„The true Enlightenment thinker, the true rationalist, never wants to talk anyone into anything. No, he does not even want to convince; all the time he is aware that he may be wrong.“
On Freedom (1958)
Context: The true Enlightenment thinker, the true rationalist, never wants to talk anyone into anything. No, he does not even want to convince; all the time he is aware that he may be wrong. Above all, he values the intellectual independence of others too highly to want to convince them in important matters. He would much rather invite contradiction, preferably in the form of rational and disciplined criticism. He seeks not to convince but to arouse — to challenge others to form free opinions.
Karl Popper78
Austrian-British philosopher of science 1902 - 1994Related quotes
„I never do anything I don't want to do. Nor does anyone, but in my case I am always aware of it.“
— Robert A. Heinlein, book Stranger in a Strange Land
Source: Stranger in a Strange Land
— Simone de Beauvoir, book The Ethics of Ambiguity
Conclusion
The Ethics of Ambiguity (1947)
Context: A conquest of this kind is never finished; the contingency remains, and, so that he may assert his will, man is even obliged to stir up in the world the outrage he does not want. But this element of failure is a very condition of his life; one can never dream of eliminating it without immediately dreaming of death. This does not mean that one should consent to failure, but rather one must consent to struggle against it without respite.
„Which perspective is true? he thought. Which do I want to be true?“
— Tim Powers, book Declare
Source: Declare (2001), Chapter 10 (p. 285)
— Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game hexalogy
Page 44
Ender's Game series, First Meetings in the Enderverse (2003), The Polish Boy
— N. K. Jemisin, book The Broken Kingdoms
Source: The Broken Kingdoms (2011), Chapter 5 “Family” (charcoal study) (p. 120)
„The true traveler is he who goes on foot, and even then, he sits down a lot of the time.“
— Colette 1873-1954 French novelist: wrote Gigi 1873 - 1954
Paris From My Window (1944)
— Karl Popper Austrian-British philosopher of science 1902 - 1994
"On Freedom" in All Life is Problem Solving (1999)
Context: When I speak of reason or rationalism, all I mean is the conviction that we can learn through criticism of our mistakes and errors, especially through criticism by others, and eventually also through self-criticism. A rationalist is simply someone for whom it is more important to learn than to be proved right; someone who is willing to learn from others — not by simply taking over another's opinions, but by gladly allowing others to criticize his ideas and by gladly criticizing the ideas of others. The emphasis here is on the idea of criticism or, to be more precise, critical discussion. The genuine rationalist does not think that he or anyone else is in possession of the truth; nor does he think that mere criticism as such helps us achieve new ideas. But he does think that, in the sphere of ideas, only critical discussion can help us sort the wheat from the chaff. He is well aware that acceptance or rejection of an idea is never a purely rational matter; but he thinks that only critical discussion can give us the maturity to see an idea from more and more sides and to make a correct judgement of it.
— Murray N. Rothbard, book An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought
On Adam Smith.
An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought (1995)
— Max Ernst German painter, sculptor and graphic artist 1891 - 1976
Quote from 'Max Ernst', exhibition catalogue, Galerie Stangl, Munich, 1967, U.S., pp.6-7, as cited in Edward Quinn, Max Ernst. 1984, Poligrafa, Barcelona. p. 12
1951 - 1976
— William Saroyan American writer 1908 - 1981
Sons Come and Go, Mothers Hang in Forever (1976)
Context: Jesus never said anything about absurdity, and he never indicated for one flash of time that he was aware of the preposterousness of his theory about himself. And he didn't even try to make the theory understandable in terms of the reality and experience of the rest of us. For if everybody else is also not what Jesus said he was, what good is what he said?
— Robert LeFevre American libertarian businessman 1911 - 1986
Source: A Way to Be Free: The Autobiography of Robert LeFevre, Volume I, (1999), p. 19
— Michael Moorcock, book The Knight of the Swords
Source: Book 3, Chapter 6 “The God Feasters” (p. 139), Corum, The Knight of the Swords (1971)
„Never say anything about yourself you don't want to come true“
— Brian Tracy American motivational speaker and writer 1944
— Friedrich Nietzsche, book Thus Spoke Zarathustra
Variant: The real man wants two different things: danger and play. Therefore he wants woman, as the most dangerous plaything.
Source: Thus Spoke Zarathustra