Quotes
Authors
A.J. Ayer

"In other words, the propositions of philosophy are not factual, but linguistic in character - that is, they do not describe the behaviour of physical, or even mental, objects; they express definitions, or the formal consequences of definitions. Accordingly we may say that philosophy is a department of logic. For we will see that the characteristic mark of a purely logical enquiry, is that it is concerned with the formal consequences of our definitions and not with questions of empirical fact."

-- A.J. Ayer

#Philosophy Quotes #Character Quotes #Enquiry Quotes

“What after all, has maintained the human race on this old globe despite all the calamities of nature and all the tragic failings of mankind, if not faith in new possibilities, and courage to advocate them. Doubtless many times these new possibilities were declared by a man who, quite unconscious of courage, bore the "sense of being an exile, a condemned criminal, a fugitive from mankind." Did every one so feel who, in order to travel on his own proper path had been obliged to leave the traditional highway?”
“He had never thought of himself as much of a praying man, but as he sat in the car in the growing darkness and the minutes passed, he knew what it was to pray. It was to will goodness out of evil, hope out of despair, life out of death. It was to will dreams into existence and spectres into reality. It was to will an end to anguish and a beginning to joy.”
“I'm sometimes asked why it is that for 30 years we seem to have trouble in the United States enforcing the rules against illegal immigration, and I'll tell you what the answer is. The answer is that when the television cameras turn off and the spotlight moves to something else, there are a host of interest groups and advocacy groups who work very, very hard to make it difficult to enforce these rules. I'm not commenting adversely on their motivation, but I can tell you the effect of all of this is to wear down the ability of an agency to enforce the law....”
“If you have a friend that will reprove your faults and foibles, consider you enjoy a blessing which the king upon the throne cannot have.”

Source : James Burgh (1794). “The Dignity of Human Nature; or, a Brief account of the certain and established means for attaining the true end of our existence ... By J. B. (James Burgh.)”, p.31
“I love funny women, and just being around them talking is fine with me. I love an interesting mind.”

Source : "No Small Change". Interview with George Wayne, www.vanityfair.com. February 14, 2013.
“He was a patient with a diagnosis that he couldn't understand.”
“Better one byrde in hand than ten in the wood.”
“Let me just say that it is super wierd throwing your own bash at a conference instead of just leaching off everyone else's, but hey, free beer, right?”

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