Justice and power must be brought together, so that whatever is just may be powerful, and whatever is powerful may be just.
Blaise PascalRead
Man is obviously made for thinking. Therein lies all his dignity and his merit; and his whole duty is to think as he ought.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of thought and reason in defining human dignity and responsibility.
Blaise Pascal asserts that the essence of being human is our capacity for thought, which grants us dignity and merit. He suggests that it is our obligation to engage in proper thinking, implying that the quality of our thoughts directly impacts our lives and moral standing. Therefore, the pursuit of knowledge and understanding is not just a privilege, but a duty that shapes our humanity.
In practice
This quote could be used in a discussion about the role of critical thinking in education.
Justice and power must be brought together, so that whatever is just may be powerful, and whatever is powerful may be just.
If we submit everything to reason our religion will be left with nothing mysterious or supernatural. If we offend the principles of reason our religion will be absurd and ridiculous . . . There are two equally dangerous extremes: to exclude reason, to admit nothing but reason.
Those are weaklings who know the truth and uphold it as long as it suits their purpose, and then abandon it.
Jesus is the God whom we can approach without pride and before whom we can humble ourselves without despair.
If he exalts himself, I humble him. If he humbles himself, I exalt him. And I go on contradicting him Until he understands That he is a monster that passes all understanding.
What use is it to us to hear it said of a man that he has thrown off the yoke that he does not believe there is a God to watch over his actions, that he reckons himself the sole master of his behavior, and that he does not intend to give an account of it to anyone but himself?
Looking back, I'm almost happy I lost that fight. Just imagine if I would have come back to Germany with a victory. I had nothing to do with the Nazis, but they would have given me a medal. After the war I might have been considered a war criminal.
Every person you look at, you can see the universe in their eyes, if you're really looking
The definition of morality: Morality is the idiosyncrasy of decadents having the hidden desire to revenge themselves upon life - and being successful.
It was enough to make a body ashamed of the human race.
I first started asking big questions when I was 12, and by big questions, I mean, 'Why are we here? What is this business? We're alive for a few short decades and then poof, we're out of here.'
Why do we spend so much of our limited time on this earth focusing on all the things that our eulogies will never cover?
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