Johann Georg Hamann

"Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on Johann Georg Hamann"

"Through a vicious circle of pure reason skepsis itself becomes dogma."

"Being, belief and reason are pure relations, which cannot be dealt with absolutely, and are not things but pure scholastic concepts, signs for understanding, not for worshipping, aids to awaken our at…"

"Without language we would have no reason, without reason no religion, and without these three essential aspects of our nature, neither mind nor bond of society."

"Self knowledge begins with the neighbor, the mirror, and just the same with true self-love; that goes from the mirror to the matter."

"Few authors understand themselves, and a proper reader must not only understand his author but also be able to see beyond him."

"Let us assume that we invited an unknown person to a game of cards. If this person answered us, “I don’t play,” we would either interpret this to mean that he did not understand the game, or that he h…"

"Not only the entire ability to think rests on language... but language is also the crux of the misunderstanding of reason with itself."