The Attempt To Make Heaven On Earth

The War Of Ideas Is A Greek Invention. It Is One Of The Most Important Inventions Ever Made. Indeed, The Possibility Of Fighting With With Words And Ideas Instead Of Fighting With Swords Is The Very Basis Of Our Civilization, And Especially Of All Its Legal And Parliamentary Institutions.

The Game Of Science Is, In Principle, Without End. He Who Decides One Day That Scientific Statements Do Not Call For Any Further Test, And That They Can Be Regarded As Finally Verified, Retires From The Game.

I Don't Know Whether God Exists Or Not. ... Some Forms Of Atheism Are Arrogant And Ignorant And Should Be Rejected, But Agnosticism—to Admit That We Don't Know And To Search—is All Right. ... When I Look At What I Call The Gift Of Life, I Feel A Gratitude Which Is In Tune With Some Religious Ideas Of God. However, The Moment I Even Speak Of It, I Am Embarrassed That I May Do Something Wrong To God In Talking About God.

We Do Not Choose Political Freedom Because It Promises Us This Or That. We Choose It Because It Makes Possible The Only Dignified Form Of Human Coexistence, The Only Form In Which We Can Be Fully Responsible For Ourselves. Whether We Realize Its Possibilities Depends On All Kinds Of Things — And Above All On Ourselves.

For Myself, I Am Interested In Science And In Philosophy Only Because I Want To Learn Something About The Riddle Of The World In Which We Live, And The Riddle Of Man's Knowledge Of That World. And I Believe That Only A Revival Of Interest In These Riddles Can Save The Sciences And Philosophy From An Obscurantist Faith In The Expert's Special Skill And In His Personal Knowledge And Authority.