Philosophy Bits
@philosophybits.com
A collection of fine philosophical and literary quotations. Curated by @suliqyre.com
philosophybits.com
philosophybits.com
“It is only when we think abstractly that we have such a high opinion of man.”
— Bertrand Russell, “Do We Survive Death?”
— Bertrand Russell, “Do We Survive Death?”
January 12, 2026 at 3:21 AM
“It is only when we think abstractly that we have such a high opinion of man.”
— Bertrand Russell, “Do We Survive Death?”
— Bertrand Russell, “Do We Survive Death?”
Reposted by Philosophy Bits
“It has been said that a specialist is a barbarian whose ignorance is not well-rounded.”
— Stanisław Lem, His Master’s Voice
— Stanisław Lem, His Master’s Voice
January 11, 2026 at 11:40 PM
“It has been said that a specialist is a barbarian whose ignorance is not well-rounded.”
— Stanisław Lem, His Master’s Voice
— Stanisław Lem, His Master’s Voice
“No conclusions can be more agreeable to scepticism than such as make discoveries concerning the weakness and narrow limits of human reason and capacity.”
— David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
— David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
January 11, 2026 at 9:09 PM
“No conclusions can be more agreeable to scepticism than such as make discoveries concerning the weakness and narrow limits of human reason and capacity.”
— David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
— David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
But when there is no objective there is no longer any common measure or proportion; no balance or comparison of alternatives is possible, and compromise is inconceivable.”
— Simone Weil, "The Power of Words"
— Simone Weil, "The Power of Words"
January 11, 2026 at 5:16 PM
But when there is no objective there is no longer any common measure or proportion; no balance or comparison of alternatives is possible, and compromise is inconceivable.”
— Simone Weil, "The Power of Words"
— Simone Weil, "The Power of Words"
“In any struggle for a well-defined stake each combatant can weigh the value of the stake against the probable cost of the struggle and decide how great an effort it justifies...
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January 11, 2026 at 5:16 PM
“In any struggle for a well-defined stake each combatant can weigh the value of the stake against the probable cost of the struggle and decide how great an effort it justifies...
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“Talent is perhaps nothing other than successfully sublimated rage.”
— Theodor W. Adorno, Minima Moralia
— Theodor W. Adorno, Minima Moralia
January 11, 2026 at 3:12 AM
“Talent is perhaps nothing other than successfully sublimated rage.”
— Theodor W. Adorno, Minima Moralia
— Theodor W. Adorno, Minima Moralia
“Self equals nonself — the highest principle of all learning and art.”
— Novalis, Logological Fragments I
— Novalis, Logological Fragments I
January 10, 2026 at 9:01 PM
“Self equals nonself — the highest principle of all learning and art.”
— Novalis, Logological Fragments I
— Novalis, Logological Fragments I
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“You're so in your head that you've stopped seeing the world around you, the world of other people, people like me. You're folding in on yourself, gradually closing down, and there looks to be no end to the process.”
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243. Folding In On Yourself
The weather looks calm and sunny, so I ask if you would like to join me for a walk. You tell me that you’re too busy right now, that you’re in the middle of working on something. I ask if you might ha...
suliqyre.com
January 10, 2026 at 6:57 PM
“You're so in your head that you've stopped seeing the world around you, the world of other people, people like me. You're folding in on yourself, gradually closing down, and there looks to be no end to the process.”
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Even those who are convinced that “it is right” must be in itself a sufficient reason for action may request an account of rightness which this conviction will survive.”
— Christine M. Korsgaard, The Sources of Normativity
— Christine M. Korsgaard, The Sources of Normativity
January 10, 2026 at 5:45 PM
Even those who are convinced that “it is right” must be in itself a sufficient reason for action may request an account of rightness which this conviction will survive.”
— Christine M. Korsgaard, The Sources of Normativity
— Christine M. Korsgaard, The Sources of Normativity
“Why should I be moral? This is not ... a misguided request for a demonstration that morality is in our interest (although that may be one answer to the question). It is a call for philosophy, the examination of life.
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January 10, 2026 at 5:45 PM
“Why should I be moral? This is not ... a misguided request for a demonstration that morality is in our interest (although that may be one answer to the question). It is a call for philosophy, the examination of life.
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“The appetites will rule if the mind is vacant.”
— Mary Wollstonecraft, “Letter to Henry Gabell (16 April 1787)”
— Mary Wollstonecraft, “Letter to Henry Gabell (16 April 1787)”
January 10, 2026 at 3:26 AM
“The appetites will rule if the mind is vacant.”
— Mary Wollstonecraft, “Letter to Henry Gabell (16 April 1787)”
— Mary Wollstonecraft, “Letter to Henry Gabell (16 April 1787)”
Reposted by Philosophy Bits
“Yes, what I’m writing you is nobody’s. And this nobody’s freedom is very dangerous. It is like the infinite that has the color of air.”
— Clarice Lispector, Água Viva
— Clarice Lispector, Água Viva
January 10, 2026 at 12:34 AM
“Yes, what I’m writing you is nobody’s. And this nobody’s freedom is very dangerous. It is like the infinite that has the color of air.”
— Clarice Lispector, Água Viva
— Clarice Lispector, Água Viva
“When you fully enter the realm of love, this broken world becomes rich and beautiful, and consists solely of opportunities for love.”
— Søren Kierkegaard, Works of Love
— Søren Kierkegaard, Works of Love
January 9, 2026 at 9:03 PM
“When you fully enter the realm of love, this broken world becomes rich and beautiful, and consists solely of opportunities for love.”
— Søren Kierkegaard, Works of Love
— Søren Kierkegaard, Works of Love
Reposted by Philosophy Bits
“Intuitions and feelings can temporarily alter the shape of your perspective, but they are not as stable or dominating as your attachments. The world is always the world as you see it, so the world is always showing you the structure of your own attachments.”
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242. The World Is You
Everywhere you look, you see yourself. You’re looking out at the world, but you’re seeing yourself reflected back at you. This happens because what you see depends on your perspective, and your perspe...
suliqyre.com
January 9, 2026 at 7:13 PM
“Intuitions and feelings can temporarily alter the shape of your perspective, but they are not as stable or dominating as your attachments. The world is always the world as you see it, so the world is always showing you the structure of your own attachments.”
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he will not wait patiently while things ripen; everything for him must provide some immediate gratification; and even his mental life must minister to his fleeting pleasures.”
— Karl Jaspers, Man in the Modern Age
— Karl Jaspers, Man in the Modern Age
January 9, 2026 at 5:39 PM
he will not wait patiently while things ripen; everything for him must provide some immediate gratification; and even his mental life must minister to his fleeting pleasures.”
— Karl Jaspers, Man in the Modern Age
— Karl Jaspers, Man in the Modern Age
“The mass-man has very little spare time, does not live a life that appertains to a whole, does not want to exert himself except for some concrete aim which can be expressed in terms of utility;
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January 9, 2026 at 5:39 PM
“The mass-man has very little spare time, does not live a life that appertains to a whole, does not want to exert himself except for some concrete aim which can be expressed in terms of utility;
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“The greatest minds are capable of the greatest vices as well as of the greatest virtues.”
— Rene Descartes, Discourse on the Method
— Rene Descartes, Discourse on the Method
January 9, 2026 at 2:13 AM
“The greatest minds are capable of the greatest vices as well as of the greatest virtues.”
— Rene Descartes, Discourse on the Method
— Rene Descartes, Discourse on the Method
Reposted by Philosophy Bits
“Something in the question necessarily exceeds the power of questioning; but this does not mean that there are too many secrets in the world that provoke questions: it is rather the contrary. […] In the profound question, impossibility questions.”
— Maurice Blanchot, The Infinite Conversation
— Maurice Blanchot, The Infinite Conversation
January 8, 2026 at 11:53 PM
“Something in the question necessarily exceeds the power of questioning; but this does not mean that there are too many secrets in the world that provoke questions: it is rather the contrary. […] In the profound question, impossibility questions.”
— Maurice Blanchot, The Infinite Conversation
— Maurice Blanchot, The Infinite Conversation
From Douglass's "The Significance of Emancipation in the West Indies (1857)"
January 8, 2026 at 8:44 PM
From Douglass's "The Significance of Emancipation in the West Indies (1857)"
“Power concedes nothing without a demand… Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice & wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both”
— Frederick Douglass
— Frederick Douglass
January 8, 2026 at 8:44 PM
“Power concedes nothing without a demand… Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice & wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both”
— Frederick Douglass
— Frederick Douglass
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“Compassion is always freely given when need is seen. It requires no merit, as it is neither a reward nor a punishment. It is, in fact, entirely orthogonal to the concept of deserving.”
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241. What We Deserve
When we do something helpful, we expect to be rewarded. When we do something harmful, we expect to be punished. We see these outcomes as what we deserve to be given from others. If we’re punished when...
suliqyre.com
January 8, 2026 at 6:44 PM
“Compassion is always freely given when need is seen. It requires no merit, as it is neither a reward nor a punishment. It is, in fact, entirely orthogonal to the concept of deserving.”
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“We should not allow into our minds the conviction that argumentation has nothing sound about it; much rather we should believe that it is we who are not yet sound and that we must take courage and be eager to attain soundness…”
— Plato, Phaedo
— Plato, Phaedo
January 8, 2026 at 5:02 PM
“We should not allow into our minds the conviction that argumentation has nothing sound about it; much rather we should believe that it is we who are not yet sound and that we must take courage and be eager to attain soundness…”
— Plato, Phaedo
— Plato, Phaedo
“The self is not something ready-made, but something in continuous formation through choice of action.”
— John Dewey, Democracy and Education
— John Dewey, Democracy and Education
January 8, 2026 at 2:41 AM
“The self is not something ready-made, but something in continuous formation through choice of action.”
— John Dewey, Democracy and Education
— John Dewey, Democracy and Education
Reposted by Philosophy Bits
“To see the world as possibility is to see yourself as possibility. So much is possible for you in this moment and in every moment. Freedom is possible, creativity is possible, joy is possible.”
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“What We Deserve”, etc. (241-245)
Compassion is always freely given when need is seen. It requires no merit, as it is neither a reward nor a punishment.
suliqyre.substack.com
January 7, 2026 at 8:16 PM
“To see the world as possibility is to see yourself as possibility. So much is possible for you in this moment and in every moment. Freedom is possible, creativity is possible, joy is possible.”
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Every time a new thought is gendered, so often must that new thought, which for the moment seems so brilliant and fascinating, be thrown aside as worthless.”
— Lev Shestov, All Things Are Possible
— Lev Shestov, All Things Are Possible
January 7, 2026 at 4:58 PM
Every time a new thought is gendered, so often must that new thought, which for the moment seems so brilliant and fascinating, be thrown aside as worthless.”
— Lev Shestov, All Things Are Possible
— Lev Shestov, All Things Are Possible