Quotes Of The Greatest Philosophers
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“A hidden connection is stronger than an obvious one.”
(Heraclitus of Ephesus)
"I doubt, therefore I think; I think therefore I am”
(Rene Descartes)
"One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.”
(Eleanor Roosevelt)
"The point of philosophy is to start with something so simple as not to seem worth stating, and to end with something so paradoxical that no one will believe it.”
(Bertrand Russell)
“Philosophy, rightly defined, is simply the love of wisdom.”
(Marcus Tullius Cicero)
“Finding bad reasons for what one believes for other bad reasons - that's philosophy”
(Aldous Huxley)
“In philosophy, it is not the attainment of the goal that matters, it is the things that are met along the way”
(Havelock Ellis)
“History is philosophy teaching by example.”
(Dionysius)
“Philosophy is not a theory but an activity”
(Ludwig Wittgenstein)
"Philosophy begins in wonder. And, at the end, when philosophic thought has done its best, the wonder remains.”
(Alfred North Whitehead)
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Tags: Philosophers, Quotes, Philosophical, Quotations
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Miracles In Our Life
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Reason
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DO MIRACLES ever happen today? Well, it depends on what is meant by the word “miracles”.
If it means, for instance, people being raised from the dead, it doesn’t seem to happen. It's not often that you see in the births, marriages, and deaths notices in newspapers a thank-you from someone who has been resurrected.
In fact, not only is it not often that you see such a notice; it never happens.
If such a thing were to happen, it wouldn’t simply be recorded in the personal notices, it would be splashed on the front pages.
Miracles have been in the news recently in connection with the proposed fast-track canonisation of Pope John Paul II. As part of the process of being made a saint, evidence has to be produced that a miracle has happened as a result of the intervention of the candidate for sainthood.
The late pontiff was said to have cured a nun of Parkinson's disease. Three years ago, 48-year-old Marie Simon-Pierre claimed that her Parkinson's symptoms vanished in 2005 after prayers were made to John Paul, who also suffered the condition.
Sister Marie said that as her whole order prayed on her behalf, she scribbled the Pope's name on a piece of paper only to wake up the next day completely cured. At the time she said: “It's like a second birth. I feel like I’ve discovered a new body.”
John Paul was proposed for sainthood just a month after his death in April 2005, by his successor, Pope Benedict XVI. Normally there is a five-year wait after the candidate's death before starting the process of beatification, which usually leads on to canonisation.
The Polish pontiff had the title “venerable” bestowed on him in December. Evidence that he has performed a miracle is required for beatification; then a further miracle is needed for him to be declared a saint.
Now, a Polish newspaper has reported that Sister Marie Simon-Pierre has experienced a return of Parkinson's-like symptoms; some newspapers have suggested her original condition may not have been Parkinson's at all.
It's notoriously difficult to prove that a miracle has occurred. In fact the Vatican appoints a church lawyer to contest claims for the miraculous; this is the origin of the phrase “the devil's advocate”.
In day-to-day speech, we often use the word “miracle” to describe an event which, while being quite a bit below the status of a resurrection from the dead, is utterly exceptional.
We can use the word too cheaply – for instance, if we use “miracle” to talk about Aberdeen FC actually winning a football match – but there are events which can take one's breath away.
One such event was reported in Sunday's newspapers. In Northern Ireland, the Orange Order is prepared to give its backing to new parading proposals which have been suggested by a group made up of Sinn Fein and Democratic Unionist representatives.
I am tempted to reach for the word “miraculous” to describe what is happening. Why? Think back even a decade or so. Who would have envisaged that Sinn Fein members, with the organisation's well-established links to the IRA, would sit round the table with representatives from the extreme end of Unionism, and would broker a deal on the extremely contentious issue of parades in Northern Ireland?
It seems that a big majority at Orange Order's quarterly meeting has welcomed the progress that has been made. Grand Master Robert Saulters said 95% backed so far the parading aspect of the Hillsborough Agreement.
Given the sectarian hatreds in Ulster over several decades, it is astounding that there is now a full power-sharing arrangement, which includes the hot-button issue of law and order, in place. It's not so long ago that people were in despair over the future of Northern Ireland. Prophets foresaw more rivers of blood, as cries of “no surrender” were heard from both sides.
To understand the significance of what has happened in recent times, we have to go back to the release of Nelson Mandela from prison and the first full and free elections for all the people of South Africa.
Again, the pundits had predicted massive bloodshed in South Africa. President de Klerk understood that there was a need for compromise, and that there could not be peace in South Africa until Mr Mandela was released from Robben Island.
Many people predicted that Mr De Klerk would fail to convince his own community to give up their political domination. We know now that they were wrong.
Mr De Klerk seized the historic moment, and his boldness paid off. Bloodshed was averted and a new political process was born. When television pictures of people queuing for hours to cast their vote for the first time were beamed around the world, it wasn’t surprising that the vocabulary of “miracle” was employed.
Similarly, who would have envisaged that one day Dr Ian Paisley would sit round a table with the likes of Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness to hammer out a new political future for Northern Ireland? Not only that, that they would be photographed smiling and laughing with each other?
This is not a miracle on the “raising of the dead” scale, but it turns predictable reality on its head. And we are all the better for it.
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Tags: Miracle, Wonder, Facts, Pope
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Questions That Make You Think Deeply
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Reason
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"If a question can be put into words at all, then it is also possible to answer it." (Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus 6.5)
What do you think? If he's right, it should be possible to answer the following profound questions.
- How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?
- Which is worse, failing or never trying?
- If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do?
- If the average human life span was 40 years, how would you live your life differently?
- If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what would it be?
- How come the things that make you happy don’t make everyone happy?
- Why are you, you?
- Is it possible to know the truth without challenging it first?
- Why do religions that support love cause so many wars?
- Is it possible to know, without a doubt, what is good and what is evil?
- What is the difference between being alive and truly living?
- If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake?
Maybe there isn't an answer to everything..
Tags: Questions, Answers, Think, Find
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Immortality possible within 20 years...
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Scientist Ray Kurzweil claims humans could become immortal in as little as 20 years' time through nanotechnology and an increased understanding of how the body works.
The 61-year-old American, who has predicted new technologies arriving before, says our understanding of genes and computer technology is accelerating at an incredible rate.
He says theoretically, at the rate our understanding is increasing, nanotechnologies capable of replacing many of our vital organs could be available in 20 years time.
Mr Kurzweil adds that although his claims may seem far-fetched, artificial pancreases and neural implants are already available.
Mr Kurzweil calls his theory the Law of Accelerating Returns:
"I and many other scientists now believe that in around 20 years we will have the means to reprogramme our bodies' stone-age software so we can halt, then reverse, ageing. Then nanotechnology will let us live for ever.
"Ultimately, nanobots will replace blood cells and do their work thousands of times more effectively.
"Within 25 years we will be able to do an Olympic sprint for 15 minutes without taking a breath, or go scuba-diving for four hours without oxygen.
"Heart-attack victims – who haven't taken advantage of widely available bionic hearts – will calmly drive to the doctors for a minor operation as their blood bots keep them alive.
"Nanotechnology will extend our mental capacities to such an extent we will be able to write books within minutes.
"If we want to go into virtual-reality mode, nanobots will shut down brain signals and take us wherever we want to go. Virtual sex will become commonplace. And in our daily lives, hologram like figures will pop in our brain to explain what is happening.
"So we can look forward to a world where humans become cyborgs, with artificial limbs and organs."
Tags: Immortality, Advancement, Technology, Nano-techno...
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From the Beginning; The Origin of Metaphysics
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 Are you in a universe which is ruled by natural laws and, therefore, is stable, firm, absolute—and knowable? Or are you in an incomprehensible chaos, a realm of inexplicable miracles, an unpredictable, unknowable flux, which your mind is impotent to grasp? Are the things you see around you real—or are they only an illusion? Do they exist independent of any observer—or are they created by the observer? Are they the object or the subject of man's consciousness? Are they what they are—or can they be changed by a mere act of your consciousness, such as a wish?
The nature of your actions—and of your ambition—will be different, according to which set of answers you come to accept. These answers are the province of metaphysics—the study of existence as such or, in Aristotle's words, of “being qua being”—the basic branch of philosophy.
The branch of philosophy that studies existence is metaphysics. Metaphysics identifies the nature of the universe as a whole. It tells men what kind of world they live in, and whether there is a supernatural dimension beyond it. It tells men whether they live in a world of solid entities, natural laws, absolute facts, or in a world of illusory fragments, unpredictable miracles, and ceaseless flux. It tells men whether the things they perceive by their senses and mind form a comprehensible reality, with which they can deal, or some kind of unreal appearance, which leaves them staring and helpless.
If you would like to read Metaphysics by Aristotle, the entire collection can be found in the Teams section of devilandgod.com; each Metaphysics team represents 1 book from Aristotle's classic while each blog post represents each part.
Tags: Metaphysics, Origin, Aristotles, Laws, Natural, E...
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