Quotes from Philip Stokes

The only thing I know is that I know nothing' Socrates

Aristotle made much of observation and strict classification of data in his studies. For this reason he is often considered as the father of empirical science and scientific method.

Durkheim goes on to argue that the cult of the individual has been misconstrued as the cult of the self-interested ego. Durkheim maintains that a collection of purely egotistical individuals could not form a society at all, that indeed, there has to be the recognition of others' interests, expressed in 'moral individualism' by the importance of equality and rights.

Modern developments in both logic and physics (quantum physics) have cast doubt on the universality of at least two of these so-called laws, giving support to the Port Royals' contention that logic is merely the refinement of clear thinking in aid of argumentation, or rhetoric.

what proof is there that dupery through hope is so much worse than dupery through fear?

The greatest danger to both society and the individual, we learn from Socrates, is the suspension of critical thought.

Falsehood is merely limitation, the incomplete understanding of the absolute. This entails that, for Hegel, falsified scientific theories are not in themselves wholly wrong, but merely do not tell the whole story. They are limited conceptions of a more all-embracing truth.

Occam's Razor' (so-called because the principle encourages one to cut out unnecessary complications from theory) is ultimately aesthetic: why postulate two things when one will do? Or as Occam is said to have put it, 'It is vain to do with more what can be done with fewer'.

Marcus Aurelius 121–180 'The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts' Adopted

Nietzsche held that the strong had a duty towards the less fortunate: 'The man of virtue, too, helps the unfortunate, but not, or almost not, out of pity, but prompted by an urge which is begotten by the excess of power'.

It is up to the individual to choose the life they think best French

Sartre intends to convey the view that man first exists without purpose or definition, finds himself in the world and only then, as a reaction to experience, defines the meaning of his life. It

The history of social, political and technological change is inextricably bound to the history of thought.

According to Democritus, the fundamental nature of the universe consists of indivisible atoms in constant motion and travelling in an infinite void. Material objects are temporary concatenations of these atoms, made and destroyed as atoms come together or disperse according to natural forces, whilst the atoms themselves are eternal and indestructible.

In answer to Zeno, Democritus held that whilst atoms could be geometrically divided, it is only matter containing spaces – literally, parts of the void between the atoms – that can be physically divided. An atom itself could not be physically divided since it is perfectly solid, completely excluding the void, and thereby indivisible.

Great is he, who conquers the frightful. Sublime is he, who, while succumbing to it, fears it not'.

Thales was the first thinker to try to account for the nature of the world without appealing to the wills and whims of anthropomorphic, Homerian gods. Rather, he sought to explain the many diverse phenomena he observed by appealing to a common, underlying principle, an idea that is still germane to modern scientific method.

The modern information age would never have been possible without the work of the great logician Frege. Female suffrage was taken seriously only after Wollstonecraft. The Enlightenment stood in need of a Voltaire, Einstein needed Newton and Newton, in turn, relied on Aristotle. The history of social, political and technological change is inextricably bound to the history of thought.

Epicurus also taught that wisdom was the greatest virtue, for through it we could learn which pleasures to seek and which to avoid. Moreover, he professed that no one could be completely happy unless they lived a virtuous life, not because virtue was good in itself, but because it led to pleasurable consequences and the absence of pain and fear.

The history of social, political and technological change is inextricably bound to the history of thought. To

Spinoza is more than happy with this conclusion: he is a thorough-going determinist 'Experience tells us clearly that men believe themselves to be free simply because they are conscious of their actions and unconscious of the causes whereby these actions are determined; further, it is plain that the dictates of the mind are simply another name for the appetites that vary according to the varying state of the body.

On the one hand philosophy is like any other human endeavour, situated within and confined by the context of its day and yet on the other hand, it tries to wrestle with and expand the boundaries of current thought.

Interestingly, Spinoza's philosophy is both mystical, rational and theistic. Yet he was excommunicated from the Jewish community for his views, denounced as an atheist by Christians and declared so wicked that at one time his books were publicly burnt. Leibniz, who owes a great deal to him, rarely acknowledges the debt. Despite the rigour and integrity of his work, Spinoza remains one of the lesser studied and least regarded of all the rationalist philosophers.

The greatest danger to both society and the individual, we learn from Socrates, is the suspension of critical thought. Loved