to settle the quarrel
A house divided against itself cannot standAbraham LincolnAmerican politician, 16 th President (1861-65) (Born this day 1809) As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy
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Post by Tamrin on Feb 12, 2014 7:37:44 GMT 10
The well of true wit is truth itself
Each one of an affectionate couple may be willing, as we say, to die for the other, yet unwilling to utter the agreeable word at the right moment
Always imitate the behavior of the winners when you lose
The man or country that fights priestcraft and priests is to my mind striking deeper for freedom than can be struck anywhere
It is the devil's masterstroke to get us to accuse him
Cynicism is intellectual dandyism
Ah, what a dusty answer gets the soul when hot for certainties in this our life George Meredith(Born this day 1828) Not till the fire is dying in the grate, look we for any kinship with the stars
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Post by Tamrin on Feb 12, 2014 7:40:02 GMT 10
Anyone's life truly lived consists of work, sunshine, exercise, soap, plenty of fresh air, and a happy contented spirit
Anyone who limits her vision to memories of yesterday is already dead
I have always been willing to take the blame for the things I have done
No person in the world ever lost anything by being nice to me
I have known great things and wonderful persons, and I have known homage
I was beautiful. Now, because I am old, I take no shame in so saying
I know I am at the end. I shall never get better, dearLillie Langtry (born Emilie Charlotte Le Breton)English actress and producer (Died this day 1929) I do not regret one moment of my life
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