Your Favorite Philosopher's Quote

[Kayladay]

One of my all time favorites:

It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.
– St. Augustine

 

[WWJDoub]

“The human self is…a relation that relates itself to itself and in relating itself to itself relates itself to another.”

• Soren Kierkegaard

Quite a mouth-full…

 

[LilyM]

One of my all time favorites:

It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.
– St. Augustine

I just can’t get past his ‘Lord, grant me chastity and continence … just not yet!’ What a perfect summing up of how so many of us feel at one time or another

 

[Morgo]

Do not to others what you do not want done to yourself - Confucius

 

[presidentjlh]

I just can’t get past his ‘Lord, grant me chastity and continence … just not yet!’ What a perfect summing up of how so many of us feel at one time or another

I love that saying. Whenever I think, “Man, St. Augustine was a really stringent, prudish guy,” I see that quote and it helps me realize that even St. Augustine was imperfect, but it was his attempts at perfection that made him great.

Wait…

“Greatness is not in perfection, but in the imperfect that strive for perfection.”

I am now a philosopher. Woo.

 

[presidentjlh]

I have been reading a few collections of ancient philosophers, and I’ve stumbled on some interesting quotes attributed to Epicetus.

“It is a kingly thing, O Cyrus, to do well and be spoken ill of.”

“The reason why I lost my lamp was that the thief was superior to me in vigilance. He paid, however, the price for the lamp; that in exchange for it he consented to become a thief: in exchange fo it, to become faithless.” - reflecting on a theft of an iron lamp he had placed outside his door.

 

[Halin33]

I am crazy about William James… One of his quote…

The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.

port wine

 

[Sonny89]

I beleive that is was Hawkeye Pierce that said it best when he said:

"All things considered, I’d rather have a full bottle in front of me, then a full frontal lobotomy".

May the Good Lord Bless You All

NOT JUST STRONG…CATHOLIC STRONG!!!****

An Excellent line!! I heartily agree!

One of my favourite quotes is taken from The soul’s journey into God by St Bonaventure, “whoever, therefore, is not enlightened by such splendour of created things is blind: whoever is not awakened by such outcries is deaf; whoever does the praise God because of all these effects is dumb; whoever does not discover the First Principle from such clear signs is a fool. Therefore, open your eyes, alert the ears of your spirit, open your lips, and apply your heart so that in all creatures you may see, hear, praise, love and worship, glorify and honour your God”

Also, “ O Truthful and kind Jesus, what soul who is devoted to you, when it sees and hears this, can restrain itself from tears and hide the sorrow of it’s compassion?”

Peace and all good!

Sonny

 

[Sonny89]

"I drank what?"

“Turn me over…I’m done on this side.”

–St. Lawrence, patron saint of cooks…and comedians.

I really like that quote, it reminds me of my high school-I was at a boarding school run by a Benedictine monastery who’s patron saint was wasthe same St Lawrence who came out with that quote

 

[Sonny89]

I love that saying. Whenever I think, “Man, St. Augustine was a really stringent, prudish guy,” I see that quote and it helps me realize that even St. Augustine was imperfect, but it was his attempts at perfection that made him great.

Wait…

“Greatness is not in perfection, but in the imperfect that strive for perfection.”

I am now a philosopher. Woo.

Well said!!

 

[bosonhiggs]

I’ve always liked Cicero’s quote “We are obliged to respect, defend and maintain the common bonds of union and fellowship that exist among all members of the human race.”

One of my favorites is “…Worlds may freeze and suns may perish, but there stirs something within us now that can never die again.” - H.G Wells

My absolute favorite quote is from “Pale Blue Dot” by Carl Sagan. It’s pretty long, but worth it in my opinion
eti.planetary.org/explore/topics/voyager/pale_blue_dot.html

 

[Charlemagne_II]

“Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.” Carl Sagan, The Pale Blue Dot

This is the usual atheist whine.

I prefer Pascal’s remark, to the effect that no matter how vast the universe and insignificant we seem in the midst of it, we have one advantage the universe will never have: we can think. And we can think of something larger than the universe.

 

[bosonhiggs]

Oh, well thanks for dismissing my favorite quote and field of study. It only means a lot to me. No big deal. I believe you have missed the point of the quotation entirely, but to each his own.

 

[Charlemagne_II]

Oh, well thanks for dismissing my favorite quote and field of study.

Sorry. I didn’t know I was dismissing your field of study. Is it astronomy? How did I dismiss astronomy?

Or did you mean the works of Carl Sagan? I didn’t mean to dismiss him either. Only to dismiss the sentiment that the bigness of the universe has anything to do with the alleged smallness of the human race.

*In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. * Carl Sagan

I believe help has already come, and we have been saved, if we want to be.

 

[PJM]

=Charlemagne II;6562374]Please, all join in: Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Atheists, etc.

My favorite philosopher is Thomas Aquinas. This is by far my favorite quote from him, uttered near the time of his death as he was on his way to Rome to be examined for his views.

“You have I preached; You have I taught; never have I said anything against You. If anything was not well said, that is to be attributed to my ignorance. Neither do I wish to be obstinate in my opinions, but if I have written anything erroneous … I submit all to the judgment and correction of the Holy Roman Church, in whose obedience I now pass from this life.”

From Father John A. Hardon S.J. RIP

"You can’t share what you yourself don’t have"

 

[dcastlen50]

Oh, well thanks for dismissing my favorite quote and field of study.

Sorry. I didn’t know I was dismissing your field of study. Is it astronomy? How did I dismiss astronomy?

Or did you mean the works of Carl Sagan? I didn’t mean to dismiss him either. Only to dismiss the sentiment that the bigness of the universe has anything to do with the alleged smallness of the human race.

*In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. * Carl Sagan

I believe help has already come, and we have been saved, if we want to be.

Find little to nothing to be amazed about this blue planet and you find yourself lacking in knowledge or just board with miracles.

 

[bosonhiggs]

Find little to nothing to be amazed about this blue planet and you find yourself lacking in knowledge or just board with miracles.

I agree.

Charlemagne II -
It’s okay, I know it was unintentional. My field of study happens to be (it will take awhile before I have my actual degree, but I’m on the track!) theoretical astrophysics. So, I have very strong interest in Astronomy and Physics.

*In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. *

For this part particularly, I’ve always seen it as Carl referring to the notion that we can pack up and move to distance planets in the future, or aliens; not as “there is nothing else out there”. He is talking about the actual isolation of the planet. I may be wrong, but that is how it has always come off to me, especially since the next paragraph talks about how Earth is where we make out stand.

I, personally, have found the excerpt to be speaking about human nature. I like to think what Sagan is saying overall is that human pride allows us to believe we are the biggest, baddest suckers in the whole universe - but that simply isn’t true. If we continue on with that type of hubris, nothing will save us because we will destroy each other, and our Earth, in our efforts to become “the best”. By realizing that we are simply one a tiny blue dot, like a spec of dust, in the grand scheme of the universe should bring feelings of humility, a deeper sense of connection with fellow man, and the urge to protect Earth because our existence is pretty dang miraculous.

 

[Charlemagne_II]

Max Born Quantum Physicist
“Those who say that the study of science makes a man an atheist must be rather silly.”

 

[djeter]

Another from Pascal:

*If we must not act save on a certainty, we ought not to act on religion, for it is not certain. But how many things we do on an uncertainty, sea voyages, battles! *

More votes for Pascal!!!:

Man is only a reed, the weakest in nature, but he is a thinking reed. There is no need for the whole universe to take up arms and crush him: a vapor, a drop of water is enough to kill him. But even if the universe were to crush him, man would still be nobler than his slayer, because he knows that he is dying and the advantage the universe has over him. The universe knows none of this.

Thus all our dignity consists in thought. It is on thought that we must depend for our recovery, not on space and time, which we could never fill. Let us then strive to think well: that is the basic principle of morality…
Pensées 200

Man is unstable. His nature is double (body and spirit), his consciousness is double (exalted and wretched) and his potentiality is double (heaven or hell). In all three ways he is unlike all the things in nature, which rest stably within their nature.

Roses can no more be unrosy than a triangle scan be nontriangular; but humans can be inhuman…man’s essence does not determine his existence but his existence determines his essence. We determine our nature, our character, our personality, by the free choices in our existence our life, our career in time, our history. God’s gift to us is who we are…our gift to God is who we become. And we will be judged on the latter.

Everything in nature has its life and history determined by its timeless pattern, plan or essence; with us it is the reverse. This formula – existence determines essence – is Sartre’s and the Christian will not buy into everything Sartre means by it (for instance, that we have no essence at all because there is no God to design it) but in itself it is true and profound.

dj

 

[dcastlen50]

I agree.

Charlemagne II -
It’s okay, I know it was unintentional. My field of study happens to be (it will take awhile before I have my actual degree, but I’m on the track!) theoretical astrophysics. So, I have very strong interest in Astronomy and Physics.

*In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. *

For this part particularly, I’ve always seen it as Carl referring to the notion that we can pack up and move to distance planets in the future, or aliens; not as “there is nothing else out there”. He is talking about the actual isolation of the planet. I may be wrong, but that is how it has always come off to me, especially since the next paragraph talks about how Earth is where we make out stand.

I, personally, have found the excerpt to be speaking about human nature. I like to think what Sagan is saying overall is that human pride allows us to believe we are the biggest, baddest suckers in the whole universe - but that simply isn’t true. If we continue on with that type of hubris, nothing will save us because we will destroy each other, and our Earth, in our efforts to become “the best”. By realizing that we are simply one a tiny blue dot, like a spec of dust, in the grand scheme of the universe should bring feelings of humility, a deeper sense of connection with fellow man, and the urge to protect Earth because our existence is pretty dang miraculous.

If you are studying astrophysics you are obligated to read Hugh Ross. go to his web sight Reasons to Believe. He has a story that is one of the most compelling regarding the bible and science. I am currently reading one of his many publications/books “Beyond the Cosmos.” If you know the language of science, you would jump out of your mind when you apply scientific tools you have to find a Creator God and then discover that Person is Jesus Christ. Be ready for a jump shock like you have never had.