Simon Blackburn

"According to Confucianism, the ideal life contains a large dose of respect for traditional ways. All these ideals can be fleshed out and painted in more or less attractive colours. Yet there is someth…"

"But it is logically impossible that there could exist an 'unowned' dent, a dent without a surface that is dented."

"A signpost doesn't in and of itself represent the way to the village. We have to learn how to take it."

"The scientific world is to be less threatening than was feared. It is to be made safe for human beings. And the way to make it safe is to reflect on the foundation of knowledge."

"We think about what to do, and muster considerations and arguments in favor of one course or another. How are we to think about that?"

"It can seem an amazing fact that laws of nature keep on holding, that the frame of nature does not fall apart."

"Induction is the process of taking things within our experience to be representative of the world outside our experience. It is a process of projection or extrapolation."

"We can grieve over lost powers and memories, or rejoice over gained knowledge and maturity, according to taste."