"Philosophy is based on speculation, on logic, on thought, on the synthesis of what we know and on the analysis of what we do not know. Philosophy must include within its confines the whole content of science, religion and art. But where can such a philosophy be found? All that we know in our times by the name of philosophy is not philosophy, but merely "critical literature" or the expression of personal opinions, mainly with the aim of overthrowing and destroying other personal opinions. Or, which is still worse, philosophy is nothing but self-satisfied dialectic surrounding itself with an impenetrable barrier of terminology unintelligible to the uninitiated and solving for itself all the problems of the universe without any possibility of proving these explanations or making them intelligible to ordinary mortals."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
p. 33
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/P._D._Ouspensky
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Related Quotes
"Hints towards the solution of the problem of Eternity can be found in the various symbols and allegories of ancient r…"
"I felt that on a basis of a "search for the miraculous" it would be possible to unite together a very large number of…"
"When a man begins to know himself a little he will see in himself many things that are bound to horrify him. So long …"
"The problem of Eternity, of which the face of the Sphinx speaks, takes us into the realm of the impossible. Even the …"
"Generally speaking, the significance of the indirect results may very often be of more importance than the significan…"
"Two things can get people to make efforts: if people want to get something, or if they want to get rid of something. …"
"It is only when we realize that life is taking us nowhere that it begins to have meaning."
"I Saw the Man. His figure reached from earth to heaven and was clad in a purple mantle. He stood deep in foliage and …"
"With his hands he unites heaven and earth, and the four elements that form the world are controlled by him. The four …"
"And I saw another man. Tired and lame he dragged himself along the dusty road, across the deserted plain under the sc…"