Science began to decline when we began to debate whether some particular bit of knowledge merited the term.
Thinking
Operations of thought are like cavalry charges in a battle — they are strictly limited in number, require fresh horses, and must only be made at decisive moments.
—Whitehead
Always keep a book handy for when you’re not up to thinking.
Necessity is contingency in retrospect.
Facts do not assemble into truths.
Whatever everyone is on about you want nothing to do with.
Moral philosophy warns us sternly against deriving ought from is, when it is far more common, and pernicious, to derive is from ought.
Crime is like most problems: you don’t need to know the cause to fix it.
It is glorious to discover a commonplace for oneself.
The fundamental constraint on action is uncertainty about the future. The fundamental strategy of philosophical hypotheticals is to assume it away.
Apostasy always trumps heresy. Refusing to join the army may get you jailed, but deserting will get you shot.