Critical Quotes

Orthodoxy is a relaxation of the mind accompanied by a stiffening of the heart.

Thought assists memory in enabling it to order the material it has assembled. So that in a systematically ordered memory every idea is individually followed by all conclusions it entails.

Cynicism, like gullibility, is a symptom of underdeveloped critical faculties.

I'm hugely self-critical in the morning.

Every young lady may feel for my heroine in this critical moment, for every young lady has at some time or other known the same agitation.

When it comes to the care of our common home, we are living at a critical moment of history.

It was a miserable machine, an inefficient machine, she thought, the human apparatus for painting or for feeling; it always broke down at the critical moment; heroically, one must force it on.

No matter what's happening in the Middle East - the Arab Spring, et cetera, the economic challenges, high rates of unemployment - the emotional, critical issue is always the Israeli-Palestinian one.

Learning to read the Bible in the light of the times in which it was written is critical.

There's an appeal to the American sense of exceptionalism, that we're morally superior, as way to not be self-critical. I think that's a bit dangerous.

A mode of thought does not become 'critical' simply by attributing that label to itself, but by virtue of its content.

[Freud's] sense of reality is less clouded by wishful thinking than is the case with other people and [he combines] the qualities of critical judgment, earnestness and responsibility.

The show [ Too Much Tuna] changed a lot, actually, which is risky when you get positive critical feedback.

I know firsthand how critical support systems are.

I think love is the most unbelievable, and critical, thing in civilization. Everything else is very mechanical and predictable, but love, you can't catch it.

My personal feeling is that people need to be careful not to start over-analyzing and taking things apart and trying to be critical.

Critical in this process of wisdom being passed down is that you also need to take it in; you need to listen to it.

The insecure leader will interpret critical thinking as critiscism.

it is rather depressing to think that one will still be oneself when one is dead, but I dare say one won't be so critical then.

I'm inspired by looking at art, by looking at precedent. Looking is what you have to do if you want to make things, so you develop a critical eye.

You can have an epidemic in a state. You can have it in a region. You can have it in a country where the critical level of disease passes a certain threshold and we call that an epidemic threshold.

I have absolute respect for Israel and people in Israel who are critical of their own country.

Nature's kind of clever, because it figured out millions of years ago that if you grow these fibers below a critical size, even if you have flaws in the material, it doesn't affect the strength.

A theatrical on a tight budget really only becomes about generating critical reviews for you and your film, not revenue.

We seem to have trouble with [critical thinking]. And our political system doesn't help.

If we can't meet with our friends, I don't know how we're going to lead the world in terms of dealing with critical issues like terrorism.

The press is critical at this time, and if you look at history, this is so critical.

When our children are old enough, and if we can afford to, we send them to college, where ... the point is to acquire the skills not of positive thinking but of critical thinking.

Popular escapist fiction enchants adult readers without challenging them to be educated for critical consciousness.

When we concentrate on photography, we make it possible to see the walls of photographs in black homes as a critical intervention, a disruption of white control over black images.

My focus has always been on the work - that work being critical thinking and writing. I am always doing that. That's where I am, wherever I am. Critical thinking and writing as my heartbeat.

I think we have to talk about educating the people for critical consciousness about what anarchy is.

Sometimes I get insecure about being a real director because I look at the great directors, and they have such command. But maybe that keeps me critical of myself. Maybe it keeps me moving forward.

People rely on Wikipedia, and a lot of it is wrong. But because there it is on the Internet, they assume it's right. Rumor gets printed as fact. We may have lost our critical facility as a nation.

In a critical sense, doing nothing can mean doing something. Inaction can be action and embracing this paradox can save your life.

Right now, the United States of America is the patient. And the patient is in critical condition and will not be cured by political correctness and will not be cured by timidity.

Becoming critical in the face of criticism, only inspires more criticism.

The most critical variable [to becoming a change-maker] is one's willingness to give oneself permission. To break the mental chains that make us small because everyone tells us we cannot.

Most airlines move too fast in a merger. Speed is not as critical as efficiency.

Health is the most critical thing in our life. With your health anything is possible, without it you can't do anything.

But the truth is that critics are by definition critical. That's their job.

Bless yourself with holy water, have Masses said, and so on; by a simple and natural process this will make you believe, and will dull you - will quiet your proudly critical intellect.

We held the team together for as long as possible and then sent all except the most critical personnel home.

Obviously it's critical that the three cars are able to contribute to the program. I think that certainly has given much of the reason as to why we did so well at Indy over the last several years.

I am probably more critical of myself than anyone else, I am very tiny - 5'1 and a half inches - so there's nowhere for weight to hide.

My message is believe in yourself. Have courage in your capacity. Listen to your inner voice. And then the critical component of all this is, do the work.

I'm real critical of myself. I think a lot of what I've done is boring indie rock. I didn't intend it to be that way, but somehow milk gets added to everything.

I'm sometimes critical about other artists who come out with something different until maybe I hear the music. If the music is there, then they did their job, and I'll enjoy the CD.

What are the critical success factors of your job? What must you be absolutely, positively excellent at doing to be successful?

To retain his dignity, an artist must live in opposition. He must be critical of his country. If not, then he is worthless.