The fear of speculation, the ostensible rush from the theoretical to the practical, brings about the same shallowness in action that it does in knowledge. It is by studying a strictly theoretical philosophy that we become most acquainted with Ideas, and only Ideas provide action with vigour and ethical meaning.
Interpretation
The pursuit of knowledge should be deep and theoretical to enrich action with meaning and vigor.
Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling argues that a superficial rush to practical action without deep theoretical understanding leads to shallowness in both knowledge and behavior. He emphasizes the importance of a rigorous study of philosophy and ideas, suggesting that such intellectual engagement is essential for meaningful and vigorous action in the world.
In practice
In a lecture on the importance of theoretical knowledge in education.
One is almost tempted to say that the language itself is a mythology deprived of its vitality, a bloodless mythology so to speak, which has only preserved in a formal and abstract form what mythology contains in living and concrete form.
Who are we, if not measured by our impact on others?
Violence always seems to me the worst form of tyranny. It deprives people of their rights, including the right to live.
Intellectual freedom is the only guarantee of a scientific - democratic approach to politics, economic development, and culture.
Sometimes legends make reality, and become more useful than the facts.
There is never a humanitarian solution for a humanitarian crisis. The solutions for the humanitarian crisis are always political ones.
We ask for long life, but 'tis deep life, or noble moments that signify. Let the measure of time be spiritual, not mechanical.
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