If we wish our civilization to survive we must break with the habit of deference to great men.
Interpretation
We need to challenge the authority of influential figures to ensure the survival and progress of our society.
Karl Popper argues that blindly following powerful figures can hinder civilization's growth and survival. Instead, he encourages critical thinking and skepticism towards authority, suggesting that true progress stems from questioning the status quo rather than deferring to those deemed great.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of independent thinking in society.
The growth of our knowledge is the result of a process closely resembling what Darwin called 'natural selection'; that is, the natural selection of hypotheses: our knowledge consists, at every moment, of those hypotheses which have shown their (comparative) fitness by surviving so far in their struggle for existence, a competitive struggle which eliminates those hypotheses which are unfit.
If you can't say it simply and clearly, keep quiet, and keep working on it till you can.
No particular theory may ever be regarded as absolutely certain.... No scientific theory is sacrosanct.
The belief in a political Utopia is especially dangerous. This is possibly connected with the fact that the search for a better world, like the investigation of our environment, is (if I am correct) one of the oldest and most important of all the instincts.
A rationalist is simply someone for whom it is more important to learn than to be proved right; someone who is willing to learn from others - not by simply taking over another's opinions, but by gladly allowing others to criticize his ideas and by gladly criticizing the ideas of others
Thus science must begin with myths, and with the criticism of myths; neither with the collection of observations, nor with the invention of experiments, but with the critical discussion of myths, and of magical techniques and practices.
No one likes to admit they are racist or bear prejudices. Nor do they even like to be open and honest when they witness racist behaviour.
I never felt any attraction towards violence. I never tried to express myself through violence. Violence is a language.
Life is like a cash register, in that every account, every thought, every deed, like every sale, is registered and recorded.
Are not there little chapters in everybody's life, that seem to be nothing, and yet affect all the rest of the history?
We have for too long been taught that the sight of a man speaking to himself is a sign of eccentricity or madness; we are no longer at all habituated to our own voices, except in conversation or from within the safety of a shouting crowd.
It became clear to me that our value as people is not in our stock portfolios and bank accounts but in the legacies we leave behind.
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