71 ideas
19608 | Wisdom is just the last gasp of a dying civilization [Cioran] |
19695 | The devil was wise as an angel, and lost no knowledge when he rebelled [Whitcomb] |
19629 | A nation gives expression to its sum of values, and is then exhausted [Cioran] |
19624 | Intelligence only fully flourishes at the end of a historical period [Cioran] |
19599 | Ideas are neutral, but people fill them with passion and weakness [Cioran] |
19631 | The history of ideas (and deeds) occurs in a meaningless environment [Cioran] |
19645 | Some thinkers would have been just as dynamic, no matter when they had lived [Cioran] |
19618 | I abandoned philosophy because it didn't acknowledge melancholy and human weakness [Cioran] |
19621 | Originality in philosophy is just the invention of terms [Cioran] |
19607 | The mind is superficial, only concerned with the arrangement of events, not their significance [Cioran] |
19638 | Metaphysics is a universalisation of physical anguish [Cioran] |
19620 | Great systems of philosophy are just brilliant tautologies [Cioran] |
20981 | What justifies reliance on reason? Is it just a tool? Why is it better than blind belief? [Sen] |
20982 | In politics and ethics, scrutiny from different perspectives is essential for objectivity [Sen] |
19630 | No great idea ever emerged from a dialogue [Cioran] |
19636 | Truth is just an error insufficiently experienced [Cioran] |
19642 | Eventually every 'truth' is guaranteed by the police [Cioran] |
19632 | An axiom has no more authority than a frenzy [Cioran] |
19626 | Our instincts had to be blunted and diminished, to make way for consciousness! [Cioran] |
20990 | Rationality is conformity to reasons that can be sustained even after scrutiny [Sen] |
19633 | We use concepts to master our fears; saying 'death' releases us from confronting it [Cioran] |
19615 | I want to suppress in myself the normal reasons people have for action [Cioran] |
19628 | At a civilisation's peak values are all that matters, and people unconsciously live by them [Cioran] |
19646 | Values don't accumulate; they are ruthlessly replaced [Cioran] |
19614 | Lovers are hateful, apart from their hovering awareness of death [Cioran] |
21005 | A human right is not plausible if public scrutiny might reject it [Sen] |
19634 | Man is never himself; he always aims at less than life, or more than life [Cioran] |
19619 | To live authentically, we must see that philosophy is totally useless [Cioran] |
19622 | The pointlessness of our motives and irrelevance of our gestures reveals our vacuity [Cioran] |
19617 | Evidence suggests that humans do not have a purpose [Cioran] |
19612 | The universe is dirty and fragile, as if a scandal in nothingness had produced its matter [Cioran] |
19604 | Unlike other creatures, mankind seems lost in nature [Cioran] |
19606 | We can only live because our imagination and memory are poor [Cioran] |
19601 | Life is now more dreaded than death [Cioran] |
19640 | No one is brave enough to say they don't want to do anything; we despise such a view [Cioran] |
19602 | You are stuck in the past if you don't know boredom [Cioran] |
19644 | History is the bloody rejection of boredom [Cioran] |
19641 | If you lack beliefs, boredom is your martyrdom [Cioran] |
20983 | The original position insures that the agreements reached are fair [Sen] |
20987 | The veil of ignorance encourages neutral interests, but not a wider view of values [Sen] |
19613 | It is pointless to refuse or accept the social order; we must endure it like the weather [Cioran] |
20984 | A social contract limits the pursuit of justice to members of a single society [Sen] |
20986 | A person's voice may count because of their interests, or because of their good sense [Sen] |
19627 | Opportunists can save a nation, and heroes can ruin it [Cioran] |
21001 | Famines tend to be caused by authoritarian rule [Sen] |
21002 | Effective democracy needs tolerant values [Sen] |
20999 | Democracy as 'government by discussion' now has wide support [Sen] |
20979 | Democracy needs more than some institutions; diverse sections of the people must be heard [Sen] |
20993 | Eradicating smallpox does not impoverish nature [Sen] |
20995 | Capabilities are part of freedom, involving real opportunities [Sen] |
20998 | Freedom can involve capabilities, independence and non-interference [Sen] |
20997 | The need for equality among people arises from impartiality and objectivity [Sen] |
20996 | All modern theories of justice demand equality of something [Sen] |
20988 | Freedom from torture or terrorist attacks is independent of citizenship [Sen] |
20980 | You don't need a complete theory of justice to see that slavery is wrong [Sen] |
20978 | Practical justice concerns not only ideals, but ways to achieve them [Sen] |
20985 | Our institutions should promote justice, rather than embodying it [Sen] |
20994 | We must focus on removing manifest injustice, not just try to design a perfect society [Sen] |
21000 | If justice needs public reasoning, which needs democracy, then justice and democracy are linked [Sen] |
19625 | The ideal is to impose a religion by force, and then live in doubt about its beliefs [Cioran] |
19605 | Despite endless suggestions, no one has found a goal for history [Cioran] |
19637 | History is wonderfully devoid of meaning [Cioran] |
19610 | Religions see suicide as insubordination [Cioran] |
19611 | No one has ever found a good argument against suicide [Cioran] |
19609 | If you have not contemplated suicide, you are a miserable worm [Cioran] |
19639 | We all need sexual secrets! [Cioran] |
19603 | Why is God so boring, and why does God resemble humanity so little? [Cioran] |
19616 | As the perfect wisdom of detachment, philosophy offers no rivals to Taoism [Cioran] |
19600 | When man abandons religion, he then follows new fake gods and mythologies [Cioran] |
19643 | A religion needs to motivate killings, and cannot tolerate rivals [Cioran] |
19623 | Circles of hell are ridiculous; all that matters is to be there [Cioran] |