Quotes about questioner
page 53

Matt Ridley photo
Eliphas Levi photo

“ALL religions have preserved the remembrance of a primitive book, written in hieroglyphs by the sages of the earliest epoch of the world. [...] The tradition in question rests altogether on the one dogma of Magic: the visible is for us the proportional measure of the invisible.”

Eliphas Levi (1810–1875) French writer

Miscellaneous Quotes On the Subjects of Magic and Magicians
Source: Friedrich Nietzsche, H.L. Mencken (Translator), The Anti-Christ, Chicago, Sharp Press, 1999, p. 144.</

Bruce Sterling photo

“When the People march in one direction, it only hurts to ask awkward questions.”

Source: Islands in the Net (1988), Chapter 4 (p. 109)

Daniel Dennett photo

“Solace, haven, fear, all of these are words which have created moods that one has learned to accept without ever questioning their value.”

Source: The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe], (1998), Quotations from "Tales of Power" (Chapter 10)

“There is a question that a warrior has to ask, mandatorily: Does this path have a heart?”

Source: The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe], (1998), Quotations from The Teachings of Don Juan (Chapter 4)

Isaac Asimov photo

“It is the nature of science that answers automatically pose new and more subtle questions.”

Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, known for his works of science fiction …

The Wellsprings of Life (1960), p. 141
General sources

Shashi Tharoor photo

“The limitation of the story to a single sequence and the essentially ad hoc nature of causal attributions call into question the whole procedure of using stories as evidence, and of thinking that they establish causality or patterns of reasons.”

Robyn Dawes (1936–2010) American psychologist

Source: Everyday Irrationality: How Pseudo-Scientists, Lunatics, and the Rest of Us Systematically Fail to Think Rationally (2001), Chapter 7, “Good Stories” (p. 113)

“There were things to do, people to see, questions to ask. Books to read.”

Genevieve Cogman (1972) novelist and game designer

Source: The Burning Page (2016), Chapter 27 (p. 354)

Zhou Enlai photo
Charles Fillmore photo
Judith Sheindlin photo

“There's just one person who's allowed to ask, or answer, rhetorical questions in my courtroom -- and that's me! Understand? No, don't answer! There you go again.”

Judith Sheindlin (1942) American lawyer, judge, television personality, and author

Source: Quotes From Judge Judy Cases, Dress, Stand, and/or Speak Properly

Wojciech Jaruzelski photo
Franz Liszt photo
Judith Sheindlin photo

“Did that sound like a rhetorical question? It wasn't. I want you to answer it, capisce? Now, THAT was a rhetorical question! See the difference?”

Judith Sheindlin (1942) American lawyer, judge, television personality, and author

Source: Quotes From Judge Judy Cases, Dress, Stand, and/or Speak Properly

Roger Scruton photo
John D. Bulkeley photo

“When you run into the enemy, you’ve got to attack, no question about it.”

John D. Bulkeley (1911–1996) United States Navy Medal of Honor recipient

Source: "‘Sea Wolf’ Bulkeley’s European Theater Exploits Heroic" in Naval History" https://www.navalhistory.org/2015/03/19/sea-wolf-bulkeleys-european-theater-exploits-heroic (1944)

Harry Gregson-Williams photo

“Looking at the hundred or so scores I have done you might question the choices, but in a lot of ways this business is about relationships.”

Harry Gregson-Williams (1961) British composer

Source: Composer Harry Gregson-Williams discusses Disney’s Mulan https://www.flickeringmyth.com/2020/09/exclusive-interview-composer-harry-gregson-williams-discusses-disneys-mulan/ (September 12, 2020)

Ego Boyo photo

“I am on a quest to make movies that question the established norm in Nigeria because I don’t think there should be an established norm, I think that it should be that we’re making all sorts of films telling authentic African stories.”

Ego Boyo (1968) Nigerian actress and movie producer

Source: https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2020/11/12/ego-boyo-i-want-to-make-movies-that-question-the-established-norm-in-nigeria/ Boyo talks about her movie, making grounds in the industry.

Peter Thiel photo

“... the phenomenon of serial entrepreneurship would seem to call into question our tendency to explain success as the product of chance.”

Source: https://books.google.com/books?id=Owc2nQEACAAJ&pg=PA59 p. 59
Zero to One (2014)

Peter Thiel photo
Nanfu Wang photo

“During filming, it never occurred to me that I was going to be a part of either film. I was always trying to cut my voice out by having subjects include my question in their answers.”

Nanfu Wang (1985) director and filmmaker

Source: "Hot Docs 2017 Interview: Nanfu Wang on “I Am Another You”" in Roger Ebert https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/hot-docs-2017-interview-nanfu-wang-on-i-am-another-you (3 May 2017)

Abdelmadjid Tebboune photo

“You can't question a people's history and you can't insult the Algerians.”

Abdelmadjid Tebboune (1945) Algerian politician, current President of Algeria

Source: Abdelmadjid Tebboune (2021) cited in: " "You Can’t Question a People’s History and You Can’t Insult the Algerians" https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/algerian-president-abdelmadjid-tebboune-you-can-t-question-a-people-s-history-and-you-can-t-insult-the-algerians-a-44033dcb-53b4-4660-8e24-44aff8756c2e" in SPIEGEL International, 9 November 2021.

“The question of who strikes first in a war is on the same level as who strikes first in a boxing contest.”

Francis Parker Yockey (1917–1960) American writer

Source: Imperium: The Philosophy of History and Politics (1948)

Arthur C. Clarke photo
Catherine Rowett photo

“Besides the ‘how many?’ question, Empedocles seems to be answering two other ancient questions: ‘How did the world come to be as it now is?’ and ‘How did it come to have the creatures that it now has?’. [...] His answers are subtle and intricate.”

Catherine Rowett (1956) Professor of Philosophy at the University of East Anglia (born 1956)

Source: Presocratic Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction (2004), Ch. 1 : Lost words, forgotten worlds

Ray Comfort photo

“Jesus is without question the most eloquent man who ever lived. Those who heard Him said, 'Never a man spoke like this Man.'”

Ray Comfort (1949) New Zealand-born Christian minister and evangelist

The most eloquent of philosophers sits at His feet and marvels at both His words and His life. To those who disagree, I would simply challenge you to read the Gospel of John, and see for yourself. Never did any man speak like this Man.
Source: You Can Lead an Atheist to Evidence, But You Can't Make Him Think (2009)

G. K. Chesterton photo
Laurence Tribe photo

“This book must... touch... deep and difficult questions about birth and death... life and its inception... sexuality and gender, about distribution of power.”

Laurence Tribe (1941) American lawyer and law school professor

Source: Abortion: The Clash of Absolutes (1990), Approaching Abortion Anew

Laurence Tribe photo

“The question whether individuals may insist on being heard by rulemakers, for whom they already (directly or indirectly) voted, has bedeviled administrative law since the turn of the century.”

Laurence Tribe (1941) American lawyer and law school professor

Constitutional Choices (1985), The Nature of the Enterprise, The Futile Search for Legitimacy

Laurence Tribe photo

“[A]ttempts to treat constitutional doctrine neutrally elide important questions and obscure available answers.”

Laurence Tribe (1941) American lawyer and law school professor

American Constitutional Law (1978), Preface to the First Edition

Mao Zedong photo

“Who are our enemies and who are our friends? This is the first and foremost question of a revolution and it is also the first and foremost question of the great Cultural Revolution.”

Mao Zedong (1893–1976) Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

1967
Directives Regarding the Cultural Revolution (1966-1972)

John Jude Palencar photo

“I like my creations to be thought-provoking and not have a narrative. Creating mystery and questions are key elements in my work.”

John Jude Palencar (1957) American artist

Source: Beauty and mystery: An interview with John Jude Palencar https://vadamagazine.com/entertainment/arts/john-jude-palencar (27 November, 2015)

Margaret Ball photo

“For once his years of teaching experience stood him in good stead; he was an old hand at sounding knowledgeable while dodging surprise questions from smart-breeched scholars.”

Margaret Ball (1515–1584) Lady Mayoress of Dublic and Catholic martyr

Source: Lost in Translation (1995), Chapter 8 (p. 150)

Dan Fante photo

“I felt the question was stupid so I didn't answer.”

Dan Fante (1944–2015) American writer

Source: Novels, Spitting off Tall Buildings (1996), Ch.6 - p.33 [Page numbers per the Canongate Books Ltd. 2001 UK paperback edition]

Zaman Ali photo
Zaman Ali photo
Edgar Guest photo
Gilbert O'Sullivan photo

“One minute you say you will
and the next you won't,
One minute you want me
and the next you don't,
You're turning me upside down,
Giving me the runaround,
Don't think that I don't know -
I do,
Don't think that I won't go.
You watch me:
It isn't out of question”

Gilbert O'Sullivan (1946) Irish singer-songwriter

"Out of the Question" (song)
Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Out of the Question" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV2E3q9rUXA (song on YouTube)
Song lyrics
Source: (+ Performed live, 2017.On YouTube) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oHVxoA5688

Cristina Lizardo photo

“I wish to say that the right to life is not a religious question, but rather a moral and juridical one, and that is a commandment from God.”

Cristina Lizardo (1959) Dominican Republic academic

Source: Dominicans rally against abortion https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/10559/dominicans-rally-against-abortion (3 October 2007)

Edgar Guest photo
Edgar Guest photo
Laurence Tribe photo
Michel Henry photo

“I want to reflect on one question: What are you doing to shape the minds and consciences of our young people today.”

Gilbert Garcera (1959) Roman Catholic archbishop

Source: Philippine archbishop goes undercover to check on parishes https://www.ucanews.com/news/philippine-archbishop-goes-undercover-to-check-on-parishes/79297 (24 May 2017)

“We have our gurus, we admire them – and with good reason. But they become in the end a source of laziness because we just accept them and we know the little we know of them without feeling the need either to pursue their work very thoroughly, or the need to question it.”

Ranulph Glanville (1946–2014) British cyberneticist (1946-2014)

Source: Ranulph Glanville, cited in Mick Ashby. " Time for Ethical Systems and Third Order Cyernetics https://vimeo.com/511633171," at ISSS, 6th februari 2021.

Larry Niven photo

“It takes a lot of people to hold civilization together; some of us are only here to ask the right questions.”

Foreword: Playgrounds for the Mind (p. 32)
Short fiction, N-Space (1990)

“Good journalism questions the land of a thousand taboos even at the risk of uncanny and disturbing findings.”

Source: "China’s Human Harvest and Illegal Organ Trade: Publish or Perish?" https://bitterwinter.org/a-universal-declaration-on-combating-and-preventing-forced-organ-harvesting/

Michael Swanwick photo

“The oracle-glass was maddeningly literal, capable of answering only the question one asked, rather than that which one wanted answered.”

Michael Swanwick (1950) American science fiction author

Source: Short fiction, King Dragon (2003), p. 6

“When I get asked the question, "When did you know you wanted to be a priest?," many times I say "This morning." Every day you have to wake up and say, “God, what are you calling me to do today?” The layers of lived experience is what brings us to an appreciation for what we’re called to do in that moment.”

Louis Tylka (1970) American Catholic bishop (born 1970)

Bishop Tylka shares hopes for ordination, explains motto in Catholic Post interview https://thecatholicpost.com/2020/07/16/bishop-tylka-shares-hopes-for-ordination-explains-motto-in-catholic-post-interview/ (16 July 2020)

Guy P. Harrison photo
David Suzuki photo

“The question is have we met our match?”

David Suzuki (1936) Canadian popular scientist and environmental activist

Fox Tales https://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/episodes/fox-tales (NOW STREAMING ON CBC GEM)
2018

A. C. Grayling photo

“Of all the questions we can ask ourselves the most important is: how is one best to live?”

A. C. Grayling (1949) English philosopher

Source: Life, Sex, and Ideas: The Good Life Without God (2002), “Introduction” (p. xi)

“If “media” is the plural of “medium” the question is: how many of them are fraudulent?”

Source: The Jagged Orbit (1969), Chapter 17 (p. 57; chapter title)

Thomas Jefferson photo
Enoch Powell photo

“Immigration was, and is, an issue. In my constituency it has for years been question number one, into which discussion of every other political topic—housing, health, benefits, employment—promptly turned.”

Enoch Powell (1912–1998) British politician

'Tories in the Wilderness', The Sunday Telegraph (18 October 1964), quoted in Paul Corthorn, Enoch Powell: Politics and Ideas in Modern Britain (2019), p. 79
1960s

Martin Luther King, Jr. photo

“Let us be practical and ask the question: How do we love our enemies?”

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) American clergyman, activist, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement

1950s, Loving Your Enemies (Christmas 1957)

Emmanuel Macron photo

“In the political debate we often ask ourselves the question of our identity. But our identity is never built on narrow-mindedness, or on first names or crampedness.”

Emmanuel Macron (1977) 25th President of the French Republic

Macron lashes out at Zemmour: “Our identity is not built on narrow-mindedness" https://palnws.be/2021/09/macron-haalt-uit-naar-zemmour-onze-identiteit-is-niet-gebouwd-op-bekrompenheid/
2017, 2021

Samuel Beckett photo
Hilary Putnam photo

“To require that all of these must be reducible to a single version is to make the mistake of supposing that 'Which are the real objects?' is a question that makes sense independently of our choice of concepts.”

Hilary Putnam (1926–2016) American philosopher

Lecture I: Is There Still Anything to Say about Reality and Truth?
The Many Faces of Realism (1987)

Ayaan Hirsi Ali photo

“In the madrassa, questions were not welcome; they were considered impertinent.”

Ayaan Hirsi Ali (1969) Dutch feminist, author

Source: 2010s, Nomad: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations (2010), Chapter 13, “Violence and the Closing of the Muslim Mind” (p. 186)

Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow photo

“I do not question the sincerity or the good intentions of those who feel that way.”

Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow (1887–1952) British politician, agriculturalist and colonial administrator (1887-1952)

10 January 1940, Speech at Orient Club, Bombay, also quoted in Speeches and Statements of the Marquess of Linlithgow, p. 229.

Benito Mussolini photo

“The Socialists, and I am still one, although an exasperated one, never brought forward the question of irredentism, but left it to the Republicans. We are in favour of a national war. But there are also reasons, purely socialist in character, which spur us on towards intervention.”

Benito Mussolini (1883–1945) Duce and President of the Council of Ministers of Italy. Leader of the National Fascist Party and subsequen…

“Mussolini the ‘Man of the War’” speech delivered at the Mazza, Parma (13 December 1914) p. 15
1920s, Mussolini as Revealed in his Political Speeches (November 1914—August 1923) (1923)

Kim Stanley Robinson photo
Teal Swan photo
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington photo
Igor Girkin photo

“Thus, it will be necessary to try and defeat the enemy in field battles. And, excuse me, with whom, and with what?! If so far not even the partial mobilisation has been carried out?! No one is giving clear answers to these questions. Simply because there aren't any.”

Igor Girkin (1970) Russian citizen from Moscow who played a significant role in the War in Donbass

"'It's meaningless to hope for victory': Top Russian ex-spy turned influencer warns Putin's offensive in Eastern Ukraine is going 'very bad', troops will suffer 'huge losses' while their leadership leaves 'much to be desired'" https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10836379/Ukraine-war-Ex-Russian-commander-says-meaningless-hope-victory-Donbas.html, Daily Mail, 20 May 2022
About the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

Fang Mao-hung photo

“The entire military is loyal to the nation, loyal to the constitution and executes orders in accordance with the law. This must not be questioned.”

Fang Mao-hung (1963)

Source: Fang Mao-hung (2021) cited in " ‘Begonia’ map on military insignia must go: legislator http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aipl/201810300006.aspx" on Taipei Times, 14 December 2021.

Idegu Ojonugwa Shadrach photo
Jonas Salk photo
Richard Feynman photo
Zafar Mirzo photo
Zafar Mirzo photo
William Shakespeare photo

“To be, or not to be, that is the question”

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) English playwright and poet

Source: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/56965/speech-to-be-or-not-to-be-that-is-the-question

Prevale photo

“Those who know they are worth... always question themselves.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

Original: Chi sa di valere... si mette sempre in discussione.
Source: prevale.net

Teal Swan photo
Jaromír Jágr photo
Friedrich Nietzsche photo
This quote waiting for review.
Prevale photo

“People and their insistent questions, often are the main malaise of an individual. Learn to attach little importance to their annoying habit.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

Original: Le persone e le loro insistenti domande, spesso sono il principale malessere di un individuo. Imparate ad attribuire poca importanza alla loro fastidiosa abitudine.
Source: prevale.net

Prevale photo

“Life can change the questions it wants. You will always be my answers.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

Original: La vita può cambiarmi le domande che vuole. Tu sarai sempre le mie risposte.
Source: prevale.net