Jean-François Lyotard (1924–1998) French philosopher
Source: The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge (1977), p.xxv
The Law of Mind (1892)
Jean-François Lyotard (1924–1998) French philosopher
Source: The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge (1977), p.xxv
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) Israeli politician, Zionist leader, prime minister of Israel
Written statement (June 1919), as quoted in Time magazine (24 July 2006)
Context: Everybody sees a difficulty in the question of relations between Arabs and Jews. But not everybody sees that there is no solution to this question. No solution! There is a gulf, and nothing can bridge it… We, as a nation, want this country to be ours; the Arabs, as a nation, want this country to be theirs.
“The most important question a human being has to face… What is it? The question, Why are we here?”
Elie Wiesel (1928–2016) writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor
"“Why Are We Here?”, in The Watchtower (2006) http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2006768?q=Elie+Wiesel&p=par
“It begs the question, who are we here to represent?”
Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America
Senate Votes to Block Expanded Background Checks for Gun Sales (17 April 2013)
2013
Context: I've heard some say that blocking this step would be a victory. And my question is, a victory for who? A victory for what? All that happened today was the preservation of the loophole that lets dangerous criminals buy guns without a background check. That didn't make our kids safer. Victory for not doing something that 90 percent of Americans, 80 percent of Republicans, the vast majority of your constituents wanted to get done? It begs the question, who are we here to represent? I've heard folks say that having the families of victims lobby for this legislation was somehow misplaced. "A prop," somebody called them. "Emotional blackmail," some outlet said. Are they serious? Do we really think that thousands of families whose lives have been shattered by gun violence don't have a right to weigh in on this issue? Do we think their emotions, their loss is not relevant to this debate? So all in all, this was a pretty shameful day for Washington. But this effort is not over. I want to make it clear to the American people we can still bring about meaningful changes that reduce gun violence, so long as the American people don't give up on it.
What is Knowledge? (1971)
Steve Stewart-Williams (1971)
Source: Darwin, God and the Meaning of Life: How Evolutionary Theory Undermines Everything You Think You Know (2010), p. 1
“We question most of the mantras around here periodically, in case you hadn't noticed.”
Larry Wall (1954) American computer programmer and author, creator of Perl
[199705101952.MAA00756@wall.org, 1997]
Usenet postings, 1997
“Not here to worship what is known, but to question it.”
Jacob Bronowski (1908–1974) Polish-born British mathematician