Plato dramatically puts the detachment of the philosopher from his time this way: to philosophize is to prepare to die.

Plato worried that philosophical writing would take the place of living conversations for which, in philosophy, there is no substitute.

Thinking is the soul speaking to itself.

The good polis is made by the good person, his moral character intact, and the good polis, in turn, helps turn out good persons, their moral character intact.

If we don't understand our tools, then there is a danger we will become the tool of our tools. We think of ourselves as Google's customers, but really we're its products.

I have a Greek-American friend who named her daughter "Nike" and is often asked why she chose to name her offspring after a sneaker.

What is it precisely, that they are doing when they are doing science. Are they refining their instruments for observation or discovering new aspects of reality?

This is the pedagogical paradox. The person and the teacher is required precisely because the knowledge itself is nontransferable from teacher to student.

Everybody makes excuses for themselves they wouldn't be prepared to make for other people.

How can those who possess all knowledge, which must include knowledge of life that is worth living, be interested in using knowledge only for the insignificant aim of making money?

The will to matter is at least as important as the will to believe.

If you want to catch beasts you don't see every day, You have to go places quite out of the way, You have to go places no others can get to.You have to get cold and you have too get wet, too.

Tiny acts of kindness can have BIG results.

Good people are good because they've come to wisdom through failure.

All cases are unique and very similar to others.

Reason forbade me many things which, Instinctively, my nature was attracted to; And a perpetual loss I feel if, knowing, I believe a falsehood or deny the truth.

I've met a surprising number of comedy writers whose parents are scientists. Both have an antiauthoritarian slant - they're both skeptics.

Do not lose power over the what-ifs of your life. These are unlimited and endless. Keep your power in the now, in present time.

No man is an island. To fight the good fight we need help.

If there is any trouble within your heart - be free, in the name of Jesus Christ

I think that computer programming shows in my writing. Often when I write about computer programmers I'll write about the way that they see the world and they structure the world.