Inquiry Quotes - Page 9

• Sister," he murmured, not as an inquiry, but a statement of fact. "Brother mine," she groaned... before her consciousness slipped from her grasp and she drifted away. But she would come back to him. One way or the other, she would not leave her twin ever again.

  J.R. Ward

  Brother, Way, Facts

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• Facts, at any rate, could not be kept hidden. They could be tracked down by inquiry, they could be squeezed out of you by torture. But if the object was not to stay alive but to stay human, what difference did it ultimately make? They could not alter your feelings, for that matter you could not alter them yourself, even if you wanted to. They could lay bare in the utmost detail everything that you had done or said or thought; but the inner heart, whose workings were mysterious even to yourself, remained impregnable.

  George Orwell

  Heart, Differences, Feelings

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• It was the secrets of heaven and earth that I desired to learn; and whether it was the outward substance of things or the inner spirit of nature and the mysterious soul of man that occupied me, still my inquiries were directed to the metaphysical, or in its highest sense, the physical secrets of the world.

  Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

  Men, Heaven, Soul

  Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1988). “Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus: With Supplementary Essays and Poems from the Twentieth Century”, p.32, Orchises Press

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• When the police arrived and found no lion, no broken wall, and no convicts, and the Head behaving like a lunatic, there was an inquiry into the whole thing. And in the inquiry all sorts of things about Experiment House came out, and about ten people got expelled. After that, the Head's friends saw that the Head was no use as a Head, so they got her made an Inspector to interfere with other Heads. And when they found she wasn't much good even at that, they got her into Parliament where she lived happily ever after.

  C. S. Lewis

  Wall, People, Broken

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• The History of every major Galactic Civilization tends to pass through three distinct and recognizable phases, those of Survival, Inquiry and Sophistication, otherwise known as the How, Why, and Where phases. For instance, the first phase is characterized by the question 'How can we eat?' the second by the question 'Why do we eat?' and the third by the question 'Where shall we have lunch?

  Douglas Adams

  Civilization, Lunch, Survival

  Douglas Adams (2008). “The Restaurant at the End of the Universe”, p.146, Del Rey

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• I believe in evolution, scientific inquiry, and global warming; I believe in free speech, whether politically correct or politically incorrect, and I am suspicious of using government to impose anybody's religious beliefs -including my own- on nonbelievers.

  Barack Obama

  Religious, Believe, Government

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• The arrogant elimination of the Djaouts of our world must nerve us to pursue our own combative doctrine, namely: that peaceful cohabitation on this planet demands that while the upholders of any creed are free to adopt their own existential absolutes, the right of others to do the same is thereby rendered implicit and sacrosanct. Thus the creed of inquiry, of knowledge and exchange of ideas, must be upheld as an absolute, as ancient and eternal as any other.

  Wole Soyinka

  Our World, Ideas, Peaceful

  FaceBook post by Wole Soyinka from Apr 07, 2015

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• It is a curious subject of observation and inquiry, whether hatred and love be not the same thing at bottom. Each, in its utmost development, supposes a high degree of intimacy and heart-knowledge; each renders one individual dependent for the food of his affections and spiritual life upon another; each leaves the passionate lover, or the no less passionate hater, forlorn and desolate by the withdrawal of his object.

  Nathaniel Hawthorne

  Spiritual, Hate, Heart

  Nathaniel Hawthorne (2010). “The Scarlet Letter”, p.225, Bibliolis Books

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• Innovation is fostered by information gathered from new connections; from insights gained by journeys into other disciplines or places; from active, collegial networks and fluid, open boundaries. Innovation arises from ongoing circles of exchange, where information is not just accumulated or stored, but created. Knowledge is generated anew from connections that weren't there before.

  Margaret J. Wheatley

  Relationship, Creativity, Journey

  Margaret J. Wheatley (1994). “Leadership and the new science: learning about organization from an orderly universe”, Berrett-Koehler Pub

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• Although I know of no reference to Christ ever commenting on scientific work, I do know that He said, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Thus I am certain that, were He among us today, Christ would encourage scientific research as modern man's most noble striving to comprehend and admire His Father's handiwork. The universe as revealed through scientific inquiry is the living witness that God has indeed been at work.

  Wernher von Braun

  Father, Men, Atheism

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• It is not honest inquiry that makes anarchy; but it is error, insincerity, half belief and untruth that make it.

  Thomas Carlyle

  Mistake, Errors, Half

  Thomas Carlyle (1840). “Works”, p.116

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• When the multitude detests a man, inquiry is necessary; when the multitude likes a man, inquiry is equally necessary.

  Confucius

  Hate, Men, Likes

  Chʻu Chai, Confucius, Mencius (1965). “Lun Yü”, New Hyde Park, N.Y. : University Books

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• When inquiry is suppressed by previous knowledge, or by the authority and experience of another, then learning becomes mere imitation, and imitation causes a human being to repeat what is learned without experiencing it.

  Jiddu Krishnamurti

  Education, Parenting, Causes

  Jiddu Krishnamurti (2005). “Life Ahead: On Learning and the Search for Meaning”, p.9, New World Library

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• 

  Knowledge emerges only through invention and re-invention, through the restless, impatient, continuing, hopeful inquiry human beings pursue in the world, with the world, and with each other.

  Paulo Freire

  Learning, Hopeful, World

  Paulo Freire (2014). “Pedagogy of the Oppressed: 30th Anniversary Edition”, p.52, Bloomsbury Publishing USA

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• Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear.... Do not be frightened from this inquiry from any fear of its consequences. If it ends in the belief that there is no God, you will find incitements to virtue in the comfort and pleasantness you feel in its exercise.

  Thomas Jefferson

  Exercise, Liberty, Comfort

  Thomas Jefferson's letter to Peter Carr, founders.archives.gov. August 10, 1787.

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• After reading the doctrines of Plato, Socrates or Aristotle, we feel the specific difference between their words and Christ's is the difference between an inquiry and a revelation.

  Joseph Parker

  Christian, Jesus, Plato

  Joseph Parker (1867). “Ecce Deus: Essays on the Life and Doctrine of Jesus Christ : with Controversial Notes on "Ecce Homo".”, p.190

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• The fundamentalists, by 'knowing' the answers before they start, and then forcing nature into the straitjacket of their discredited preconceptions, lie outside the domain of science - or any honest intellectual inquiry.

  Stephen Jay Gould

  Lying, Knowing, Intellectual

  "Bully for Brontosaurus". Book by Stephen Jay Gould. "An Essay on a Pig Roast," p. 437, 1991.

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• By the help of microscopes, there is nothing so small, as to escape our inquiry; hence there is a new visible world discovered to the understanding.

  Robert Hooke

  Understanding, Vision, Tools

  Robert Hooke (1667). “Micrographia: Or, Some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies Made by Magnifying Glasses. With Observations and Inquiries Thereupon”, p.18

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• We have solved, by fair experiment, the great and interesting question whether freedom of religion is compatible with order in government and obedience to the laws. And we have experienced the quiet as well as the comfort which results from leaving every one to profess freely and openly those principles of religion which are the inductions of his own reason and the serious convictions of his own inquiries.

  Thomas Jefferson

  Religious, Order, Law

  Thomas Jefferson (1854). “The Writings of Thomas Jefferson: Being His Autobiography, Correspondence, Reports, Messages, Addresses, and Other Writings, Official and Private : Published by the Order of the Joint Committee of Congress on the Library, from the Original Manuscripts, Deposited in the Department of State”, p.139

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• The Scripture abounds in commands and cautions for our utmost diligence in our search and inquiry as to whether we are made partakers of Christ or not, or whether His Spirit dwells in us or not-which argue both the difficulty of attaining an assured confidence herein, as also the danger of our being mistaken, and yet the certainty of a good issue upon the diligent and regular use of means to that purpose.

  John Owen

  Religious, Mean, Issues

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• It is, in fact, nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for this delicate little plant, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom; without this it goes to wrack and ruin without fail. It is a grave mistake to think that the enjoyment of seeing and searching can be promoted by means of coercion and a sense of duty.

  Albert Einstein

  Education, Mistake, Teaching

  Albert Einstein (2008). “The Essential Einstein: His Greatest Works”, Penguin Group(CA)

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• To those searching for truth -- not the truth of dogma and darkness but the truth brought by reason, search, examination, and inquiry, discipline is required. For faith, as well intentioned as it may be, must be built on facts, not fiction -- faith in fiction is a damnable false hope.

  Thomas A. Edison

  Faith, Discipline, Darkness

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• When you realize that suffering and discomfort are the call to inquiry, you may actually begin to look forward to uncomfortable feelings. You may even experience them as friends coming to show you what you have not yet investigated thoroughly enough.

  Byron Katie

  Uncomfortable Feeling, Feelings, Suffering

  Byron Katie, Stephen Mitchell (2008). “A Thousand Names For Joy: How To Live In Harmony With The Way Things Are”, p.275, Random House

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• What do you think dignity's all about?' The directness of the inquiry did, I admit, take me rather by surprise. 'It's rather a hard thing to explain in a few words, sir,' I said. 'But I suspect it comes down to not removing one's clothing in public.

  Kazuo Ishiguro

  Thinking, Few Words, Dignity

  Kazuo Ishiguro (2010). “The Remains of the Day”, p.210, Vintage

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• In its Greek origins, historia meant inquiry, and from Thucydides onwards, the past has been studied to understand its connections with the present.

  Simon Schama

  Past, History, Greek

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