“Most human activities are predicated on the assumption that life goes on. If you take that premise away, what is there left?”

“If that is what this world is, what humans are… There is no future. Understanding and faith… If you take those away, all that's left is fear. I can't accept immoral methods or giving up.”

“What sweetness is left in life, if you take away friendship? Robbing life of friendship is like robbing the world of the sun. A true friend is more to be esteemed than kinsfolk.”

“Oh, my friend, it's not what they take away from you that counts. It's what you do with what you have left.”

“Philosophy ought to question the basic assumptions of the age. Thinking through, critically and carefully, what most of us take for granted is, I believe, the chief task of philosophy, and the task that makes philosophy a worthwhile activity.”

“Questioning the ostensibly unquestionable premises of our way of life is arguably the most urgent of services we owe our fellow humans and ourselves.”

“Did you love well what you very soon left? Come home and take me in your arms and take away this stomach ache, headache, heartache.”

“Art’s true purpose is to be human as opposed to some rarefied activity set away from real life. I think art should help you to navigate the real challenges of being a human being.”

“For if we allow that human life is always guided by reason, we destroy the premise that life is possible at all.”

“There are no classes in life for beginners: right away you are always asked to deal with what is most difficult.”