We must plan for freedom, and not only for security, if for no other reason than only freedom can make security more secure.
the Open Society And Its Enemiesby karl Popper
As indicated by our example, methodological nominalism is nowadays fairly generally accepted in the natural sciences. The problems of the social sciences, on the other hand, are still for the most part treated by essentialist methods. This is, in my opinion, one of the main reasons for their backwardness.
I would rather find a single causal law than be the king of Persia!
What a monument of human smallness is this idea of the philosopher king. What a contrast between it and the simplicity of humaneness of Socrates, who warned the statesmen against the danger of being dazzled by his own power, excellence, and wisdom, and who tried to teach him what matters most — that we are all frail human beings.
If we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them.
Great men may make great mistakes.
The future depends on ourselves, and we do not depend on any historical necessity.
This is why the conflict between rationalism and irrationalism has become the most important intellectual, and perhaps even moral, issue of our time.
History has no meaning.
I wish to make it clear that “history” in the sense in which most people speak of it simply does not exist; and this is at least one reason why I say that it has no meaning.
