Philosophy Bits
@philosophybits.com
A collection of fine philosophical and literary quotations. Curated by @suliqyre.com
philosophybits.com
philosophybits.com
“Irony limits, finitizes, and circumscribes and thereby yields truth, actuality, content; it disciplines and punishes and thereby yields balance and consistency.”
— Søren Kierkegaard, The Concept of Irony
— Søren Kierkegaard, The Concept of Irony
December 26, 2025 at 8:39 PM
“Irony limits, finitizes, and circumscribes and thereby yields truth, actuality, content; it disciplines and punishes and thereby yields balance and consistency.”
— Søren Kierkegaard, The Concept of Irony
— Søren Kierkegaard, The Concept of Irony
Reposted by Philosophy Bits
“You obscure your “I” by speaking in a voice that pretends to come from nowhere. “The sky is blue,” you say. There is no “I” here. Your sentence claims to report an observation about the world with no reference to an observer.”
December 26, 2025 at 7:00 PM
“You obscure your “I” by speaking in a voice that pretends to come from nowhere. “The sky is blue,” you say. There is no “I” here. Your sentence claims to report an observation about the world with no reference to an observer.”
“It is easier to throw a hundred men, ninety-seven of whom are innocent, into prison, than to discover the three culprits who are hidden among them... That is why it is incumbent upon ethics not to follow the line of least resistance;
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December 26, 2025 at 5:42 PM
“It is easier to throw a hundred men, ninety-seven of whom are innocent, into prison, than to discover the three culprits who are hidden among them... That is why it is incumbent upon ethics not to follow the line of least resistance;
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“It is certain that we cannot escape anguish, for we are anguish.”
— Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness
— Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness
December 26, 2025 at 2:01 AM
“It is certain that we cannot escape anguish, for we are anguish.”
— Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness
— Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness
“In democratic countries, the most important private organizations are economic. Unlike secret societies, they are able to exercise their terrorism without illegality, since they do not threaten to kill their enemies, but only to starve them.”
— Bertrand Russell, Power: A New Social Analysis
— Bertrand Russell, Power: A New Social Analysis
December 25, 2025 at 9:52 PM
“In democratic countries, the most important private organizations are economic. Unlike secret societies, they are able to exercise their terrorism without illegality, since they do not threaten to kill their enemies, but only to starve them.”
— Bertrand Russell, Power: A New Social Analysis
— Bertrand Russell, Power: A New Social Analysis
Reposted by Philosophy Bits
“An artwork usually does not come with an announcement or declaration that it is complete. The audience assumes the work must be complete because it is on display. But what if someone were to show a work that was purposely unfinished?”
December 25, 2025 at 7:12 PM
“An artwork usually does not come with an announcement or declaration that it is complete. The audience assumes the work must be complete because it is on display. But what if someone were to show a work that was purposely unfinished?”
“As a remedy to life in society, I would suggest the big city. Nowadays, it is the only desert within our means. Here, the body has lost its magic. It is covered over, and hidden under shapeless skins.
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December 25, 2025 at 4:44 PM
“As a remedy to life in society, I would suggest the big city. Nowadays, it is the only desert within our means. Here, the body has lost its magic. It is covered over, and hidden under shapeless skins.
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“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”
— William James, “Letter to Helen Keller, 1908”
— William James, “Letter to Helen Keller, 1908”
December 25, 2025 at 3:16 AM
“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”
— William James, “Letter to Helen Keller, 1908”
— William James, “Letter to Helen Keller, 1908”
“The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name.”
— Laozi, Daodejing, Feng & English tr. (Ch 1)
— Laozi, Daodejing, Feng & English tr. (Ch 1)
December 24, 2025 at 8:59 PM
“The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name.”
— Laozi, Daodejing, Feng & English tr. (Ch 1)
— Laozi, Daodejing, Feng & English tr. (Ch 1)
Reposted by Philosophy Bits
“The most important thing is not to give up. You have to keep observing, absorbing everything that happens, leaving nothing out. You have to keep asking questions and pushing your investigation of yourself and the world further, without end.”
December 24, 2025 at 7:36 PM
“The most important thing is not to give up. You have to keep observing, absorbing everything that happens, leaving nothing out. You have to keep asking questions and pushing your investigation of yourself and the world further, without end.”
“One who is truly a man should stop thinking about how long he will live. He should not be attached to life but should commit these concerns to the god and believe the women who say that not one single person can escape fate.
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December 24, 2025 at 6:10 PM
“One who is truly a man should stop thinking about how long he will live. He should not be attached to life but should commit these concerns to the god and believe the women who say that not one single person can escape fate.
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“If you do not desire many things, a little will seem much to you; for small desires make poverty as strong as wealth.”
— Democritus, Fragments, B284
— Democritus, Fragments, B284
December 24, 2025 at 5:23 AM
“If you do not desire many things, a little will seem much to you; for small desires make poverty as strong as wealth.”
— Democritus, Fragments, B284
— Democritus, Fragments, B284
Reposted by Philosophy Bits
“Remembering is like constructing and then traveling again through a space. We are already talking about architecture. Memories are built as a city is built.”
— Umberto Eco, "Architecture and Memory"
— Umberto Eco, "Architecture and Memory"
December 23, 2025 at 11:38 PM
“Remembering is like constructing and then traveling again through a space. We are already talking about architecture. Memories are built as a city is built.”
— Umberto Eco, "Architecture and Memory"
— Umberto Eco, "Architecture and Memory"
“Not everything can be told in words, certain things it's better never to tell.”
— Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Adolescent
— Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Adolescent
December 23, 2025 at 8:08 PM
“Not everything can be told in words, certain things it's better never to tell.”
— Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Adolescent
— Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Adolescent
Reposted by Philosophy Bits
“Our new awareness reveals that the distinctions between living beings are not nearly as clear or final as they might seem. The suffering that exists in others is also our suffering, and it can cause us to feel just as much anguish as our own attachments.”
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240. The Necessity Of Compassion
Compassionate action can be difficult and demanding, so it’s reasonable to wonder why we should want to become more compassionate. From the perspective of ordinary self-interest, perhaps the answer is...
suliqyre.com
December 23, 2025 at 7:02 PM
“Our new awareness reveals that the distinctions between living beings are not nearly as clear or final as they might seem. The suffering that exists in others is also our suffering, and it can cause us to feel just as much anguish as our own attachments.”
Read more:
suliqyre.com/posts/the-ne...
Read more:
suliqyre.com/posts/the-ne...
“Upon this first rule of reason, that in order to learn you must desire to learn, and in so desiring not be satisfied with what you already incline to think, there follows one corollary ... : Do not block the way of inquiry.”
— Charles Sanders Peirce, Collected Papers
— Charles Sanders Peirce, Collected Papers
December 23, 2025 at 4:36 PM
“Upon this first rule of reason, that in order to learn you must desire to learn, and in so desiring not be satisfied with what you already incline to think, there follows one corollary ... : Do not block the way of inquiry.”
— Charles Sanders Peirce, Collected Papers
— Charles Sanders Peirce, Collected Papers
“One act of deceit begets many others, and soon the whole ghastly construction, which is founded in the air, comes tumbling down.”
— Baltasar Gracián, The Art of Worldly Wisdom
— Baltasar Gracián, The Art of Worldly Wisdom
December 23, 2025 at 2:55 AM
“One act of deceit begets many others, and soon the whole ghastly construction, which is founded in the air, comes tumbling down.”
— Baltasar Gracián, The Art of Worldly Wisdom
— Baltasar Gracián, The Art of Worldly Wisdom
Reposted by Philosophy Bits
“I truly cannot understand the language of my former heart. Who was that person? Petulant, hardly aware … not yet conscious of the transformation she had already undergone.
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December 23, 2025 at 12:05 AM
“I truly cannot understand the language of my former heart. Who was that person? Petulant, hardly aware … not yet conscious of the transformation she had already undergone.
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“We are yet, as a people, only half free. The promise of liberty remains unfulfilled.”
— Frederick Douglass, "Southern Barbarism (1886)"
— Frederick Douglass, "Southern Barbarism (1886)"
December 22, 2025 at 8:50 PM
“We are yet, as a people, only half free. The promise of liberty remains unfulfilled.”
— Frederick Douglass, "Southern Barbarism (1886)"
— Frederick Douglass, "Southern Barbarism (1886)"
Reposted by Philosophy Bits
“Art shows us possibilities — ways of being and feeling and living that are different from our own. It shows us through photographs and films, through plays and performances, through songs and poetry. It shows us that it's possible for us to be and say and do things we did not think achievable.”
239. Finding Courage
When you see an injustice happening, you might not have the courage to speak up. The personal risk of saying something can feel too great and you don’t want to deal with the backlash. In some cases, w...
suliqyre.com
December 22, 2025 at 6:21 PM
“Art shows us possibilities — ways of being and feeling and living that are different from our own. It shows us through photographs and films, through plays and performances, through songs and poetry. It shows us that it's possible for us to be and say and do things we did not think achievable.”
“For every person there should be enough room, enough freedom to plan the use of one's time, the opportunity to reach ever higher levels of attention, some solitude, some silence.
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December 22, 2025 at 5:07 PM
“For every person there should be enough room, enough freedom to plan the use of one's time, the opportunity to reach ever higher levels of attention, some solitude, some silence.
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“Love is the final purpose of world history — the unum of the universe.”
— Novalis, General Draft
— Novalis, General Draft
December 22, 2025 at 3:27 AM
“Love is the final purpose of world history — the unum of the universe.”
— Novalis, General Draft
— Novalis, General Draft
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“The divine eternal fullness of life can be gained only by those who have deliberately lost the partial, separative life of craving and self-interest, of egocentric thinking, feeling, wishing and acting.”
— Aldous Huxley, The Perennial Philosophy
— Aldous Huxley, The Perennial Philosophy
December 22, 2025 at 12:12 AM
“The divine eternal fullness of life can be gained only by those who have deliberately lost the partial, separative life of craving and self-interest, of egocentric thinking, feeling, wishing and acting.”
— Aldous Huxley, The Perennial Philosophy
— Aldous Huxley, The Perennial Philosophy
“To him who has thought a great deal every new thought he hears or reads at once appears in the form of a link in a chain.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche, Assorted Opinions and Maxims
— Friedrich Nietzsche, Assorted Opinions and Maxims
December 21, 2025 at 8:09 PM
“To him who has thought a great deal every new thought he hears or reads at once appears in the form of a link in a chain.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche, Assorted Opinions and Maxims
— Friedrich Nietzsche, Assorted Opinions and Maxims
Reposted by Philosophy Bits
“If we cannot even agree on what is a fact or what is true, then we might not be able to make any progress. Here, it can feel like we're living in two different realities. It can feel like I cannot bring you to see the world as I do and you cannot bring me to see it as you do.”
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“Our Shared Reality”, etc. (236-240)
A shared reality is not guaranteed, but rather something we must continuously create with others.
suliqyre.substack.com
December 17, 2025 at 8:14 PM
“If we cannot even agree on what is a fact or what is true, then we might not be able to make any progress. Here, it can feel like we're living in two different realities. It can feel like I cannot bring you to see the world as I do and you cannot bring me to see it as you do.”
Read more:
Read more: