philosophy

"Ghosts, unshriven souls, psychological hang-ups — they all exist in the mind to put people through hell — they're just different ways of looking at a given situation."

"It would seem that in Paine's view the code of government should be that of the legendary King Pausole, who prescribed but two laws for his subjects, the first being, Hurt no man, and the second, Then…"

"That Mussolini chose Gentile to author the philosophical portion of Fascism’s official doctrine provides evidence of the confidence Fascists entertained with respect to Gentile’s thought."

"The body of the atmosphere is full of infinite radiating pyramids produced by the objects existing in it. These intersect and cross each other with independent convergence without interfering with eac…"

"The question of whether or not, when you see something, you see only the light or you see the thing you're looking at, is one of those dopey philosophical things that an ordinary person has no difficu…"

"When I stopped eating meat, I noticed that it was easier for me to focus, and I was really proud of myself for being green also. … I had a plethora of reasons for going vegetarian. I was eating meat a…"

"Even in this world more things exist without our knowledge than with it and the order in creation which you see is that which you have put there, like a string in a maze, so that you shall not lose yo…"

"Michelangelo worked from within. He described not the excitements of touching or seeing a man but the excitement of being Man."

"Assembled in a crowd, people lose their powers of reasoning and their capacity for moral choice."

"Barack Obama being young, handsome and sun-tanned is going to get along with you swimmingly."

"Dionysius the Elder, being asked whether he was at leisure, he replied, "God forbid that it should ever befall me!"

"All those agonizing philosophical-theological conundrums amount to "Ask a silly question, get a silly answer."

"Caesar was a reserved, disbelieving, obdurate man, and Cleopatra had conquered him by loving him for what others found repellent. ‘In you, Caesar,’ she told him, ‘I have something that, being not swee…"

"Some people in our country seem more concerned about respecting the dignity and privacy of criminals and terrorists than they are about having an airport full of people obliterated, or a completely bo…"

"It’s not just how they feel about it, but what it feels like to wear. It’s not a comfortable process to go through, on a daily basis, and actors will often complain about how I torture them and stuff.…"

"When it is another human being who is being... objectified, everybody can clearly see the act as a crime. But when we objectify the natural world, turning it into a dead or stupid thing, we have anoth…"

"Did the National Socialists or Hitler perhaps commit an ‘Asiatic’ deed merely because they and their ilk considered themselves to be potential victims of an Asiatic’ deed? Was the Gulag Archipelago no…"

"I'm used to being in the minority. I'm a left-handed gay Jew. I've never felt, automatically, a member of any majority."

"Isn't it great that I evoke a reaction from people? Whether it is good or bad is secondary. The thing is that I like being myself. I find it very tiresome to put up a fake smile, say the right things,…"

"The King's colours were white and black, which he always wore in honour of the Duchess of Valentinois, who was a widow. The Duke of Ferrara and his retinue had yellow and red. Monsieur de Guise's carn…"