Philosopher Quotes

• To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but so to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity and trust.

  Henry David Thoreau

  Love, Life, Trust

  Henry David Thoreau (1995). “Walden, Or, Life in the Woods”, p.9, Courier Corporation

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• The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways: the point, however, is to change it.

  Karl Marx

  Change, Courage, Peace

  Theses on Feuerbach no. 11 (written 1845). This is the epitaph on Marx's tombstone in Highgate Cemetery, London.

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  If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government, then you are doomed to live under the rule of fools.

  Plato

  Government, Political, Politics

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• An inventor is a man who asks 'Why?' of the universe and lets nothing stand between the answer and his mind.

  Ayn Rand

  Philosophy, Men, Political

  Ayn Rand (1963). “For the New Intellectual: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand (50th Anniversary Edition)”, p.133, Penguin

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• Life is too short to be wasted in finding answers. Enjoy the questions.

  Paulo Coelho

  Inspirational, Life, Wisdom

  FaceBook post by Paulo Coelho from Apr 25, 2012

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• We have more ability than will power, and it is often an excuse to ourselves that we imagine that things are impossible.

  Francois de La Rochefoucauld

  New Year, Philosophy, Failure

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• Conquering others requires force. Conquering oneself requires strength

  Laozi

  Motivational, Strength, Wisdom

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• Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.

  Voltaire

  Inspirational, Inspiring, Christmas

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• Because philosophy arises from awe, a philosopher is bound in his way to be a lover of myths and poetic fables. Poets and philosophers are alike in being big with wonder.

  Thomas Aquinas

  Love, Fear, Philosophy

  Saint Thomas (Aquinas) (1971). “Saint Thomas Aquinas”

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• You are what you choose to be today. Not what you've chosen to be before.

  Wayne Dyer

  Inspirational, Spiritual, Being Yourself

  Wayne W. Dyer (2009). “Staying on the Path: Easyread Super Large 24pt Edition”, p.111, ReadHowYouWant.com

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  All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.

  Galileo Galilei

  Inspirational, Truth, Science

  "Angels in the workplace: stories and inspirations for creating a new world of work". Book by Melissa Giovagnoli, 1999.

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• A philosopher once asked, "Are we human because we gaze at the stars, or do we gaze at them because we are human?" Pointless, really..."Do the stars gaze back?" Now that's a question.

  Neil Gaiman

  Stars, Stardust, Star Gazing

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• If we mean to have Heroes, Statesmen and Philosophers, we should have learned women. The world perhaps would laugh at me, and accuse me of vanity, but you I know have a mind too enlarged and liberal to disregard the Sentiment. If much depends as is allowed upon the early Education of youth and the first principals which are instill'd take the deepest root, great benefit must arise from literary accomplishments in women.

  Abigail Adams

  Hero, Mean, Vanity

  Abigail Adams, John Adams, L. H. Butterfield, Marc Friedlaender, Mary-Jo Kline (1975). “The Book of Abigail and John: Selected Letters of the Adams Family, 1762-1784”, p.153, UPNE

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• According to the saying of an ancient philosopher, one should eat to live, and not live to eat

  Moliere

  Philosophy, Ancient, Should

  L'Avare act 3, sc. 1 (1669)

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• 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

  Ambition, Character, Reality

  Plato, Henry Desmond Pritchard Lee (1987). “The Republic”

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• All are lunatics, but he who can analyze his delusions is called a philosopher.

  Ambrose Bierce

  Insanity, Delusional, Thrive

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• Remember, success is a journey not a destination. Have faith in your ability. You will do just fine.

  Bruce Lee

  Inspirational, Success, Faith

  Bruce Lee (2015). “Bruce Lee Striking Thoughts: Bruce Lee's Wisdom for Daily Living”, p.126, Tuttle Publishing

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  Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.

  Epicurus

  Inspirational, Life, Motivational

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• The triumph of science has been mainly due to its practical utility, and there has been an attempt to divorce this aspect from that of theory, thus making science more and more a technique, and less and less a doctrine as to the nature of the world. The penetration of this point of view to philosophers is very recent.

  Bertrand Russell

  Divorce, Views, Technique

  Bertrand Russell (2008). “History of Western Philosophy”, p.493, Simon and Schuster

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• Things do not change; we change.

  Henry David Thoreau

  Inspirational, Life, Change

  Henry David Thoreau (2009). “Walden”, p.212, Cosimo, Inc.

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• Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habit.

  Laozi

  Motivational, Wisdom, Determination

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• love make us poets, and the approach of death should make us philosophers.

  George Santayana

  Love, Death, Poet

  George Santayana (2012). “The Sense of Beauty”, p.146, Courier Corporation

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• The revealed and mystic literature of mankind bears ample testimony to the fact that religious experience has been too enduring and dominant in the history of mankind to be rejected as mere illusion. There seems to be no reason, then, to accept the normal level of human experience as fact and reject its other levels as mystical and emotional.

  Muhammad Iqbal

  Religious, Acceptance, Emotional

  Sir Muhammad Iqbal (2000). “The religious thought in Islam”

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• While we are postponing, life speeds by.

  Seneca the Younger

  Inspirational, Life, Wisdom

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• Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.

  Laozi

  Inspirational, Strength, Being Strong

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