Quotes from Sidney Hook

The mob that hails the man on horseback, the Caesars and conquering heroes, does not retain its freedoms for long.

The difference between science and religion is that the former wishes to get rid of mysteries whereas the latter worships them.

Those who say that life is worth living at any cost have already written an epitaph of infamy, for there is no cause and no person that they will not betray to stay alive.

Life has meaning for anyone who takes an interest in it.

Idealism, alas, does not protect one from ignorance, dogmatism, and foolishness.

Students rarely disappoint teachers who assure them in advance that they are doomed to failure.

Tolerance always has limits - it cannot tolerate what is itself actively intolerant.

The next time anyone asks you "What is Bertrand Russell's philosophy?" the correct answer is "What year, please?"

Everyone who remembers his own education remembers teachers, not methods and techniques. The teacher is the heart of the educational system.

Wisdom is a kind of knowledge. It is knowledge of the nature, career, and consequences of human values.

Students rarely disappoint teachers who assure them in advance that they are doomed to failure.

To silence criticism is to silence freedom.

I was guilty of judging capitalism by its operations and socialism by its hopes and aspirations; capitalism by its works and socialism by its literature.

Fear of death has been the greatest ally of tyranny past and present.

Wisdom is a kind of knowledge. It is knowledge of the nature, career, and consequences of human values.

Before impugning an opponent's motives, even when they legitimately may be impugned, answer his arguments.

Philosophy, most broadly viewed, is the critical survey of existence from the standpoint of value.

Everyone who remembers his own education remembers teachers, not methods and techniques. The teacher is the heart of the educational system.