PHILOSOPHY

Dear friends, the clock of life is wound-but once, every one of us, unconsciously, works out a personal philosophy of life, by which we are guided, inspired, and corrected, as time goes on. It is this philosophy by which we measure out our days, and by which we advertise to all about us the man, or woman, that we are. . . . It takes but a brief time to scent the life philosophy of anyone. It is defined in the conversation, in the look of the eye, and in the general mien of the person. It has no hiding place. It's like the perfume of the flower — unseen, but known almost instantly. It is the possession of the successful, and the happy. And it can be greatly embellished by the absorption of ideas and experiences of the useful of this earth.

I this section i would like to share my thoughts with you which i am generally not able to do in person because you can never make out that the other person is having a philosophical bent of mind or not.

Here are some quotations and hard truths about life laid down by master philosophers. I admire Asimov and Tolstoy. So the philosophy that they have written i.e. "Naked hard truths of life" takes the honour of being my favorite.

Philosophy: unintelligible answers to insoluble problems.

Henry BrooksAdams

On the Analyticity of Mathematics — Philosophy

Some interesting philosophical quotes:

Histories, poets, mathematics, philosophy. . .

Histories make men wise; poets, witty; the mathematics, subtle; natural philosophy, deep; moral, grave; logic and rhetoric, able to contend.

Sir FrancisBacon

philosophy

It is true, that a little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion.

Sir FrancisBacon

The philosopher is like a man fasting in the midst of universal intoxication. He alone perceives the illusion of which all creatures are the willing playthings; he is less duped than his neighbor by his own nature. He judges more sanely, he sees things as they are. It is in this that his liberty consists -- in the ability to see clearly and soberly, in the power of mental record.
Henri Frederic Amiel
1821-1881, Swiss Philosopher, Poet, Critic

Because philosophy arises from awe, a philosopher is bound in his way to be a lover of myths and poetic fables. Poets and philosophers are alike in being big with wonder.
St. Thomas Aquinas
1225-1274, Italian Scholastic Philosopher and Theologian

The traditional disputes of philosophers are, for the most part, as unwarranted as they are unfruitful.
Sir Alfred Jules Ayer
1910-1989, British Philosopher

We are much beholden to Machiavel and others, that write what men do, and not what they ought to do.
Francis Bacon
1561-1626, British Philosopher, Essayist, Statesman

In it he proves that all things are true and states how the truths of all contradictions may be reconciled physically, such as for example that white is black and black is white; that one can be and not be at the same time; that there can be hills without valleys; that nothingness is something and that everything, which is, is not. But take note that he proves all these unheard-of paradoxes without any fallacious or sophistical reasoning.
Savinien Cyrano De Bergerac
1619-1655, French Satirist, Playwright

What is mind? No matter. What is matter? Never mind.
George Berkeley
1685-1753, Irish-born British Bishop, Philosopher
All are lunatics, but he who can analyze his delusion is called a philosopher.
Ambrose Bierce
 

Its not that philosophy is always boring (at least will be never for me in any form), some witty and the whackiest of quotes

• "How do you know my dimwitted inexperience isn't really a subtle form of manipulation used to lower peoples expectations, thereby enhancing my ability to maneuver myself within any given situation?"

• "Tomorrow's not just tomorrow. It's like the future, y'know?" 

• "Evil will always prevail, because good is dumb."

• "Having is not so pleasing a thing as wanting." -- Star Trek

• "Do or do not; there is no try." 

• "Winning without dignity or grace is not winning."

• "Either you define the moment or the moment defines you."

• "People are always telling you that change is a good thing, but what they're really saying is that something that you didn't want to happen just happened." 

• "Losers always whine about their best. Winners go home and f*** the prom queen."

A deadline is negative inspiration. Still, it's better than no inspiration at all.
Rita Mae Brown

Hope is the dream of the waking man.
Aristotle

The courage to imagine the otherwise is our greatest resource.
Daniel J. Boorstin

You ask me where I get my ideas. That I cannot tell you with certainty. They come unsummoned, directly, indirectly - I could seize them with my hands - out in open air, in the woods, while walking, in the silence of the nights, at dawn, excited by moods which are translated by the poet into words, by me into tunes that sound and roar and storm about me till I have set them down in notes.
Ludwig van Beethoven

First, have a definite, clear practical ideal; a goal, an objective. Second, have the necessary means to achieve your ends; wisdom, money, materials, and methods. Third, adjust all your means to that end.
Aristotle

Reflect upon your present blessings - of which every man has many - not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.
Charles Dickens

Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.
Thomas Alva Edison

The torpid artist seeks inspiration at any cost, by virtue or by vice, by friend or by fiend, by prayer or by wine.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

We should always pray for help, but we should always listen for inspiration and impression to proceed in ways different from those we may have thought of.
John H. Groberg

In building a firm foundation for success, here are a few stones to remember: 1. The wisdom of preparation. 2. The value of confidence. 3. The worth of honesty. 4. The privilege of working. 5. The discipline of struggle. 6. The magnetism of character. 7. The radiance of health. 8. The forcefulness of simplicity. 9. The winsomeness of courtesy. 10. The attractiveness of modesty. 11. The inspiration of cleanliness. 12. The satisfaction of serving. 13. The power of suggestion. 14. The buoyancy of enthusiasm. 15. The advantage of initiative. 16. The virtue of patience. 17. The rewards of cooperation. 18. The fruitfulness of perseverance. 19. The sportsmanship of losing. 20. The joy of winning.
Rollo C. Hester

They who lack talent expect things to happen without effort. They ascribe failure to a lack of inspiration or ability, or to misfortune, rather than to insufficient application. At the core of every true talent there is an awareness of the difficulties inherent in any achievement, and the confidence that by persistence and patience something worthwhile will be realized. Thus talent is a species of vigor.
Eric Hoffer

We live by encouragement and die without it - slowly, sadly, angrily.
Celeste Holm

The supreme courage of life is the courage of the soul. It is living, day by day, sincerely, steadfastly, serenely, - despite all opinions, all obstacles, all opposition. It means the wine of inspiration from the crushed grapes of our sorrows. This courage makes the simplest life, great; it makes the greatest life - sublime. It means the royal dignity of fiine individual living.
William George Jordan

Life is simply time given to man to learn how to live. Mistakes are always part of learning. The real dignity of life consists in cultivating a fine attitude towards our own mistakes and those of others. It is the fine tolerance of a fine soul. Man becomes great, not through never making mistakes, but by profiting by those he does make; by being satisfied with a single rendition of a mistake not encoring it into a continuous performance; by getting from it the honey of new, regenerating inspiration with no irritating sting of morbid regret; by building better to-day because of his poor yesterday; and by rising with renewed strength, finer purpose and freshened courage every time he falls.
William George Jordan

The great composer…does not set to work because he is inspired, but becomes inspired because he is working. Beethoven, Wagner, Bach, and Mozart settled down day after day to the job in hand with as much regularity as an accountant settles down each day to his figures. They didn’t waste time waiting for inspiration.
Ernest Newman

Most of life is routine - dull and grubby. But routine is the momentum that keeps a man going. If you wait for inspiration you’ll be standing on the corner after the parade is a mile down the street.
Ben Nicholas

The miracle is this - the more we share, the more we have.
Leonard Nimoy

Books are the open avenues down which, like kings coming to be crowned, great ideas and inspirations move to the abbey of man’s soul. There are some people still left who understand perfectly what Fenelon meant when he said, "If the crowns of all the kingdoms of the empire were laid down at my feet in exchange for my books and my love of reading, I would spurn them all."
Ernest Dressel North