Enlightenment Thinkers Quotes

• All mankind... being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions.

  John Locke

  Peace, War, Independent

  John Locke (1821). “Two treatises of government”, p.191

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• I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it.

  Evelyn Beatrice Hall

  Inspirational, Funny, Life

  "The Paris unity march shows we must protect freedom of expression, not curtail it further" by Julie Posetti, January 11, 2015.

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• As people are walking all the time, in the same spot, a path appears.

  John Locke

  Inspirational, Philosophical, Walking Away

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• Every man has a property in his own person. This nobody has a right to, but himself.

  John Locke

  Self Esteem, Philosophical, Men

  John Locke, John W. Yolton (1977). “The Locke Reader: Selections from the Works of John Locke with a General Introduction and Commentary”, p.289, CUP Archive

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• We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal.

  Elizabeth Cady Stanton

  Inspiring, Women, 4th Of July

  Declaration of Sentiments, First Woman's Rights

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• Common sense is not so common.

  Voltaire

  Life, Wisdom, Witty

  Dictionnaire Philosophique "Common Sense" (1765)

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• If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him.

  Voltaire

  God, Atheist, Religion

  Epitres no. 96, "A l'Auteur du Livre des Trois Imposteurs" (1770) See Ovid 2

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• The true Enlightenment thinker, the true rationalist, never wants to talk anyone into anything. No, he does not even want to convince; all the time he is aware that he may be wrong. Above all, he values the intellectual independence of others too highly to want to convince them in important matters. He would much rather invite contradiction, preferably in the form of rational and disciplined criticism. He seeks not to convince but to arouse - to challenge others to form free opinions.

  Karl Popper

  Free Opinion, Challenges, Intellectual

  "On Freedom (All Life is Problem Solving)". Essay by Karl Popper, translated by Patrick Camiller, 1994.

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• I have chosen to be happy because it is goo for my health.

  Voltaire

  Happy, Health, Chosen

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• Clearly, Enlightenment thinkers were seeking a God substitute.

  Nancy Pearcey

  Enlightenment, Substitutes, Thinker

  Nancy Pearcey (2015). “Finding Truth: 5 Principles for Unmasking Atheism, Secularism, and Other God Substitutes”, p.79, David C Cook

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• By any reasonable measure of achievement, the faith of the Enlightenment thinkers in science was justified.

  E. O. Wilson

  Achievement, Enlightenment, Justified

  E. O. Wilson (2014). “Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge”, p.72, Vintage

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• By any reasonable measure of achievement, the faith of the Enlightenment thinkers in science was justified. Today the greatest divide within humanity is not between races, or religions, or even, as is widely believed, between the literate and illiterate. It is the chasm that separates scientific from prescientific cultures.

  E. O. Wilson

  Race, Achievement, Humanity

  E. O. Wilson (2014). “Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge”, p.72, Vintage

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• We who don't want radical Islam to spread must compete with the agents of radical Islam. I want to see what would happen if Christians, feminists and Enlightenment thinkers were to start proselytizing in the Muslim community.

  Ayaan Hirsi Ali

  Christian, Feminist, Community

  "The Feminist". Interview with Deborah Solomon, www.nytimes.com. May 21, 2010.

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