Wisdom Quotes

"Philosophical argument can move people to change their fundamental view of society."

"Utilitarianism fails to respect the distinctness of persons."

"We must be wary of taking philosophical conclusions too far in application."

"Experience machines teach us something fundamental about value."

"The question of legitimacy cannot be sidestepped by appeal to consequences."

"Philosophical work requires considering counterintuitive conclusions."

"Moral argument can reshape our political understanding."

"We must be careful in applying abstract principles."

"Philosophical clarity can change how we see society."

"Thought experiments reveal assumptions we hold."

"We should question whether our beliefs form coherent wholes."

"We must examine assumptions about collective responsibility."

"Philosophical argument can challenge political orthodoxy."

"We should be suspicious of arguments for unlimited authority."

"Political realism begins with acknowledgment of human conflict."

"To speak of universal principles is to ignore concrete political situations."

"To understand your enemy is the first requirement of political wisdom."

"The owl of Minerva spreads its wings only with the falling of the dusk."

"Wisdom knows when not to act."

"The only thing that is good without qualification is good will."

"We are not rich by what we possess but by what we can do without."

"There is nothing higher than reason."

"The greatest inequality of mankind is intellect."

"In the practical use of common sense we are all nearly equal."

"In all judgments we must reach the heart of the matter."

"Ultimate principles are beyond proof."

"True knowledge requires holding two contradictory thoughts simultaneously without surrendering to either."

"The greatest danger to thought is not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge."

"Negative thinking is not pessimism; it is the refusal of premature reconciliation."

"The notion that you can painlessly extract the good from the traditions of the past whilst dismissing everything else as rubbish is the silliest of delusions."