Famous Philosophers Words of Wisdom
Famous Philosophy Quotes / Quotations on Truth, Reality & Wisdom
Hello. This web page has lots of lovely quotes from many wise
and beautiful minds of human history. To begin you will find below some of our
favourite Wisdom Quotes, followed by an Introduction to this website and our
work on the Philosophy, Metaphysics and Physics of the Wave Structure of Matter.
This is then followed by our detailed selection of Wisdom Quotes sorted by subject
and philosopher (see page headings / links on the side of this page).
At a fundamental level, Wisdom comes from knowing the truth (not being deluded
in our thoughts and actions). And since Truth ultimately comes from physical
reality, it follows that to be truly wise we must know reality. That is the
ultimate purpose of this website, and our philosophical belief that reality
is correctly described by the Wave Structure of Matter - the source of not only
Wisdom, but a correct understanding of how we all exist as matter in space (a
very profound thing!). We hope you find it interesting ...
The scientist does not study nature because it
is useful;
he studies it because he delights in it, and he delights in it because it is
beautiful.
If nature were not beautiful, it would not be worth knowing,
and if nature were not worth knowing, life would not be worth living. (Jules
Henri Poincare)
The scientist only imposes two things, namely truth and sincerity, imposes them upon himself and upon other scientists. (Schrodinger)
And is there anything more closely connected with wisdom than truth? (Plato)
Those whose hearts are fixed on Reality itself deserve the title of Philosophers. (Plato)
When the mind's eye rests on objects illuminated by truth and reality, it understands and comprehends them, and functions intelligently; but when it turns to the twilight world of change and decay, it can only form opinions, its vision is confused and its beliefs shifting, and it seems to lack intelligence. (Plato)
The society we have described can never grow into a reality or see the light of day, and there will be no end to the troubles of states, or indeed, my dear Glaucon, of humanity itself, till philosophers are kings in this world, or till those we now call kings and rulers really and truly become philosophers, and political power and philosophy thus come into the same hands. (Plato)
What is at issue is the conversion of the mind from the twilight of error to the truth, that climb up into the real world which we shall call true philosophy.(Plato)
Suppose, then, that all men were sick or deranged, save one or two of them who were healthy and of right mind. It would then be the latter two who would be thought to be sick and deranged and the former not! (Aristotle)
It is clear, then, that wisdom is knowledge having to do with certain principles and causes. But now, since it is this knowledge that we are seeking, we must consider the following point: of what kind of principles and of what kind of causes is wisdom the knowledge? (Aristotle)
(Albert Einstein - Ideas and
Opinions, 1954) To inquire after the meaning or object of one's own existence
or that of all creatures has always seemed absurd from an objective point of
view. And yet everybody has certain ideals which determine the direction of
his endeavors and judgments. In this sense I have never looked upon ease and
happiness as ends in themselves-this ethical basis I call the ideal of a pigsty.
The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new
courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty and Truth. Without
the sense of kinship with men of like mind, without the occupation with the
objective world, the eternally unattainable in the field of art and scientific
endeavors, life would have seemed to me empty. The trite objects of human efforts-possessions,
outward success, luxury-have always seemed to me contemptible.
My passionate sense of social justice and social responsibility has always contrasted
oddly with my pronounced lack of need for direct contact with other human beings
and human communities. I am truly a 'lone traveler' and have never belonged
to my country, my home, my friends, or even my immediate family, with my whole
heart; in the face of all these ties, I have never lost a sense of distance
and a need for solitude-feelings which increase with the years. One becomes
sharply aware, but without regret, of the limits of mutual understanding and
consonance with other people. No doubt, such a person loses some of his innocence
and unconcern; on the other hand, he is largely independent of the opinions,
habits, and judgments of his fellows and avoids the temptation to build his
inner equilibrium upon such insecure foundations.
Science has therefore been charged with undermining morality, but the charge is unjust. A man's ethical behaviour should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death. (Albert Einstein, 1954)
The most beautiful and most profound experience
is the sensation of the mystical. It is the sower of all true science. He to
whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in
awe, is as good as dead. To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists,
manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty which our
dull faculties can comprehend only in their primitive forms - this knowledge,
this feeling is at the center of true religiousness.
(Albert Einstein,The Merging of Spirit and Science)
A human being is part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from the prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. ... We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive.(Albert Einstein)
There is nothing divine about morality; it is a purely human affair. (Albert Einstein, 1954)
What the individual can do is to give a fine
example, and to have the courage to uphold ethical values.. in a society of
cynics.
(Albert Einstein, letter to Max Born.)
Everything harmonises with me which is harmonious to thee, O Universe. Nothing for me is too early or too late, which is in due time for thee. Everything is fruit to me which thy seasons bring, O Nature: from thee are all things, in thee are all things, to thee all things return. (Marcus Aurelius)
Frequently consider the connection of all things in the universe. (Marcus Aurelius)
We should not say ‘I am an Athenian’ or ‘I am a Roman’ but ‘I am a citizen of the Universe'. (Marcus Aurelius)
The noblest kind of retribution is not to become like your enemy. (Marcus Aurelius, Meditations)
Indeed in general I hold that there is nothing truer than happiness, and nothing happier and sweeter than truth. (Leibniz, 1670)
It is a good thing to proceed in order and to establish propositions. This is the way to gain ground and to progress with certainty. (Leibniz, 1670)
...a distinction must be made between true and false ideas, and that too much rein must not be given to a man's imagination under pretext of its being a clear and distinct intellection. (Leibniz, 1670)
Reality cannot be found except in One single source, because of the interconnection of all things with one another. (Leibniz, 1670)
I do not conceive of any reality at all as without genuine unity. (Leibniz, 1670)
All our philosophy is dry as dust if it is not immediately translated into some act of living service.(Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi)
We have to treat others as part of who we are, rather than as a ‘them’ with whom we are in constant competition. (Robert Bellah)
The crisis that threatens our planet, whether seen from its military, ecological, or social aspect, derives from a dysfunctional and pathological sense of self. It derives from a mistake about our place in the order of things. It is a delusion that the self is separate and fragile that we must delineate and defend its boundaries, that it is so small and so needy that we must endlessly acquire and endlessly consume, and that it is so aloof that as individuals, corporations, nation-states, or species, we can be immune to what we do to other beings. ..This view of human nature is not new. Many have felt the imperative to extend self-interest to embrace the whole. (Joanna Macy, World as Lover World as Self)
Those sciences which govern the morals of mankind, such as Theology and Philosophy, make everything their concern: no activity is so private or so secret as to escape their attention or their jurisdiction. (de Montaigne)
There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so. (Erwin Schrodinger)
Life itself is neither a good nor an evil: life is where good or evil find a place, depending on how you make it for them.(Seneca)
The world is given to me only once, not one existing
and one perceived. Subject and object are only one. The barrier between them
cannot be said to have broken down as a result of recent experience in the physical
sciences, for this barrier does not exist.
(Erwin Schrodinger)
We must not wait for things to come, believing that they are decided by irrescindable destiny. If we want it, we must do something about it. (Erwin Schrodinger)
Speech devoted to truth should be straightforward and plain (Seneca)
He who has a true idea, knows at that same time
that he has a true idea, nor can he doubt concerning the truth of the thing.
(Spinoza, Ethics, 1673)
.... we are a part of nature as a whole, whose order we follow. (Spinoza, Ethics, 1673)
.. all excellent things are as difficult as they are rare. (Spinoza, Ethics, 1673)
Never by hatred is hatred appeased, but it is appeased by kindness. This is an eternal truth. (Buddha)
The world is continuous flux and is impermanent. (Buddha)
Transient are conditioned things. Try to accomplish your aim with diligence. (Buddha's last words)
I will teach you the Truth and the Path leading to the Truth. (Buddha)
One is one’s own refuge, who else could be the refuge? ..The wise man makes an island of himself that no flood can overwhelm. (Buddha)
My dear children: I rejoice to see you before me today, happy youth of a sunny and fortunate land. Bear in mind that the wonderful things that you learn in your schools are the work of many generations, produced by enthusiastic effort and infinite labour in every country of the world. All this is put into your hands as your inheritance in order that you may receive it, honour it, and add to it, and one day faithfully hand it on to your children. Thus do we mortals achieve immortality in the permanent things which we create in common. If you always keep that in mind you will find meaning in life and work and acquire the right attitude towards other nations and ages. (Albert Einstein talking to a group of school children. 1934.)
To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old questions from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advances in science. (Albert Einstein)
THE TEACHER AS A NECESSARY EVIL. Let us have as few people as possible between the productive minds and the hungry and recipient minds! The middlemen almost unconsciously adulterate the food which they supply. It is because of teachers that so little is learned, and that so badly. (Nietzsche, 1880)
...for the object of education is to teach us to love beauty. (Plato)
Since philosophy is the art which teaches us how to live, and since children need to learn it as much as we do at other ages, why do we not instruct them in it? (de Montaigne)
If you want it to be so, history can be a waste of time; it can also be, if you want it to be so, a study bearing fruit beyond price. (de Montaigne)
To begin with our knowledge grows in spots. ..What you first gain, ... is probably a small amount of new information, a few new definitions, or distinctions, or points of view. But while these special ideas are being added, the rest of your knowledge stands still, and only gradually will you line up your previous opinions with the novelties I am trying to instill, and to modify to some slight degree their mass. ..Your mind in such processes is strained, and sometimes painfully so, between its older beliefs and the novelties which experience brings along. (William James, Pragmatism)
... Of the same class of virtues with courage is that undisturbed philosophical tranquility, superior to pain, sorrow, anxiety, and each assault of adverse fortune. Conscious of his own virtue, say the philosophers, the sage elevates himself above every accident of life; and securely placed in the temple of wisdom, looks down on inferior mortals engaged in pursuit of honours, riches, reputation, and every frivolous enjoyment. These pretensions, no doubt, when stretched to the utmost, are by far too magnificent for human nature. They carry, however, a grandeur with them, which seizes the spectator, and strikes him with admiration. And the nearer we can approach in practice to this sublime tranquility and indifference (for we must distinguish it from a stupid insensibility), the more secure enjoyment shall we attain within ourselves, and the more greatness of mind shall we discover to the world. The philosophical tranquility may, indeed, be considered only as a branch of magnanimity. (David Hume, 1737)
The sweetest and most inoffensive path of life leads through the avenues of science and learning; and whoever can either remove any obstructions in this way, or open up any new prospect, ought so far to be esteemed a benefactor to mankind. And though these researches may appear painful and fatiguing, it is with some minds as with some bodies, which being endowed with vigorous and florid health, require severe exercise, and reap a pleasure from what, to the generality of mankind, may seem burdensome and laborious. Obscurity, indeed, is painful to the mind as well as to the eye; but to bring light from obscurity, by whatever labour, must needs be delightful and rejoicing. (David Hume, Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding, 1737)
Words of Wisdom by Philosophers
Famous Philosophy Quotes on Wisdom from Truth and Reality
(Socrates) 'Wars, factions, and fighting,' said Socrates as he looked forward from his last hour, 'have no other origin than this same body and its lusts... We must set the soul free from it; we must behold things as they are. And having thus got rid of the foolishness of the body, we shall be pure and hold converse with the pure, and shall in our own selves have complete knowledge of the Incorruptible which is, I take it, no other than the very truth.
Words of Wisdom Aristotle, Metaphysics, 340BC
Suppose, then, that all men were sick or deranged, save one or two of them who were healthy and of right mind. It would then be the latter two who would be thought to be sick and deranged and the former not! (Aristotle)
It is clear, then, that wisdom is knowledge having to do with certain principles and causes. But now, since it is this knowledge that we are seeking, we must consider the following point: of what kind of principles and of what kind of causes is wisdom the knowledge? (Aristotle)
The first philosophy (Metaphysics) is universal and is exclusively concerned with primary substance. ... And here we will have the science to study that which is just as that which is, both in its essence and in the properties which, just as a thing that is, it has. (Aristotle)
...The entire preoccupation of the physicist is with things that contain within themselves a principle of movement and rest. (Aristotle)
... There must then be a principle of such a kind that its substance is activity. (Aristotle)
Demonstration is also something necessary, because a demonstration cannot go otherwise than it does, ... And the cause of this lies with the primary premises/principles. (Aristotle)
Some philosophers have fallen into this opinion in the same way that they have into other paradoxes. They are confronted by an esoteric argument, find it impossible to refute and end up by giving in to it and accepting its conclusion! This explains the confusion of some, ... the basis of the cure is definition. Now a definition arises from the necessity that words have some meaning; for the definition is the account of which the word is the sign.
Rather, they start this, displaying it to the senses, .... and go on to offer more or less rigorous demonstrations of the per se attributes of their proprietary genera. This sort of procedure is inductive and it is as plain as a pikestaff that it does not amount to a demonstration of essence or of what it is to be a thing. (Aristotle)
... a science must deal with a subject and its properties. (Aristotle)
... the science we are after is not about mathematicals either (none of them, you see, is separable). (Aristotle)
But also philosophy is not about perceptible substances (they, you see, are prone to destruction). (Aristotle)
However, there is a science higher than natural science. For in truth nature is but one genus of that which is.
It is the principles and causes of the things that are that we are seeking, and clearly it is their principles and causes just as things that are.... It is, however, vital not to overlook the question of what it is to be a thing and the definitional account of how it is what it is. If we leave these out, scientific inquiry is mere shadow boxing.... the science of it is First Philosophy - and such a science is universal just because it is first.(Aristotle)
Metaphysics involves intuitive knowledge of unprovable starting-points (concepts and truth) and demonstrative knowledge of what follows from them. (Aristotle, Metaphysics)
The life of theoretical philosophy is the best and happiest a man can lead. Few men are capable of it (and then only intermittently). For the rest there is a second-best way of life, that of moral virtue and practical wisdom. (Aristotle, Metaphysics)
Words of Wisdom Bradley, 1846-1924
We may agree, perhaps, to understand by Metaphysics an attempt to know reality as against mere appearance, or the study of first principles or ultimate truths, or again the effort to comprehend the universe, not simply piecemeal or by fragments, but somehow as a whole.(Bradley)
Words of Wisdom Albert Einstein, 1928, 1954
According to the general theory of relativity space is endowed with physical qualities; in this sense, therefore, there exists an ether. ... Physical objects are not in space, but these objects are spatially extended ... thus the concept of particles or material points cannot play a fundamental part.
In order that thinking might not degenerate into "metaphysics", or into empty talk, it is only necessary that enough propositions of the conceptual system be firmly enough connected with sensory experiences and that the conceptual system, in view of its task of ordering and surveying sense experience, should show as much unity and parsimony as possible. Beyond that, however, the "system" is (as regards logic) a free play with symbols according to (logically) arbitrarily given rules of the game. All this applies as much (and in the same manner) to the thinking in daily life as to the more consciously and systematically constructed thinking in the sciences.
By his clear critique Hume did not only advance philosophy in a decisive way but also- though through no fault of his- created a danger for philosophy in that, following his critique, a fateful "fear of metaphysics" arose which has come to be a malady of contemporary empiricist philosophising; this malady is the counterpart to that earlier philosophising in the clouds, which thought it could neglect and dispense with what was given by the senses.
However, I see no "metaphysical" danger in taking the thing (the object in the sense of physics) as an independent concept into the system together with the proper spatio-temporal structure. ... .it finally turns out that one can, after all, not get along without "metaphysics". (Albert Einstein, Ideas and Opinions, 1954 - On Bertrand Russell's Theory of Knowledge.)
Recapitulating, we may say that according to the general theory of relativity
space is endowed with physical qualities; in this sense, therefore, there exists
an ether. According to the general theory of relativity space without ether
is unthinkable; for in such space there not only would be no propagation of
light, but also no possibility of existence for standards of space and time
(measuring-rods and clocks), nor therefore any space-time intervals in the physical
sense. But this ether may not be thought of as endowed with the quality characteristic
of ponderable media, as consisting of parts (‘Particles’) which
may be tracked through time. The idea of motion may not be applied to it.
The subtlety of the concept of space was enhanced by the discovery that there
exist no completely rigid bodies. All bodies are elastically deformable and
alter in volume with change in temperature. (Albert Einstein,
1920)
The most beautiful and most profound experience is the sensation of the mystical.
It is the sower of all true science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger,
who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead. To know
that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest
wisdom and the most radiant beauty which our dull faculties can comprehend only
in their primitive forms - this knowledge, this feeling is at the center of
true religiousness. (Albert Einstein,The Merging of Spirit
and Science)
A human being is part of the whole called by us universe , a part limited in
time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something
separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion
is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection
for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from the
prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures
and the whole of nature in its beauty... We shall require a substantially new
manner of thinking if mankind is to survive.(Albert Einstein)
Somebody who only reads newspapers and at best books of contemporary authors looks to me like an extremely near-sighted person who scorns eyeglasses. He is completely dependent on the prejudices and fashions of his times, since he never gets to see or hear anything else. And what a person thinks on his own without being stimulated by the thoughts and experiences of other people is even in the best case rather paltry and monotonous. There are only a few enlightened people with a lucid mind and style and with good taste within a century. What has been preserved of their work belongs among the most precious possessions of mankind. We owe it to a few writers of antiquity (Plato, Aristotle, etc.) that the people in the Middle Ages could slowly extricate themselves from the superstitions and ignorance that had darkened life for more than half a millennium. Nothing is more needed to overcome the modernist's snobbishness. (Albert Einstein, 1954)
... knowledge must continually be renewed by ceaseless effort, if it is not to be lost. It resembles a statue of marble which stands in the desert and is continually threatened with burial by the shifting sand. The hands of service must ever be at work, in order that the marble continue to lastingly shine in the sun. To these serving hands mine shall also belong. (Albert Einstein, On Education, 1950)
When, after several hours reading, I came to myself again, I asked myself what it was that had so fascinated me. The answer is simple. The results were not presented as ready-made, but scientific curiosity was first aroused by presenting contrasting possibilities of conceiving matter. Only then the attempt was made to clarify the issue by thorough argument. The intellectual honesty of the author makes us share the inner struggle in his mind. It is this which is the mark of the born teacher. Knowledge exists in two forms - lifeless, stored in books, and alive, in the consciousness of men. The second form of existence is after all the essential one; the first, indispensable as it may be, occupies only an inferior position. (Albert Einstein, 1954)
Numerous are the academic chairs, but rare are wise and noble teachers. Numerous
and large are the lecture halls, but far from numerous the young people who
genuinely thirst for truth and justice. Numerous are the wares that nature produces
by the dozen, but her choice products are few.
We all know that, so why complain? Was it not always thus and will it not always
thus remain? Certainly, and one must take what nature gives as one finds it.
But there is also such a thing as a spirit of the times, an attitude of mind
characteristic of a particular generation, which is passed on from individual
to individual and gives its distinctive mark to a society. Each of us has to
his little bit toward transforming this spirit of the times. (Albert
Einstein, 1954)
Communities tend to be guided less than individuals by conscience and a sense
of responsibility. How much misery does this fact cause mankind! It is the source
of wars and every kind of oppression, which fill the earth with pain, sighs
and bitterness.
Yet, as a general rule, intellectual work in moderation, so far from retarding
cure, indirectly helps it forward, just as moderate physical work will. (Albert
Einstein, 1954)
Words of Wisdom Michael Faraday, 1830
I cannot conceive curved lines of force without the conditions of a physical existence in that intermediate space. (Faraday)
When a mathematician engaged in investigating physical actions and results has arrived at his own conclusions, may they not be expressed in common language as fully, clearly, and definitely as in mathematical formulae? If so, would it not be a great boon to such as well to express them so --- translating them out of their hieroglyphics that we might also work upon them by experiment?
(Michael Faraday, to James Clerk Maxwell in 1857)
Words of Wisdom David Hume, Treatise Concerning Human Understanding, 1737
Accuracy is, in every case, advantageous to beauty, and just reasoning to delicate sentiment. In vain would we exalt the one by depreciating the other. Besides, we may observe, in every art or profession, even those which most concern life or action, that a spirit of accuracy, however acquired, carries all of them nearer their perfection, and renders them more subservient to the interests of society. And though the philosopher may live remote from business, the genius of philosophy, if carefully cultivated by several, must gradually diffuse itself throughout the whole society, and bestow a similar correctness on every art and calling. The politician will acquire greater foresight and subtlety, in the subdividing and balancing of power; the lawyer more method and finer principles in his reasoning; and the general public more regularity in his discipline, and more caution in his plans and operations. (David Hume, 1737)
... if you insist that the inference is made by a chain of reasoning, I desire you to produce that reasoning. The connection between the two is not intuitive. There is required a medium, which may enable the mind to draw such an inference, if indeed it be drawn by reasoning and argument. What that medium is, I must confess, passes my comprehension; and it is incumbent on those to produce it, who assert that it really exists, and is the origin of all our conclusions concerning matter of fact.(David Hume, 1737)
Be a philosopher; but, admidst all your philosophy, be still a man. (David Hume, 1737)
We find in the course of nature that though the effects be many, the principles from which they arise are commonly few and simple, and that it is the sign of an unskilled naturalist to have recourse to a different quality in order to explain every different operation. (David Hume, 1737)
When we look about us towards external objects, and consider the operation of causes, we are never able, in a single instance, to discover any power or necessary connexion; any quality, which binds the effect to the cause, and renders the one an infallible consequence of the other. There is required a medium, which may enable the mind to draw such an inference, if indeed it be drawn by reasoning and argument. What that medium is, I must confess, passes my comprehension; and it is incumbent on those to produce it, who assert that it really exists, and is the origin of all our conclusions concerning matter of fact. This question I propose as much for the sake of information, as with an intention of raising difficulties. I cannot find, I cannot imagine any such reasoning. But I keep my mind still open to instruction, if any one will vouchsafe to bestow it upon me. (David Hume, 1737)
The supposition that the future resembles the past, is not founded on arguments of any kind, but is derived entirely from habit. (David Hume, 1737)
..all arguments concerning existence are founded on the relation of cause and effect; that our knowledge of that relation is derived entirely from experience; and all our experimental conclusions proceed upon the supposition that the future will be conformable to the past. .... Without the influence of custom, we should be entirely ignorant of every matter of fact beyond what is immediately present to the memory and senses. (David Hume, 1737)
And as this is the obvious appearance of things, it must be admitted, till some hypothesis be discovered, which by penetrating deeper into human nature, may prove the former affections to be nothing but modifications of the latter. All attempts of this kind have hitherto proved fruitless, and seem to have proceeded entirely from that love of simplicity which has been the source of much false reasoning in philosophy. (David Hume, 1737)
The difference between a man who is led by opinion or emotion and one who is led by reason. The former, whether he will or not, performs things of which he is entirely ignorant; the latter is subordinate to no one, and only does those things which he knows to be of primary importance in his life, and which on that account he desires the most; and therefore I call the former a slave, but the latter free. (David Hume, 1737)
The simplest and most obvious cause which can there be assigned for any phenomena, is probably the true one. (David Hume, 1737)Words of Wisdom Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason, 1781
Natural science (physics) contains in itself synthetical judgments a priori, as principles. … Space then is a necessary representation a priori, which serves for the foundation of all external intuitions. (Immanuel Kant, 1781)
Time is not an empirical concept. For neither co-existence nor succession would be perceived by us, if the representation of time did not exist as a foundation a priori. (Immanuel Kant, 1781)
Here I shall add that the concept of change, and with it the concept of motion, as change of place, is possible only through and in the representation of time. & Motion, for example, presupposes the perception of something movable. But space considered in itself contains nothing movable; consequently motion must be something which is found in space only through experience -in other words, is an empirical datum. (Immanuel Kant, 1781)
Upon the solution of this problem, or upon sufficient proof of the impossibility of synthetical knowledge a priori, depends the existence or downfall of metaphysics. (Immanuel Kant, 1781)
Time was, when she (Metaphysics) was the queen of all the sciences; and, if we take the will for the deed, she certainly deserves, so far as regards the high importance of her object-matter, this title of honor. Now, it is the fashion of the time to heap contempt and scorn upon her; and the matron mourns, forlorn and forsaken, .... her empire gradually broke up, and intestine wars introduced the reign of anarchy; while the sceptics, like nomadic tribes, who hate a permanent habitation and settled mode of living, attacked from time to time those who had organized themselves into civil communities. But their number was, very happily, small; and thus they could not entirely put a stop to the exertions of those who persisted in raising new edifices, although on no settled or uniform plan.(Immanuel Kant, 1781)
This can never become popular, and, indeed, has no occasion to be so; for fine-spun arguments in favour of useful truths make just as little impression on the public mind as the equally subtle objections brought against these truths. On the other hand, since both inevitably force themselves on every man who rises to the height of speculation, it becomes the manifest duty of the schools to enter upon a thorough investigation of the rights of speculative reason, and thus to prevent the scandal which metaphysical controversies are sure, sooner or later, to cause even to the masses. (Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason, 1781)
Words of Wisdom Gottfried Leibniz, Philosophical Investigations, 1670
Reality cannot be found except in One single source, because of the interconnection of all things with one another. I maintain also that substances, whether material or immaterial, cannot be conceived in their bare essence without any activity, activity being of the essence of substance in general. (Leibniz, 1670)
I hold that the mark of a genuine idea is that its possibility can be proved, either a priori by conceiving its cause or reason, or a posteriori when experience teaches us that it is in fact in nature. (Leibniz, 1670)
Indeed in general I hold that there is nothing truer than happiness, and nothing happier and sweeter than truth. (Leibniz, 1670)
I agree with you that it is important to examine our presuppositions, throughly and once for all, in order to establish something solid. For I hold that it is only when we can prove all that we bring forward that we perfectly understand the thing under consideration. I know that the common herd takes little pleasure in these researches, but I know also that the common herd take little pains thoroughly to understand things. (Leibniz, 1670)
It is a good thing to proceed in order and to establish propositions. This is the way to gain ground and to progress with certainty. (Leibniz, 1670)
...a distinction must be made between true and false ideas, and that too much rein must not be given to a man's imagination under pretext of its being a clear and distinct intellection. (Leibniz, 1670)
But it is the knowledge of necessary and eternal truths which distinguishes us from mere animals, and gives us reason and the sciences, raising us to knowledge of ourselves and God. It is this in us which we call the rational soul or mind. (Leibniz, 1670)
When a truth is necessary, the reason for it can be found by analysis, that is, by resolving it into simpler ideas and truths until the primary ones are reached. It is this way that in mathematics speculative theorems and practical canons are reduced by analysis to definitions, axioms and postulates. (Leibniz, 1670)
..This is why the ultimate reason of things must lie in a necessary substance, in which the differentiation of the changes only exists eminently as in their source; and this is what we call God. (Leibniz, 1670)
Thus God alone is the primary Unity, or original simple substance, from which all monads, created and derived, are produced. (Leibniz, 1670)
Now this connection or adaption of all created things with each, and of each with all the rest, means that each simple substance has relations which express all the others, and that consequently it is a perpetual living mirror of the universe. (Leibniz, 1670)
1. The monad, of which we shall speak here, is nothing but a simple substance which enters into compounds; simple, that is to say, without parts. (Leibniz, 1670)2. And there must be simple substances, because there are compounds; for the compound is nothing but a collection or aggregatum of simples. (Leibniz, 1670)
3. Now where there are no parts, there neither extension, nor shape, nor divisibility is possible. And these monads are the true atoms of nature and, in a word, the elements of things. (Leibniz, 1670)
5. There is no way in which a simple substance could begin in the course of nature, since it cannot be formed by means of compounding. (Leibniz, 1670)
9. Indeed every monad must be different from every other. For there are never in nature two beings, which are precisely alike, and in which it is not possible to find some difference which is internal, or based on some intrinsic quality. (Leibniz, 1670)
10. I also take it as granted that every created thing, and consequently the created monad also, is subject to change, and indeed that this change is continual in each one. (Leibniz, 1670)
Words of Wisdom Hendrik Lorentz, 1906
I cannot but regard the ether, which can be the seat of an electromagnetic field with its energy and its vibrations, as endowed with a certain degree of substantiality, however different it may be from all ordinary matter. (Lorentz)
Indeed one of the most important of our fundamental assumptions must be that the ether not only occupies all space between molecules, atoms, or electrons, but that it pervades all these particles. We shall add the hypothesis that, though the particles may move, the ether always remains at rest. (Lorentz, 1906)
(Albert Einstein on Hendrik Lorentz, 1954) Everybody felt his superiority, but nobody felt oppressed by it. Though he had no illusions about people and human affairs, he was full of kindness toward everybody and everything. Never did he give the impression of domineering, always of serving and helping. He was extremely conscientious, without allowing anything to assume undue importance; a subtle humor guarded him, which was reflected in his eyes and in his smile. (Albert Einstein, 1954)
In order to explain this absence of any effect of the Earth's translation (in the Michelson/Morley experiment), I have ventured the hypothesis, that the dimensions of a solid body undergo slight change, of the order of v2/c2, when it moves through the ether. & From this point of view it is natural to suppose that, just like the electromagnetic forces, the molecular attractions and repulsions are somewhat modified by a translation imparted to the body, and this may very well result in a change of dimensions. & The electrons themselves become flattened ellipsoids. .. This would enable us to predict that no experiment made with a terrestrial source of light will ever show us an influence of the Earth's motion. (Lorentz,1906)
It is clear that, since the observer is unconscious of these changes, (the contraction of a measuring rod in the direction of motion), relying on his rod, he will not find the true shape of bodies. He will take for a sphere what really is an ellipsoid. & Attention must now be drawn to a remarkable reciprocity that has been pointed out by Einstein. ... Let us now imagine that each observer (one is moving with constant velocity relative to the other) is able to see the system to which the other belongs, ... It will be clear by what has been said that the impressions received by the two observers would be alike in all respects. It would be impossible to tell which of them moves or stands still with respect to the ether. & His results concerning electromagnetic and optical phenomena agree in the main with those which we have obtained in the preceding pages, the chief difference being that Einstein simply postulates what we have deduced from the fundamental equations of the electromagnetic field. By doing so, he may certainly take credit for making us see in the negative result of experiments like those of Michelson, Rayleigh and Brace, not a fortuitous compensation of opposing effects, but the manifestation of a general and fundamental principle. Yet, I think, something may also be claimed in the favor of the form in which I have presented the theory. I cannot but regard the ether, which can be the seat of an electromagnetic field with its energy and its vibrations, as endowed with a certain degree of substantiality, however different it may be from all ordinary matter. (Lorentz, 1906)Words of Wisdom James Clerk Maxwell, 1876
In speaking of the Energy of the field, however, I wish to be understood literally. All energy is the same as mechanical energy, whether it exists in the form of motion or in that of elasticity, or in any other form. The energy in electromagnetic phenomena is mechanical energy. (James Clerk Maxwell)
Words of Wisdom Friedrich Nietzsche, The Greeks, Beyond Good and Evil, 1890
Greek philosophy seems to begin with a preposterous fancy, with the proposition (of Thales) that water is the origin and mother-womb of all things. Is it really necessary to stop there and become serious? Yes, and for three reasons: firstly, because the proposition does enunciate something about the origin of things; secondly, because it does so without figure and fable; thirdly and lastly, because it contained, although only in the chrysalis state, the idea :everything is one. ..That which drove him (Thales) to this generalization was a metaphysical dogma, which had its origin in a mystic intuition and which together with the ever renewed endeavors to express it better, we find in all philosophies- the proposition: everything is one!
If it comes to pride with a philosopher then it is a great pride. His work never refers him to a public, the applause of the masses, and the hailing chorus of contemporaries. To wander lonely along his path belongs to the nature of the philosopher. His talents are the most rare, in a certain sense the most unnatural and at the same time exclusive and hostile even to kindred talents. The wall of his self sufficiency must be of diamond, if it is not to be demolished and broken, for everything is in motion against him. His journey to immortality is more cumbersome and impeded than any other and yet nobody can believe more firmly than the philosopher that he will attain the goal by that journey. He has truth; the wheel of time may roll whither it pleases, never can it escape from truth. It is important to hear that such men have lived. (Friedrich Nietzsche, 1890)
There is nothing more necessary than truth, and in comparison with it everything
else has only secondary value.
This absolute will to truth: what is it? Is it the will to not allow ourselves
to be deceived? Is it the will not to deceive?
One does not want to be deceived, under the supposition that it is injurious,
dangerous, or fatal to be deceived. (Friedrich Nietzsche, 1890)
What if God were not exactly truth, and if this could be proved? And if he were instead the vanity, the desire for power, the ambitions, the fear, and the enraptured and terrified folly of mankind? (Friedrich Nietzsche, 1890)
Do not allow yourselves to be deceived: Great Minds are Skeptical. (Friedrich Nietzsche, 1890)
With the strength of his spiritual sight and insight the distance, and as it were the space, around man continually expands: his world grows deeper, ever new stars, ever new images and enigmas come into view. (Friedrich Nietzsche, 1890)
Heraclitus was proud; and if it comes to pride with a philosopher then it is a great pride. His work never refers him to a "public", the applause of the masses, and the hailing chorus of contemporaries. To wander lonely along his path belongs to the nature of the philosopher. His talents are the most rare, in a certain sense the most unnatural and at the same time exclusive and hostile even toward kindred talents. The wall of his self-sufficiency must be of diamond, if it is not to be demolished and broken, for everything is in motion against him. His journey to immortality is more cumbersome and impeded than any other and yet nobody can believe more firmly than the philosopher that he will attain the goal by that journey-because he does not know where he is to stand if not on the widely spread wings of all time; for the disregard of everything present and momentary lies in the essence of the great philosophical nature. He has truth; the wheel of time may roll whither it pleases, never can it escape from truth. It is important to hear that such men have lived. Never, for example, would one be able to imagine the pride of Heraclitus as an idle possibility. (Friedrich Nietzsche, 1890)
THE CHIEF DEFICIENCY OF ACTIVE PEOPLE - Active people are usually deficient in the higher activity, I mean the individual activity. They are active as officials, merchants, scholars, that is, as a species, but not as quite distinct separate and SINGLE individuals; in this respect they are idle. It is the misfortune of the active that their activity is almost always a little senseless. For instance, we must not ask the money making banker the reason for his restless activity, it is foolish. The active roll as the stone rolls, according to the stupidity of mechanics. All mankind is divided, as it was at all times, and is still, into slaves and free men; for whoever has NOT two thirds of his day for himself is a slave, be he otherwise whatever he likes, statesmen, merchant.. (Friedrich Nietzsche, 1890)
THE SLOW ARROW OF BEAUTY. The noblest kind of beauty is that which does not transport us suddenly, which does not make stormy and intoxicating impressions (such a kind easily arouses disgust) but that which slowly filters into our minds. (Friedrich Nietzsche, 1890)
THE SUFFERING OF GENIUS AND ITS VALUE. The artistic genius desires to give pleasure, but if his mind is on a very high plane he does not easily find anyone to share his pleasure; he offers entertainment but nobody accepts it. That gives him, in certain circumstances, a comically touching pathos; for he has no right to force pleasure on men. He pipes, but none will dance: can that be tragic? (Friedrich Nietzsche, 1890)
The complete irresponsibility of man for his actions and his nature is the bitterest drop which he who understands must swallow. (Friedrich Nietzsche, 1890)
But she does not want truth: What is truth to a woman! From the very first
nothing has been more alien, repugnant, inimical to woman than truth- her great
art is the lie, her supreme concern is appearance and beauty.
.. Where neither love nor hate is in the game a woman is a mediocre player.
.. The sexes deceive themselves about one another: the reason being that fundamentally
they love and honour only themselves (or their own ideal, to express it more
pleasantly). Thus man wants woman to be peaceful - but woman is essentially
unpeaceful, like the cat, however well she may have trained herself to present
an appearance of peace. (Friedrich Nietzsche, 1890)
He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you. (Friedrich Nietzsche, 1890)
O sancta simplicitas! What strange simplification and falsification mankind lives on! One can never cease to marvel once one has acquired eyes for this marvel! How we have made everything around us bright and free and easy and simple! How we have known how to bestow on our senses a passport to everything superficial, on our thoughts a divine desire for wanton gambling and false conclusions! - how we have from the very beginning understood how to retain our ignorance so as to enjoy an almost inconceivable freedom, frivolity, impetuosity, bravery, cheerfulness of life, so as to enjoy life! (Friedrich Nietzsche, 1890)Words of Wisdom Plato, Republic, 380BC
Those whose hearts are fixed on Reality itself deserve the title of Philosophers. (Plato)
One trait in the philosopher's character we can assume is his love of the knowledge that reveals eternal reality, the realm unaffected by change and decay. (Plato)
When the mind's eye rests on objects illuminated by truth and reality, it understands and comprehends them, and functions intelligently; but when it turns to the twilight world of change and decay, it can only form opinions, its vision is confused and its beliefs shifting, and it seems to lack intelligence. (Plato)
The society we have described can never grow into a reality or see the light of day, and there will be no end to the troubles of states, or indeed, my dear Glaucon, of humanity itself, till philosophers are kings in this world, or till those we now call kings and rulers really and truly become philosophers, and political power and philosophy thus come into the same hands. (Plato)
What is at issue is the conversion of the mind from the twilight of error to the truth, that climb up into the real world which we shall call true philosophy.(Plato)
And isn't it a bad thing to be deceived about the truth, and a good thing to know what the truth is? For I assume that by knowing the truth you mean knowing things as they really are. (Plato)
The philosopher is in love with truth, that is, not with the changing world of sensation, which is the object of opinion, but with the unchanging reality which is the object of knowledge. (Plato)
Truthfulness. He will never willingly tolerate an untruth, but will hate it as much as he loves truth... And is there anything more closely connected with wisdom than truth? (Plato)
The object of knowledge is what exists and its function to know about reality. (Plato)
I don't know anything that gives me greater pleasure, or profit either, than talking or listening to philosophy. But when it comes to ordinary conversation, such as the stuff you talk about financiers and the money market, well, I find it pretty tiresome personally, and I feel sorry that my friends should think they're being very busy when they're really doing absolutely nothing. Of course, I know your idea of me: you think I'm just a poor unfortunate, and I shouldn't wonder if your right. But then I dont THINK that you're unfortunate - I know you are. (Plato)
Words of Wisdom Erwin Schrodinger, What is Life? 1967
The question is only whether from now on we shall have to refrain from tying description to a clear hypothesis about the real nature of the world. There are many who wish to pronounce such abdication even today. But I believe that this means making things a little too easy for oneself. ... The world is given to me only once, not one existing and one perceived. Subject and object are only one. The barrier between them cannot be said to have broken down as a result of recent experience in the physical sciences, for this barrier does not exist.
The scientist only imposes two things, namely truth and sincerity, imposes them upon himself and upon other scientists.(Erwin Schrodinger, 1967)
Words of Wisdom Lee Smolin, Life of the Cosmos, 1997
A successful unification of quantum theory and relativity would necessarily be a theory of the universe as a whole. It would tell us, as Aristotle and Newton did before, what space and time are, what the cosmos is, what things are made of, and what kind of laws those things obey. Such a theory will bring about a radical shift - a revolution - in our understanding of what nature is. It must also have wide repercussions, and will likely bring about, or contribute to, a shift in our understanding of ourselves and our relationship to the rest of the universe. (Lee Smolin, 1997)
It can no longer be maintained that the properties of any one thing in the universe are independent of the existence or non-existence of everything else. It is, at last, no longer sensible to speak of a universe with only one thing in it. (Lee Smolin, 1997)
The revolution which began with the creation of quantum theory and relativity theory can only be finished with their unification into a single theory that can give us a single, comprehensive picture of nature. (Lee Smolin, 1997)
But in spite of the obvious effectiveness of mathematics in physics, I have never heard of a good a priori argument that the world must be organised to mathematical principles. (Lee Smolin, 1997)
Any two particles in the universe attract each other through the gravitational interaction. (Lee Smolin, 1997)
Just like an ordinary guitar string, a fundamental string can vibrate in different modes. And it is these different modes of vibration of the string that are understood in string theory as being the different elementary particles. (Lee Smolin, 1997)
Words of Wisdom Spinoza, Ethics, 1673
.... we are a part of nature as a whole, whose order we follow. (Spinoza, Ethics, 1673)
A substance cannot be produced from anything else : it will therefore be its own cause, that is, its essence necessarily involves existence, or existence appertains to the nature of it. (Spinoza, Ethics, 1673)
But if men would give heed to the nature of substance they would doubt less concerning the Proposition that Existence appertains to the nature of substance: rather they would reckon it an axiom above all others, and hold it among common opinions. For then by substance they would understand that which is in itself, and through itself is conceived, or rather that whose knowledge does not depend on the knowledge of any other thing.(Spinoza, Ethics, 1673)
No two or more substances can have the same attribute and it appertains to the nature of substance that it should exist. It must therefore exist finitely or infinitely. But not finitely. For it would then be limited by some other substance of the same nature which also of necessity must exist: and then two substances would be granted having the same attribute, which is absurd. It will exist, therefore, infinitely.(Spinoza, Ethics,1673)
He who has a true idea, knows at that same time that he has a true idea, nor can he doubt concerning the truth of the thing. (Spinoza)
No one doubts but that we imagine time from the very fact that we imagine other bodies to be moved slower or faster or equally fast. We are accustomed to determine duration by the aid of some measure of motion. (Spinoza, Ethics, 1673)For the wise man, in so far as he is regarded as such, is scarcely at all disturbed in spirit, but being conscious of himself, and of God, and of things, by a certain eternal necessity, never ceases to be, but always possesses true acquiescence of his spirit. If the way which I have pointed out as leading to this result seems exceedingly hard, it may nevertheless be discovered. Needs must it be hard, since it is so seldom found. How could it be possible, if salvation were ready to our hand, and could without great labour be found, that it should be by almost all men neglected? But all excellent things are as difficult as they are rare. (Spinoza, Ethics, 1673)
Words of Wisdom Milo Wolff, Exploring the Physics of the Unknown
Universe, 1994
The Wave Structure of Matter (the Structure of fundamental 'Particles') evolved
over five years. It began with a simple speculation that waves in Space could
explain the de Broglie wavelength. It continued to agree with more laws and
observations than I first expected and I was amazed. The 'Particle' is two identical
spherical waves travelling radially in opposite directions so that together
they form a spherical standing wave. The wave which travels inward towards the
center is called an In-Wave, and the wave travelling outward is an Out-Wave.
The nominal location of the ‘Particle’ is the Wave-Center, but as
must be true for any charged Particle, it has presence everywhere in Space because
the charge forces extend throughout the Universe.
Solid Bodies from Waves - The solid crystal array is a matrix of atoms held
rigidly in space. How are the atoms suspended in space? We must conclude that
the crystal’s rigidity derives from fixed standing waves propagating in
a rigid wave medium. Calculations for diamonds and nuclear structure yields
an enormous rigidity. This is really a separate argument about the rigidity
of space, which is one of its properties.
Light 'Photons' - Two Spherical Standing Waves (SSW) oscillators exchange energy
much like classical coupled oscillators, such as electric circuits or joined
pendulums. The coupling provided by the non-linear centers of the resonances
(high mass-energy density of space Wave-Centers) allows them to shift frequency patterned by
the modulation of each other's waves. Since significant coupling can only occur
between two oscillators which possess the same resonant elements, the frequency
(energy) changes are equal and opposite. This we observe as the law of conservation
of energy. When opposite changes of frequency (energy ) takes place between
two resonances, energy seems to be transported from the center of one resonance
to another. We observe a loss of energy where frequency decreases and added
energy where it increases. The exchange appears to travel with the speed of
the In-Waves of the receiving resonance which is c, the velocity of light. When
large numbers of changes occur together, we can sample part of it and see a
beam of light (which causes the continuous electromagnetic waves of Modern Physics).
When single exchanges occur we see "photons" as discrete Standing
Wave interactions. Thus the transitory modulated waves travelling between two
resonances create the illusion of the 'photon particle'.
Words of Wisdom on Truth and Reality
...a distinction must be made between true and false ideas, and that too much rein must not be given to a man's imagination under pretext of its being a clear and distinct intellection. (Leibniz, 1670)
But it is the knowledge of necessary and eternal truths which distinguishes us from mere animals, and gives us reason and the sciences, raising us to knowledge of ourselves and God. It is this in us which we call the rational soul or mind. (Leibniz, 1670)
When a truth is necessary, the reason for it can be found by analysis, that is, by resolving it into simpler ideas and truths until the primary ones are reached. It is this way that in mathematics speculative theorems and practical canons are reduced by analysis to definitions, axioms and postulates. (Leibniz, 1670)
There is nothing more necessary than truth, and in comparison
with it everything else has only secondary value.
This absolute will to truth: what is it? Is it the will to not allow ourselves
to be deceived? Is it the will not to deceive?
One does not want to be deceived, under the supposition that it is injurious,
dangerous, or fatal to be deceived. (Friedrich Nietzsche, 1890)
What if God were not exactly truth, and if this could be proved? And if he were instead the vanity, the desire for power, the ambitions, the fear, and the enraptured and terrified folly of mankind? (Friedrich Nietzsche, 1890)
And isn't it a bad thing to be deceived about the truth, and a good thing to know what the truth is? For I assume that by knowing the truth you mean knowing things as they really are. (Plato, 380BC)
The philosopher is in love with truth, that is, not with the changing world of sensation, which is the object of opinion, but with the unchanging reality which is the object of knowledge. (Plato, 380BC)
Truthfulness. He will never willingly tolerate an untruth, but will hate it as much as he loves truth... And is there anything more closely connected with wisdom than truth? (Plato, 380BC)
Then may we not fairly plead in reply that our true lover of knowledge naturally strives for truth, and is not content with common opinion, but soars with undimmed and unwearied passion till he grasps the essential nature of things with the mental faculty fitted to do so, that is, with the faculty which is akin to reality, and which approaches and unites with it, and begets intelligence and truth as children, and is only released from travail when it has thus reached knowledge and true life and satisfaction? (Plato, 380BC)
What is at issue is the conversion of the mind from the twilight of error to the truth, that climb up into the real world which we shall call true philosophy. (Plato, 380BC)
The object of knowledge is what exists and its function to know about reality. (Plato, 380BC)
And those whose hearts are fixed on Reality itself deserve the title of Philosophers. (Plato, 380BC)
When the mind's eye rests on objects illuminated by truth and reality, it understands and comprehends them, and functions intelligently; but when it turns to the twilight world of change and decay, it can only form opinions, its vision is confused and its beliefs shifting, and it seems to lack intelligence. (Plato, 380BC)
'But surely "blind" is just how you would describe men who have no
true knowledge of reality, and no clear standard in their mind to refer to,
as a painter refers to his model, and which they can study closely before they
start laying down rules about what is fair or right or good where they are needed,
or maintaining, as Guardians, any rules that already exist.'
'Yes, blind is just about what they are' (Plato, 380BC)
One trait in the philosopher's character we can assume is his love of the knowledge that reveals eternal reality, the realm unaffected by change and decay. He is in love with the whole of that reality, and will not willingly be deprived even of the most insignificant fragment of it - just like the lovers and men of ambition we described earlier on. (Plato, 380BC)
Words of Wisdom on The Importance and Love of Philosophy
The life of theoretical philosophy is the best and happiest a man can lead. Few men are capable of it (and then only intermittently). For the rest there is a second-best way of life, that of moral virtue and practical wisdom. (Aristotle, Metaphysics)
The society we have described can never grow into a reality or see the light of day, and there will be no end to the troubles of states, or indeed, my dear Glaucon, of humanity itself, till philosophers are kings in this world, or till those we now call kings and rulers really and truly become philosophers, and political power and philosophy thus come into the same hands, while the many natures now content to follow either to the exclusion of the other are forcibly debarred from doing so. This is what I have hesitated to say so long, knowing what a paradox it would sound; for it is not easy to see that there is no other road to happiness, either for society or the individual. (Plato, 380BC)
...there are some who are naturally fitted for philosophy and political leadership, while the rest should follow their lead and let philosophy alone. (Plato, 380BC)
'But the man who is ready to taste every form of knowledge, is glad to learn and never satisfied - he's the man who deserves to be called a philosopher, isn't he?' (Plato, 380BC)
'Then who are the true philosophers?', he asked
'Those whose passion is to see the truth.'
'Suppose the following to be the state of affairs on board a ship or ships.
The captain is larger and stronger than any of the crew, but a bit deaf and
short-sighted, and doesn't know much about navigation. The crew are quarrelling
with each other about how to navigate the ship, each thinking he ought to be
at the helm; they know no navigation and cannot say that anyone ever taught
it them, or that they spent any time studying it; indeed they say it can't be
taught and are ready to murder any one who says it can. They spend all their
time milling around the captain and trying to get him to give them the wheel.
If one faction is more successful then another, their rivals may kill them and
throw them overboard, lay out the honest captain with drugs and drink, take
control of the ship, help themselves to what's on board, and behave as if they
were on a drunken pleasure-cruise. Finally, they reserve their admiration for
the man who knows how to lend a hand in controlling the captain by force or
fraud; they praise his seamanship and navigation and knowledge of the sea and
condemn everyone else as useless. They have no idea that the true navigator
must study the seasons of the year, the sky, the stars, the winds and other
professional subjects, if he is really fit to control a ship; and they think
that it's quite impossible to acquire professional skill in navigation (quite
apart from whether they want it exercised) and that there is no such thing as
an art of navigation. In these circumstances aren't the sailors on any ship
bound to regard the true navigator as a gossip and a star-gazer, of no use to
them at all?'
'Yes, they are,' Adeimantus agreed
'I think you probably understand, without any explanation, that my illustration
is intended to show the present attitude of society towards the true philosopher'
(Plato, 380BC)
And tell him it's quite true that the best of the philosophers are of no use
to their fellows; but that he should blame, not the philosophers, but those
who fail to make use of them. (Plato, 380BC)
To teach how to live without certainty, and yet without being paralysed by hesitation, is perhaps the chief thing that philosophy, in our age, can do for those who study it. (Bertrand Russell, The History of Western Philosophy)
Oddly, things have now reached such a state that even among men of intelligence philosophy means something fantastical and vain, without value or usefulness, both in opinion and practice. The cause lies in chop-logic which has captured all the approaches. It is a great mistake to portray Philosophy with a haughty, frowning, terrifying face, or as inaccessible to the young. Whoever clapped that wan and frightening mask to her face! There is nothing more lovely, more happy and gay- I almost said more amorously playful. What she preaches is all feast and fun. A sad and gloomy mien shows you have mistaken her address. (de Montaigne)
Philosophical discussions habitually make men happy and joyful not frowning and sad. (de Montaigne)
The soul which houses philosophy must by her own sanity make for a sound body.
Her tranquility and ease must glow from her; she must fashion her outward bearing
to her mould, arming it therefore with gracious pride, a spritely active demeanour
and a happy welcoming face. The most express sign of wisdom is unruffled joy:
like all in the realms above the Moon, her state is ever serene.
Her aim is virtue, which is not (as they teach in schools) perched on the summit
of a steep mountain, rough and inaccessible. Those ho have drawn nigh her hold
that on the contrary she dwells on a beautiful plateau, fertile and strewn with
flowers; from there she clearly sees all things beneath her; but if you know
the road you can happily make your way there by shaded grassy paths, flower-scented,
smooth and gently rising, like tracks in the vaults of heaven. (de Montaigne)
She (philosophy) is equally helpful to the rich and poor: neglect her, and she equally harms the young and old. (Horace)
Those sciences which govern the morals of mankind, such as Theology and Philosophy, make everything their concern: no activity is so private or so secret as to escape their attention or their jurisdiction. (de Montaigne)
Knowledge is a very weighty thing: they sink beneath it. Their mental apparatus has not enough energy nor skill to display the noble material and to apportion its strength, to exploit it and make it help them. Knowledge can lodge only in a powerful nature: and that is very rare. Feeble minds, said Socrates, corrupt the dignity of philosophy when they handle it; she appears to be useless and defective when sheathed in a bad covering. (de Montaigne, 1592)
Words of Wisdom on the Understanding of New Ideas
We are like people looking for something they have in their hands all the time; we're looking in all directions except at the thing we want, which is probably why we haven't found it.(Plato, 380BC)
'That is the story. Do you think there is any way of making them believe it?'
' Not in the first generation', he said, 'but you might succeed with the second
and later generations.' (Plato, 380BC)
'We will ask the critics to be serious for once, and remind them that it was
not so long ago that the Greeks thought - as most of the barbarians still think
- that it was shocking and ridiculous for men to be seen naked. When the Cretans,
and later the Spartans, first began to take exercise naked, wasn't there plenty
of material for the wit of the comedians of the day?'
'There was indeed'
'But when experience showed them that it was better to strip than wrap themselves
up, what reason had proved best ceased to look absurd to the eye. Which shows
how idle it is to think anything ridiculous except what is wrong.' (Plato,
380BC)
Although I am fully convinced of the truth of the views given in this volume I by no means expect to convince experienced naturalists whose minds are stocked with a multitude of facts all viewed, during a long course of years, from a point of view directly opposite to mine. But I look with confidence to the future to young and rising naturalists, who will be able to view both sides of the question with impartiality. (Charles Darwin)
All crises begin with the blurring of a paradigm and the consequent loosening of the rules for normal research. .. Or finally, the case that will most concern us here, a crisis may end with the emergence of a new candidate for paradigm and with the ensuing battle over its acceptance. (Thomas Kuhn, 1962)
Although as a rule the absurd culminates, and it seems impossible for the voice of the individual ever to penetrate through the chorus of foolers and fooled, still there is left to the genuine works of all times a quite peculiar, silent, slow, and powerful influence; and as if by a miracle, we see them rise at last out of the turmoil like a balloon that floats up out of the thick atmosphere of this globe into purer regions. Having once arrived there, it remains at rest, and no one can any longer draw it down again. (Arthur Schopenhauer, 1819)
To begin with our knowledge grows in spots. ..What you first gain, ... is probably a small amount of new information, a few new definitions, or distinctions, or points of view. But while these special ideas are being added, the rest of your knowledge stands still, and only gradually will you line up your previous opinions with the novelties I am trying to instill, and to modify to some slight degree their mass. ..Your mind in such processes is strained, and sometimes painfully so, between its older beliefs and the novelties which experience brings along. (William James, Pragmatism)
Words of Wisdom on Education
To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old questions from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advances in science. (Albert Einstein)
Somebody who only reads newspapers and at best books of contemporary
authors looks to me like an extremely near-sighted person who scorns eyeglasses.
He is completely dependent on the prejudices and fashions of his times, since
he never gets to see or hear anything else. And what a person thinks on his
own without being stimulated by the thoughts and experiences of other people
is even in the best case rather paltry and monotonous.
There are only a few enlightened people with a lucid mind and style and with
good taste within a century. What has been preserved of their work belongs among
the most precious possessions of mankind. We owe it to a few writers of antiquity
(Plato, Aristotle, etc.) that the people in the Middle Ages could slowly extricate
themselves from the superstitions and ignorance that had darkened life for more
than half a millennium. Nothing is more needed to overcome the modernist's snobbishness.
(Einstein, 1954)
... knowledge must continually be renewed by ceaseless effort, if it is not to be lost. It resembles a statue of marble which stands in the desert and is continually threatened with burial by the shifting sand. The hands of service must ever be at work, in order that the marble continue to lastingly shine in the sun. To these serving hands mine shall also belong. (Albert Einstein, On Education, 1950)
When, after several hours reading, I came to myself again, I asked myself what it was that had so fascinated me. The answer is simple. The results were not presented as ready-made, but scientific curiosity was first aroused by presenting contrasting possibilities of conceiving matter. Only then the attempt was made to clarify the issue by thorough argument. The intellectual honesty of the author makes us share the inner struggle in his mind. It is this which is the mark of the born teacher. Knowledge exists in two forms - lifeless, stored in books, and alive, in the consciousness of men. The second form of existence is after all the essential one; the first, indispensable as it may be, occupies only an inferior position. (Albert Einstein, 1954)
Numerous are the academic chairs, but rare are wise and noble teachers. Numerous
and large are the lecture halls, but far from numerous the young people who
genuinely thirst for truth and justice. Numerous are the wares that nature produces
by the dozen, but her choice products are few.
We all know that, so why complain? Was it not always thus and will it not always
thus remain? Certainly, and one must take what nature gives as one finds it.
But there is also such a thing as a spirit of the times, an attitude of mind
characteristic of a particular generation, which is passed on from individual
to individual and gives its distinctive mark to a society. Each of us has to
his little bit toward transforming this spirit of the times. (Albert
Einstein, 1954)
The development of science and of the creative activities of the spirit in
general requires still another kind of freedom, which may be characterised as
inward freedom. It is this freedom of spirit which consists in the independence
of thought from the restrictions of authoritarian and social prejudices as well
as from unphilosophical routinizing and habit in general. This inward freedom
is an infrequent gift of nature and a worthy objective for the individual.
..schools may favor such freedom by encouraging independent thought. Only if
outward and inner freedom are constantly and consciously pursued is there a
possibility of spiritual development and perfection and thus of improving man's
outward and inner life. (Albert Einstein, 1954)
Communities tend to be guided less than individuals by conscience and a sense
of responsibility. How much misery does this fact cause mankind! It is the source
of wars and every kind of oppression, which fill the earth with pain, sighs
and bitterness.
Yet, as a general rule, intellectual work in moderation, so far from retarding
cure, indirectly helps it forward, just as moderate physical work will. (Albert
Einstein)
I believe, indeed, that overemphasis on the purely intellectual attitude, often directed solely to the practical and factual, in our education, has led directly to the impairment of ethical values. I am not thinking so much of the dangers with which technical progress has directly confronted mankind, as of the stifling of mutual human considerations by a 'matter-of-fact' habit of thought which has come to lie like a killing frost upon human relations. Without 'ethical culture' there is no salvation for humanity.(Albert Einstein, 1953)
The school has always been the most important means of transferring the wealth
of tradition from one generation to the next. This applies today in an even
higher degree than in former times, for through modern development of the economic
life, the family as bearer of tradition and education has been weakened. The
continuance and health of human society is therefore in a still higher degree
dependent on the school than formerly.
Sometimes one sees in the school simply the instrument for transferring a certain
maximum quantity of knowledge to the growing generation. But that is not right.
Knowledge is dead; the school however, serves the living. It should develop
in the young individuals those qualities and capabilities which are of value
are of value for the welfare of the commonwealth. But that does not mean that
individuality should be destroyed and the individual become a mere tool of the
community, like a bee or an ant. For a community of standardised individuals
without personal originality and personal aims would be a poor community without
possibilities for development. On the contrary, the aim must be the training
of independently acting and thinking individuals, who, however, see in the service
of the community their highest life problem.
To me the worst thing seems to be for a school principally to work with methods
of fear, force and artificial authority. Such treatment destroys the sound sentiments,
the sincerity, and the self-confidence of the pupil. It produces the submissive
subject. it is no wonder that such schools are the rule in Germany and Russia.
..the desire for the approval of one's fellow-man certainly is one of the most
important binding powers of society. In this complex of feelings, constructive
and destructive forces lie closely together. Desire for approval and recognition
is a healthy motive; but the desire to be acknowledged as better, stronger,
or more intelligent than a fellow being or scholar easily leads to an excessively
egoistic psychological adjustment, which may become injurious for the individual
and for the community. Therefore the school and the teacher must guard against
employing the easy method of creating individual ambition, in order to induce
the pupils to diligent work. (Albert Einstein, 1954)
We must not conceal from ourselves that no improvement in the present depressing situation is possible without a severe struggle; for the handful of those who are really determined to do something is minute in comparison with the mass of the lukewarm and the misguided. And those who have an interest in keeping the machinery of war going are a very powerful body; they will stop at nothing to make public opinion subservient to their murderous ends. (Albert Einstein, 1954)
...for the object of education is to teach us to love beauty. (Plato)
.. we shall not be properly educated ourselves, nor will the guardians whom we are training, until we can recognise the qualities of discipline, courage, generosity, greatness of mind, and others akin to them, as well as their opposites in all their manifestations. (Plato)
Strange times are these in which we live when old and young are taught in falsehoods school. And the one man that dares to tell the truth is called at once a lunatic and fool. (Plato)
Since philosophy is the art which teaches us how to live, and since children need to learn it as much as we do at other ages, why do we not instruct them in it? (de Montaigne)
But in truth I know nothing about education except this: that the greatest and the most important difficulty known to human learning seems to lie in that area which treats how to bring up children and how to educate them. (de Montaigne)
In his commerce with men I mean him to include- and that principally- those who live only in the memory of books. By means of history he will frequent those great souls of former years. If you want it to be so, history can be a waste of time; it can also be, if you want it to be so, a study bearing fruit beyond price. (de Montaigne)
We readily inquire, ‘Does he know Greek or Latin?’ ‘Can he write poetry and prose?’ But what matters most is what we put last: ‘Has he become better and wiser?’ We ought to find out not who understands most but who understands best. We work merely to fill the memory, leaving the understanding and the sense of right and wrong empty. Just as birds sometimes go in search of grain, carrying it in their beaks without tasting it to stuff it down the beaks of their young, so too do our schoolmasters go foraging for learning in their books and merely lodge it on the tip of their lips, only to spew it out and scatter it on the wind. (de Montaigne)
Their pupils and their little charges are not nourished and fed by what they learn: the learning is passed from hand to hand with only one end in view: to show it off, to put into our accounts to entertain others with it, as though it were merely counters, useful for totting up and producing statements, but having no other use or currency. ‘Apud alios loqui didicerunt, non ipsi secum’ [They have learned how to talk with others, not with themselves] (de Montaigne)
Whenever I ask a certain acquaintance of mine to tell me what he knows about
anything, he wants to show me a book: he would not venture to tell me that he
has scabs on his arse without studying his lexicon to find out the meaning of
scab and arse.
All we do is to look after the opinions and learning of others: we ought to
make them our own. We closely resemble a man who, needing a fire, goes next
door to get a light, finds a great big blaze there and stays to warm himself,
forgetting to take a brand back home. What use is it to us to have a belly full
of meat if we do not digest it, if we do not transmute it into ourselves, if
it does not make us grow in size and strength? (de Montaigne)
Learned we may be with another man’s learning: we can only be wise with
wisdom of our own:
[I hate a sage who is not wise for himself] (Euripides)
What use is knowledge if there is no understanding? (Stobaeus)
‘non vitae sed scholae discimus’. [We are taught for the schoolroom not for life] (Seneca)
Now we are not merely to stick knowledge on to the soul: we must incorporate it into her; the soul should not be sprinkled with knowledge but steeped in it. (Seneca)
And if knowledge does not change her and make her imperfect state better then it is preferable just to leave it alone. Knowledge is a dangerous sword; in a weak hand which does not know how to wield it it gets in its master’s way and wounds him, ‘ut fuerit melius non didicisse’ [so that it would have been better not to have studied at all] (de Montaigne quoting Cicero)
Learning is a good medicine: but no medicine is powerful enough to preserve itself from taint and corruption independently of defects in the jar that it is kept in. One man sees clearly but does not see straight: consequently he sees what is good but fails to follow it; he sees knowledge and does not use it. (de Montaigne)
But in truth I know nothing about education except this: that the greatest and the most important difficulty known to human learning seems to lie in that area which treats how to bring up children and how to educate them. (de Montaigne)
Teach him a certain refinement in sorting out and selecting his arguments, with an affection for relevance and so for brevity. Above all let him be taught to throw down his arms and surrender to truth as soon as he perceives it, whether the truth is born at his rival’s doing or within himself from some change in his ideas. (de Montaigne)
As for our pupils talk, let his virtue and his sense of right and wrong shine through it and have no guide but reason. Make him understand that confessing an error which he discovers in his own argument even when he alone has noticed it is an act of justice and integrity, which are the main qualities he pursues; stubbornness and rancour are vulgar qualities, visible in common souls whereas to think again, to change one’s mind and to give up a bad case on the heat of the argument are rare qualities showing strength and wisdom. (de Montaigne)
‘As a man who knows how to make his education into a rule of life not a means of showing off; who can control himself and obey his own principles.’ The true mirror of our discourse is the course of our lives. (de Montaigne quoting Cicero)
Chess permits freedom of permutations within a framework of set rules and prescribed movements. Because a chess player cannot move absolutely as he likes, either in terms of the rules or in terms of the exigencies of the particular game, has he no freedom of move? The separate games of chess I play with existence has different rules from your and every other game; the only similarity is that each of our games always has rules. The gifts, inherited and acquired, that are special to me are the rules of the game; and the situation I am in at any given moment is the situation of the game. My freedom is the choice of action and the power of enactment I have within the rules and situation of the game. (Fowles, 1964. The Aristos)
Our present educational systems are all paramilitary. Their aim is to produce servants or soldiers who obey without question and who accepts their training as the best possible training. Those who are most successful in the state are those who have the most interest in prolonging the state as it is; they are also those who have the most say in the educational system, and in particular by ensuring that the educational product they want is the most highly rewarded. (Fowles, 1964. The Aristos)
Every serious student of the subject knows that the stability of a civilisation depends finally on the wisdom with which it distributes its wealth and allots its burdens of labour, and on the veracity of the instruction it provides for its children. We do not distribute the wealth at all: we throw it into the streets to be scrambled for by the strongest and the greediest who will stoop to such scrambling, after handing the lion’s share to the professional robbers politely called owners. We cram our children with lies, and punish anyone who tries to enlighten them. Our remedies for the consequences of our folly are tariffs, inflation, wars, vivisections and inoculations – venegances, violences, black magic. (George Bernard Shaw)
THE TEACHER AS A NECESSARY EVIL. Let us have as few people as possible between the productive minds and the hungry and recipient minds! The middlemen almost unconsciously adulterate the food which they supply. It is because of teachers that so little is learned, and that so badly. (Nietzsche, 1880)
Help Humanity
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
(Mohandas Gandhi)
"When forced to summarize the general theory of relativity in one sentence:
Time and space and gravitation have no separate existence from matter. ... Physical objects are not in space, but these objects are spatially extended. In this way the concept 'empty space' loses its meaning. ... The particle can only appear as a limited region in space in which
the field strength or the energy density are particularly high. ...
The free, unhampered exchange of ideas and scientific conclusions is necessary for the sound development of science, as it is in all spheres
of cultural life. ... We must not conceal from ourselves that no improvement in the present depressing situation is possible without
a severe struggle; for the handful of those who are really determined to do something is minute in comparison with the mass of the lukewarm
and the misguided. ...
Humanity is going to need a substantially new way of thinking if it is to survive!" (Albert Einstein)
Our world is in great trouble due to human behaviour founded on myths and customs that are causing the destruction of Nature and climate change. We can now deduce the most simple science theory of reality - the wave structure of matter in space. By understanding how we and everything around us are interconnected
in Space we can then deduce solutions to the fundamental problems of human knowledge in physics, philosophy, metaphysics, theology, education, health, evolution and ecology, politics and society.
This is the profound new way of thinking that Einstein
realised, that we exist as spatially extended structures of the universe - the discrete and separate body an illusion. This simply confirms the
intuitions of the ancient philosophers and mystics.
Given the current censorship in physics / philosophy of science journals (based on the standard model of particle physics / big bang cosmology) the internet is the best hope for getting new knowledge
known to the world. But that depends on you, the people who care about science and society, realise the importance of truth and reality.
It is Easy to Help!
Just click on the Social Network links below, or copy a nice image or quote you like and share it. We have a wonderful collection of knowledge from the greatest minds in human history, so people will appreciate your contributions. In doing this you will help a new generation of scientists see that there is a simple sensible explanation of physical reality - the source of truth and wisdom, the only cure for the madness of man! Thanks! Geoff Haselhurst (Updated September, 2018)
A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it. (Max Planck, 1920)
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