Philosophical literature

Explore 630 quotes from the following genre: Philosophical literature

God is dead: but as the human race is constituted, there will perhaps be caves for millenniums yet, in which people will show his shadow.

Friedrich Nietzsche

The Gay Science

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Topic

Existence of God God Decline of religion Atheism Human nature

Author

Friedrich Nietzsche

Source

The Gay Science

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

German

Time

1882 1880s 19th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Nietzsche, Friedrich. Die fröhliche Wissenschaft. [The Gay Science]. 1882. Translated by Walter Kaufman, Vintage Books, March 1974.

Current Citation

Nietzsche, Friedrich. The Gay Science. Translated by Walter Kaufman, Vintage Books, 1974, aphorism, 261.

Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder.

Socrates

Quoted in Theaetetus, by Plato

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Topic

Curiosity Wonder Philosophy

Speaker

Socrates

Author

Plato

Source

Theaetetus

Medium

Philosophical dialogue

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

400 BC 400s BC 5th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Plato. Theatetus. c. 400 B. C., l. 155d.

The unexamined life is not worth living.

Socrates

Quoted in Apology, by Plato

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Topic

Philosophy Introspection Self-criticism Self-knowledge Wisdom

Speaker

Socrates

Author

Plato

Source

Apology

Medium

Courtroom speech Speech

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

399 BC 390s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Plato. Apology. 399 BC, 38a.

Current Citation

Plato. "Apology." Plato: Euthyphro; Apology; Crito; Phaedo. Translated by Christopher Emlyn-Jones. And William Preddy. Harvard UP, 2017, 38a5-6.

In such condition there is no place for industry, because the fruit thereof is uncertain... And the life of man solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.

Thomas Hobbes

Leviathan

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Topic

State of nature Anarchy Government

Author

Thomas Hobbes

Source

Leviathan

Genre

Political literature Philosophical literature

Language

English

Time

1651 1650s 17th century

Era

Age of Enlightenment

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. 1651.

Current Citation

Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. Penguin, 2017.

And with the guts of the last priest
Let's wring the neck of the last king.

Denis Diderot

More information about this quote

Topic

Anti-clericalism Anti-monarchism Revolution

Author

Denis Diderot

Source

Les Eleutheromanes

Medium

Poem

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

French

Time

1772 1770s 18th century

Era

Age of Enlightenment

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Diderot, Denis. Les Eleutheromanes. 1772.

Man is the measure of all things.

Protagoras

Quoted in Theaetetus, by Plato

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Topic

Nature of man

Speaker

Protagoras

Author

Plato

Source

Theaetetus

Medium

Philosophical dialogue

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

420 BC 420s BC 5th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Plato. Theatetus. c. 400 B. C., l. 152a.

Current Citation

Plato. Theatetus. Translated by Robin H. Waterfield. Penguin, 1987, l. 152a.

Man was born free, and everywhere he is in chains.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

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Topic

Freedom Liberation The human condition

Author

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Source

The Social Contract

Genre

Political literature Philosophical literature

Statement Type

Metaphor, analogy and simile

Language

French

Time

1762 1760s 18th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Du contrat social; ou Principes du droit politique [The Social Contract]. 1762.

Current Citation

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. "Of the Social Contract." Of the Social Contract and Other Political Writings. Translated by Quintin Hoare. Penguin, 2012.

Know thyself.

Thales

Quoted in The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, by Diogenes Laërtius

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Topic

Introspection Self-knowledge Self-awareness Wisdom

Speaker

Thales

Author

Diogenes Laërtius

Source

The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers

Medium

Presocratic fragment Fragment

Genre

Philosophical literature

Statement Type

Advice

Language

Greek

Time

3rd century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Thales. Quoted in "Thales," The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers by Diogenes Laërtius. 3rd century BC, bk. 1, ch. 1.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Lao Tzu

Tao Te Ching

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Topic

Patience Persistence One step at a time

Author

Lao Tzu

Source

Tao Te Ching

Genre

Philosophical literature Religious literature

Statement Type

Metaphor, analogy and simile

Language

Chinese

Time

400 BC 400s BC 5th century BC

Authentication Score 0

Original Citation

Lao Tzu. Tao Te Ching. 6th century B. C., ch. 64, l. 12.

Current Citation

Lao Tzu. Tao Te Ching: The Essential Translation of the Ancient Chinese Book of the Tao. Translated by John Minford. Penguin, 2019.

All men by nature desire to know.

Aristotle

Metaphysics

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Topic

Curiosity Knowledge Human nature

Author

Aristotle

Source

Metaphysics

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

322 BC 320s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Aristotle. Metaphysics. 322 BC, bk. 1, 980a.

Current Citation

Aristotle. Metaphysics. Penguin, 1999, bk. 1, 980a.

I think, therefore I am.

René Descartes

Discourse on Method

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Topic

Nature of man

Author

René Descartes

Source

Discourse on Method

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

French

Time

1637 1630s 17th century

Era

Age of Enlightenment

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Descartes, René. Discours de la Méthode Pour bien conduire sa raison, et chercher la vérité dans les sciences. 1637, pt. 4.

Current Citation

Descartes, René. Discourse on the Method. Translated by Ian Maclean. Oxford UP, 2008, pt. 4.

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

George Santayana

The Life of Reason

More information about this quote

Topic

Learning from the past History The past

Author

George Santayana

Source

The Life of Reason

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

English

Time

1905 1900s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Santayana, George. The Life of Reason: Introduction and Reason in Common Sense, edited by Marianne S. Wokeck and Martin A. Coleman. Vol. 7, The MIT Press, 2011, bk. 1, ch. 12. Originally published by Charles Scribner's Sons, 1905

Man is by nature a political animal.

Aristotle

Politics

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Topic

Politics Human nature

Author

Aristotle

Source

Politics

Genre

Political literature Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

350 BC 350s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 1

Original Citation

Aristotle. Politics. 350 BC, bk. 1, 1253a, l. 2-3.

Current Citation

Aristotle. Politics. Translated by Ernest Barker. Edited by R. F. Stalley. Oxford UP, 2009, bk.1, 1253a, l. 2-3.

I am condemned to be free.

Jean-Paul Sartre

Being and Nothingness

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Topic

Downsides of freedom Freedom

Author

Jean-Paul Sartre

Source

Being and Nothingness

Medium

Essay

Genre

Philosophical literature

Statement Type

Paradox

Language

French

Time

1943 1940s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Sartre, Jean Paul. Le etre et le neant: Essai d'ontologie phenomenologique [Being and Nothingness]. Editions Galllimard, 1943, pt. 4, ch. 1, sect. 1.

Current Citation

Sartre, Jean Paul. Being and Nothingness. Translated by Sarah Richmond. Washington Square P, 2021, pt. 4, ch. 1, sect. 1.

Nature abhors a vacuum.

Baruch Spinoza

Ethics

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Topic

Nature

Author

Baruch Spinoza

Source

Ethics

Medium

Treatise

Genre

Philosophical literature

Statement Type

Axioms and precepts

Language

Latin

Time

1677 1670s 17th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Spinoza, Baruch. Ethica, Ordine Geometrico Desmonstrata [Ethics]. 1677, pt. 1, prop. 15, note.

Current Citation

Spinoza, Benedict. Ethics. Translated by Michael Silverthorne and Matthew J. Kinser. Cambridge UP, 2018, pt. 1, prop. 15, note.

The true creator is necessity, who is the mother of our invention.

Socrates

Quoted in Republic, by Plato

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Topic

Creativity Innovation Invention

Speaker

Socrates

Author

Plato

Source

Republic

Medium

Philosophical dialogue Dialogue

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

375 BC 370s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Socrates. Quoted in Republic by Plato. Book 2, sect. 369c.

Current Citation

Plato. Republic. Translated by G. M. A. Grube, Revised by C. D. C. Reeve. Hackett Publishing, 1992, book 1, line 338c.

Democracy passes into despotism.

Socrates

Quoted in Republic, by Plato

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Topic

Political theory Democracy Tyranny Politics

Speaker

Socrates

Author

Plato

Source

Republic

Medium

Philosophical dialogue Dialogue

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

375 BC 370s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Socrates. Quoted in Republic. Written by Plato. 375 BC, 8, 562a.

Current Citation

Socrates. Quoted in Republic. Written by Plato. Translated by G. M. A Grube and C. D. C. Reeve. Hackett Publishing, 1992, 8, 562a.

For our discussion is about no ordinary matter, but on the right way to conduct our lives.

Socrates

Quoted in Republic, by Plato

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Topic

How to live Purpose of life

Speaker

Socrates

Author

Plato

Source

Republic

Medium

Philosophical dialogue Dialogue

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

375 BC 370s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Socrates. Quoted in Republic. Written by Plato. 375 BC, 1, 352d.

Current Citation

Socrates. Quoted in Republic. Written by Plato. Translated by G. M. A Grube and C. D. C. Reeve. Hackett Publishing, 1992, 1, 352d.

For the one thing even God cannot do is change the past.

Agathon

Quoted in The Nicomachean Ethics, by Aristotle

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Topic

God's power God Changing the past The past

Speaker

Agathon

Author

Aristotle

Source

The Nicomachean Ethics

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

5th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Agathon. Quoted in Nicomathean Ethics by Aristotle. 4th century BC, bk. 6, ch. 2, sect.5.

Current Citation

Agathon. Quoted in Nicomathean Ethics by Aristotle. Translated by Terence Irwin. Hackett Publishing Company, 2019, bk. 6, ch. 2, sect. 5.

One swallow does not make a spring.

Aristotle

The Nicomachean Ethics

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Topic

Jumping to conclusions Trends Patterns

Author

Aristotle

Source

The Nicomachean Ethics

Genre

Philosophical literature

Statement Type

Proverbs, aphorisms and adages Metaphor, analogy and simile

Language

Greek

Time

322 BC 320s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. 322 BC, bk 1, ch. 7, sect. 16.

Current Citation

Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics.Translated by Terence Irwin. Hackett Publishing, 2019, bk. 1, ch. 7, sect. 16.