Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested: that is, some books are to be read only in parts, others to be read, but not curiously, and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.
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The affairs of life embrace a multitude of interests, and he who reasons in any one of them, without consulting read more
The affairs of life embrace a multitude of interests, and he who reasons in any one of them, without consulting the rest, is a visionary unsuited to control the business of the world.
The process of evolution may be described as differentiation of structure and integration of function. The more differentiated and specialized read more
The process of evolution may be described as differentiation of structure and integration of function. The more differentiated and specialized the parts, the more elaborate co-ordination is needed to create a well-balanced whole. The ultimate criterion of the value of a functional whole is the degree of its internal harmony or integratedness, whether the "functional whole" is a biological species or a civilization or an individual. A whole is defined by the pattern of relations between its parts, not by the sum of its parts; and a civilization is not defined by the sum of its science, technology, art and social organization, but by the total pattern which they form, and the degree of harmonious integration in that pattern.
The anointed don't like to talk about painful trade-offs. They like to talk about happy "solutions" that get rid of read more
The anointed don't like to talk about painful trade-offs. They like to talk about happy "solutions" that get rid of the whole problem- at least in their imagination.
One of the surprising privileges of intellectuals is that they are free to be scandalously asinine without harming their reputations.
One of the surprising privileges of intellectuals is that they are free to be scandalously asinine without harming their reputations.
To the extent that philosophical positions both confuse us and close doors to further inquiry, they are likely to be read more
To the extent that philosophical positions both confuse us and close doors to further inquiry, they are likely to be wrong...
There is nothing to be found in a beehive that is not submerged in a bee. And yet you can read more
There is nothing to be found in a beehive that is not submerged in a bee. And yet you can search a bee forever with cyclotron and fluoroscope, and you will never find the hive.
Never assume the obvious is true.
Never assume the obvious is true.
Bureaucracy is a giant mechanism operated by pygmies.
Bureaucracy is a giant mechanism operated by pygmies.
Peace is a natural effect of trade.
Peace is a natural effect of trade.
