Arthur Schopenhauer, Ph.D., Philosopher

Knowledge is power. The devil it is! One man can have a great deal of knowledge without its giving him the least power, while another possesses supreme authority but next to no knowledge.

Arthur Schopenhauer, Ph.D., Philosopher

[M]ost people […] resolve to get by with the least possible expenditure of thought, because to them thinking is hard and burdensome.

Thought is a dialogue with one’s inner self. Those who think ask questions, questions those in authority do not want asked. They remember who we are, where we come from, and where we should go. They remain eternally skeptical and distrustful of power. [Moreover], they know that this moral independence is the only protection from the radical evil that results from collective unconsciousness. The capacity to think is the only bulwark against any centralized authority that seeks to impose mindless obedience. The truly educated make their own wills serve the higher call of justice, empathy, and reason.

Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion that has ever infected the world.

Every great advance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute rejection of authority.

Think for yourself and question authority.

Truth is the daughter of time, not of authority.

It is the responsibility of intellectuals to speak the truth and expose lies.

You can’t love the truth without detesting lies.

A thing moderately good is not so good as it ought to be. Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice.