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.

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.

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

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.

Success involves avoiding the lure of making excuses.

It is humiliating to realize that when you drive yourself underground, when you fake who you are, often you do so for people you do not even like or respect.

The IRS! They're like the Mafia, they can take anything they want!

She could go on asking herself why roses had thorns or she could be thankful that thorns had roses.

I love silence. I seek and create it at every opportunity. I need it to work.

I still believe that everyone is beautiful in some way and by seeing the beauty in others we make ourselves more beautiful.

We need to move beyond asking what drug will treat the symptoms, and instead ask what mechanism creates altered neurochemical or neurobiological function or systemic physiological change.

The whole aspect of cinema and film festivals should be a moment to come together and celebrate art and humanity. It would be a shame if there was such a divide.

Monarchy hardens into despotism. Aristocracy contracts into oligarchy. Democracy expands into the supremacy of numbers.

But just think what a dull world it would be if everyone was sensible,' pleaded Anne.