Philosophy Quotes
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If men were but to read the New Testament with the same tone and emphasis, with which they do other books, and were to keep out of mind the idea of its being sacred, they would be disgusted with the credulity, and the want of intellect, reason and judgment, that is apparent in it.
Quote by -Lysander Spooner
The desertion of Jesus, by his followers, furnishes an argument in support of the supposition that he attempted to be king of the Jews, rather than that he was a superior being.
Quote by -Lysander Spooner
Jesus never instructed men to do what was right because it was right; yet this is the true reason why they should do it.
Quote by -Lysander Spooner
Men's moral principles are weak enough without their being made subordinate to selfishness; and their selfishness is quite active enough, without any such effort as Christianity makes to constitute it the mainspring of all their conduct.
Quote by -Lysander Spooner
All know the importance of sustaining the hopes of a sick man. The reason of this is that his nervous system is then, vastly more than in health, susceptible to the influence of particular states of the mind.
Quote by -Lysander Spooner
There is perhaps not an enlightened Christian in America who, notwithstanding he may believe that, at the time of Jesus, men were possessed of devils, believes that they ever have been in any other instance, either before or since.
Quote by -Lysander Spooner
The law does not require a man to cease to be a man, and act without regard to consequences, when he becomes a juror.
Quote by -Lysander Spooner
A contract for the establishment of government, being nothing but a voluntary contract between individuals for their mutual benefit, differs, in nothing that is essential to its validity, from any other contract between man and man, or between nation and nation.
Quote by -Lysander Spooner
For a government to declare a vice to be a crime, and to punish it as such, is an attempt to falsify the very nature of things. It is as absurd as it would be to declare truth to be falsehood, or falsehood truth.
Quote by -Lysander Spooner
Vices are usually pleasurable, at least for the time being, and often do not disclose themselves as vices, by their effects, until after they have been practised for many years; perhaps for a lifetime.
Quote by -Lysander Spooner
Knowledge is not a guarantee of good political behavior, but ignorance is a virtual guarantee of bad behavior.
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum
The imagination is an innate gift, but it needs refinement and cultivation; this is what the humanities provide.
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum
Every single university student should study philosophy. You need to lead the examined life and question your beliefs. If you don't learn critical thinking, then political debate degenerates into a contest of slogans.
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum
To be a good human being is to have a kind of openness to the world, the ability to trust uncertain things beyond your own control that can lead you to be shattered.
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum
Courses in the humanities, in particular, often seem impractical, but they are vital, because they stretch your imagination and challenge your mind to become more responsive, more critical, bigger.
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum
Envy, propelled by fear, can be even more toxic than anger, because it involves the thought that other people enjoy the good things of life which the envier can't hope to attain through hard work and emulation.
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum
Fear requires belief that you will be harmed, and it is easily manipulated by rhetoric.
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum
We have fear as soon as we are born, we are born into a state of physical helplessness.
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum
When I am disgusted by certain American politicians, I fantasize moving away to Finland - a country in which I have worked a little, and which I see as a pure blue and green place of unpolluted lakes, peaceful forests, and pristine social-democratic values.
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum
I am not a pacifist - I think that violence and self-defence are often morally justified.
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum
On the whole, the accommodationist position has been dominant in U.S. law and public culture ─ ever since George Washington wrote a famous letter to the Quakers explaining that he would not require them to serve in the military because the 'conscientious scruples of all men' deserve the greatest 'delicacy and tenderness.'
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum
We are not just bundles of atoms being pushed around. But, there's something spiritual about us whether we give that a religious interpretation or not. And so, it's that sense of there being dignity to life that I associate with the word God. I mean, that's probably a pretty radical and agnostic way of interpreting it. But, that's what I think.
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum
Some emotions are essential to law and to public principles of justice: anger at wrongdoing, fear for our safety, compassion for the pain of others, all these are good reasons to make laws that protect people in their rights.
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum
Gandhi, when he was on the salt march, had everyone singing the song of Rabindranath Tagore, which goes, 'Walk alone, walk alone...' Now there's some paradox in that, with a million people on the march! But he was cultivating the thought that each individual has dignity, and the dignity consists partly in the willingness to stand up to authority.
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum
Politicians are at a great distance from the academic world. Barack Obama was my colleague at Chicago - but could i ever talk to him now? Never.
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum
Teaching has always been a very important part of my life. It is one of the ways I contribute to society. It is also a source of energy and insight.
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum
Often, we feel helpless in lots of situations in our lives. The way anger gets a grip on us is it seems to be a way to extricate ourselves from helplessness.
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum
In general, I agree with Socrates that what democracies badly need is the examined life, and we need to think critically about ourselves.
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum
Fear is ubiquitous in human life. It starts in infancy with our primal state of helplessness, where we can see what's going on but we can't move to get it. As we grow older we become a little more able to get what we want but then we're going to die so that gives fear another boost.
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum
Martin Luther King and Gandhi were not people who failed in self-respect. They were people of hope and great courage, and their courage was disciplined.
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum
I think Americans did learn that you just are not going to be able to live well if you subordinate people on the grounds of their religion.
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum
When we have emotions of fear and pity toward the hero of a tragedy, we explore aspects of our own vulnerability in a safe and pleasing setting.
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum
And I sometimes find that members of my family are reading completely different news from what I'm reading, because they're not reading general interest newspapers at all. They're getting all their news from certain Internet sites that are rather political.
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum
You have to connect your work to what people are doing. A good way is to construct a bridge between theory and practice - Amartya Sen and I tried this by founding the Human Development and Capabilities Association where practitioners meet theoreticians and their discourse influences practice.
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum
The first thing you get from the humanities, when they're well taught, is critical thinking. Philosophy in particular can play that role, not just in universities but in schools as well.
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum
Emotions aren't just mindless urges; they contain thoughts about matters of importance.
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum
I think ageing is challenging, surprising, fun, and full of friendship, so that is the approach I'll take, objecting to the stigmatization of ageing in so many modern societies.
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum
You have to address anger, fear, and then to think about what the alternatives are: hope, faith, a certain kind of brotherly love. And then you have to set yourself to cultivate those.
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum
My own students say they don't trust anyone who voted for Trump. How can you have a democracy with that?
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum
Hilary Putnam died of cancer at the age of 89. Those of us who had the good fortune to know Putnam as mentees, colleagues, and friends remember his life with profound gratitude and love, since Hilary was not only a great philosopher, but also a human being of extraordinary generosity, who really wanted people to be themselves, not his acolytes.
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum
Every time I undress in the locker room of my gym, I see women bearing the scars of liposuction, tummy tucks, breast implants.
Quote by -Martha Nussbaum