Freedom Of Thought Quotes - Page 3

• They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.

  Benjamin Franklin

  Inspirational, Happiness, Peace

  Benjamin Franklin, William-Temple Franklin (1818). “Memoirs of the Life and Writings of (the Same), Continued to the Time of His Death by William Temple Franklin. - London, H. Colburn 1818”, p.270

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• One man's blasphemy doesn't override other people's free-speech rights, their freedom to publish, freedom of thought.

  Dan Savage

  Men, Rights, People

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• We will not be led like sheep to the slaughter.

  Abba Kovner

  Freedom, Taken, Patriotic

  "Freedom fighters" by Andrew Pulver, www.theguardian.com. February 23, 2001.

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• Let the human mind loose. It must be loose. It will be loose. Superstition and dogmatism cannot confine it.

  John Adams

  Education, Mind, Superstitions

  "John Adams: Quotes & Facts". Book by Blago Kirov, 2016.

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• But now, I, August Comte, have discovered the truth. Therefore, there is no longer any need for freedom of thought or freedom of the press. I want to rule and to organize the whole country.

  Auguste Comte

  Country, August, Needs

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• If any man has drunk a little too deeply from the cup of physical pleasure; if he has spent too much time at his desk that should have been spent asleep; if his fine spirits have become temporarily dulled; if he finds the air too damp, the minutes too slow, and the atmosphere too heavy to withstand; if he is obsessed by a fixed idea which bars him from any freedom of thought: if he is any of these poor creatures, we say, let him be given a good pint of amber-flavored chocolate... and marvels will be performed.

  Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

  Food, Men, Air

  Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (2009). “The Physiology of Taste: or Meditations on Transcendental Gastronomy”, p.121, Vintage

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• Here is the best wish for the new year: Let there be more freedom of thought throughout the world! Fields need rain; truths need freedom of thought!

  Mehmet Murat Ildan

  New Year, Freedom, Rain

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• The mere word freedom is the only one that still excites me. I deem it capable of indefinitely sustaining the old human fanaticism. It doubtless satisfies my only legitimate aspiration. Among all the many misfortunes to which we are heir, it is only fair to admit that we are allowed the greatest degree of freedom of thought. It is up to us not to misuse it. To reduce the imagination to a state of slavery-even though it would mean the elimination of what is commonly called happiness-is to betray all sense of absolute justice within oneself.

  Andre Breton

  Mean, Justice, Imagination

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• Where the realm of freedom of thought and action begin, the determination of individuals according to generic laws ends.

  Rudolf Steiner

  Determination, Law, Action

  "Intuitive Thinking as a Spiritual Path. A Philosophy of Freedom". Book by Rudolf Steiner, 1995.

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• Human society is born in the shadow of religious fear, and in that stage the suppression of heresy is a sacred social duty. Then comes the rise of a priesthood, and the independent thinker is met with punishment in this world and the threat of eternal damnation hereafter. Even today it is from the religious side that the greatest danger to freedom of thought comes. Religion is the last thing that man will civilise.

  Chapman Cohen

  Religious, Independent, Men

  "The Freethinker", Vol. 84, G.W. Foote,(p. 215), 1964.

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• The more people come together, the more borders will be opened and people and opinions get together, the more unrenouncable tolerance will be a fundamental part of our social life. Without tolerance there is no religious liberty, no freedom of conscience and no freedom of thought.

  Thomas Klestil

  Religious, People, Tolerance

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• Tolerance and freedom of thought are the veritable antidotes to religious fanaticism.

  Baron d'Holbach

  Religious, Tolerance, Atheism

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• In our democratic society, the library stands for hope, for learning, for progress, for literacy, for self-improvement and for civic engagement. The library is a symbol of opportunity, citizenship, equality, freedom of speech and freedom of thought, and hence, is a symbol for democracy itself.

  Vartan Gregorian

  Opportunity, Self, Freedom Of Speech

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• The only conception of freedom I can have is that of the prisoner or the individual in the midst of the State. The only one I know is freedom of thought and action.

  Albert Camus

  Freedom, Action, Individual

  Albert Camus (2012). “The Myth of Sisyphus: And Other Essays”, p.56, Vintage

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• The regime had understood that one person leaving her house while asking herself: Are my trousers long enough?' Is my veil in place?' Can my make-up be seen?' Are they going to whip me?' No longer asks herself: Where is my freedom of thought?' Where is my freedom of speech?' My life, is it livable?' What's going on in the political prisons?

  Marjane Satrapi

  Long, House, Political

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• You know, there are two good things in life, freedom of thought and freedom of action. In France you get freedom of action: you can do what you like and nobody bothers, but you must think like everybody else. In Germany you must do what everybody else does, but you may think as you choose. They're both very good things. I personally prefer freedom of thought. But in England you get neither: you're ground down by convention. You can't think as you like and you can't act as you like. That's because it's a democratic nation. I expect America's worse.

  W. Somerset Maugham

  Thinking, Things In Life, Two

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• No body of knowledge needs an organizational policy. Organizational policy can only impede the advancement of knowledge. There is a basic incompatibility between any organization and freedom of thought.

  William S. Burroughs

  Organization, Advancement, Needs

  William S. Burroughs (1973). “Ali's smile”, Expanded Media

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• America is the greatest engine of innovation that has ever existed, and it can't be duplicated anytime soon, because it is the product of a multitude of factors: extreme freedom of thought, an emphasis on independent thinking, a steady immigration of new minds, a risk-taking culture with no stigma attached to trying and failing, a noncorrupt bureaucracy, and financial markets and a venture capital system that are unrivaled at taking new ideas and turning them into global products.

  Thomas Friedman

  Independent, Thinking, Ideas

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• Having lived through the transition from totalitarianism, I am acutely mindful of the need to never take for granted the basic freedoms of thought, expression and belief that democracy brings.

  Daisaku Ikeda

  Expression, Democracy, Transition

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• I'm a big advocate of freedom: freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of thought.

  Jimmy Wales

  Freedom, Expression, Speech

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• And what do Democrats stand for, if they are so ready to defame concerned citizens as the 'mob' - a word betraying a Marie Antoinette delusion of superiority to ordinary mortals. I thought my party was populist, attentive to the needs and wishes of those outside the power structure. And as a product of the 1960s, I thought the Democratic party was passionately committed to freedom of thought and speech.

  Camille Paglia

  Party, Wish, Ordinary

  "Obama’s Healthcare Horror". Salon Column, www.salon.com. August 12, 2009.

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• There is nothing wrong with intellectual differences flowing from freedom of thought as long as such differences remain confined to intellectual debates.

  Pervez Musharraf

  Differences, Long, Intellectual

  "In Musharraf's Words: 'A Day of Reckoning'". www.nytimes.com. January 12, 2002.

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• America's greatest contribution to the world is its concept of democracy, its concept of freedom, freedom of action, freedom of speech, and freedom of thought.

  Benazir Bhutto

  America, Freedom Of Speech, Democracy

  Benazir Bhutto (1989). “Speeches and Statements: Apr. 2-Nov. 14, 1989”

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• I understand you, and I shall not attempt to make you change your mind. I am too old to want to improve the world. I have told you what I think, and that is all. I shall remain your friend even if you act contrary to my convictions, and I shall help you even if I disagree with you.

  Milan Kundera

  Thinking, Mind, World

  "Farewell Waltz". Book by Milan Kundera, 1972.

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• A public-school system, if it means the providing of free education for those who desire it, is a noteworthy and beneficent achievement of modern times; but when once it becomes monopolistic it is the most perfect instrument for tyranny which has yet been devised. Freedom of thought in the middle ages was combated by the Inquisition, but the modern method is far more effective.’ (1923)

  John Gresham Machen

  School, Mean, Free Education

  John Gresham Machen (1923). “Christianity and Liberalism”, p.14, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

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