A system of morality that is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception that has nothing sound in it and nothing true.
SocratesRead
Let us follow the truth whither so ever it leads.
Interpretation
What this quote means
We should pursue truth wherever it may take us, no matter the consequences.
This quote by Socrates emphasizes the importance of seeking truth and knowledge above all else. It suggests that one's commitment to understanding and discovering what is true should not be swayed by fears or obstacles, advocating for a dedication to intellectual honesty and exploration, even if it leads to uncomfortable or unexpected outcomes.
Themes
TruthPhilosophyKnowledgeExplorationIntellectualism
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about ethics, one might quote this to emphasize the need for honesty.
More from Socrates
All quotes βThe poets are only the interpreters of the gods.
SocratesRead
I am wiser than this man, for neither of us appears to know anything great and good; but he fancies he knows something, although he knows nothing; whereas I, as I do not know anything, so I do not fancy I do. In this trifling particular, then, I appear to be wiser than he, because I do not fancy I know what I do not know.
SocratesRead
The unexamined life is not worth living.
SocratesRead
When I was young, I believed that life might unfold in an orderly way, according to my hopes and expectations. But now I understand that the Way winds like a river, always changing, ever onward.. My journeys revealed that the Way itself creates the warrior; that every path leads to peace, every choice to wisdom. And that life has always been, and will always be, arising in Mystery.
SocratesRead
Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued." "It is not living that matters, but living rightly. The unexamined life is not worth living.
SocratesRead
Similar quotes
I say, let us think. Let each one express his thought. Let us become investigators, not followers, not cringers and crawlers. If there is in Heaven an infinite being, he never will be satisfied with the worship of cowards and hypocrites.
Robert Green IngersollRead
I believe every act of violence is also a message that needs to be understood. Violence should not be answered just by greater violence but by real understanding. We must ask: 'Where is the violence coming from? What is its meaning?
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Conscience is the internal perception of the rejection of a particular wish operating within us.
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No people is wholly civilized where a distinction is drawn between stealing an office and stealing a purse.
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Experience having long taught me the reasonableness of mutual sacrifices of opinion among those who are to act together for any common object, and the expediency of doing what good we can; when we cannot do all we would wish.
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It is as hard for the good to suspect evil, as it is for the bad to suspect good.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead