So phor some Phriday phun, I’m starting a pheature called “guess the philosopher”. I’ll provide a quote, and ask the knowledgeable CA readership to guess which philosopher said it. To avoid spoilers, there will be two separate posts, one for the question and hints, and one for the answers.
Here’s the first quote:
In fact men will fight for a superstition quite as quickly as for a living truth – often more so, since a superstition is so intangible you cannot get at it to refute it, but truth is a point of view, and so is changeable.
If you think you know the name of the philosopher who said this, post it on the answer page. (No fair and no fun if you just stuff it into google.)
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Monday, 14 Jan
No correct guesses yet. Here’s another quote:
Fables should be taught as fables, myths as myths, and miracles as poetic fantasies. To teach superstitions as truths is a most terrible thing. The child mind accepts and believes them, and only through great pain and perhaps tragedy can he be in after years relieved of them.
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Wednesday, 16 Jan
No correct guesses yet. Here’s another quote:
All formal dogmatic religions are fallacious and must never be accepted by self-respecting persons as final.
And here’s a hint: this neoplatonist was also a mathematician, and teacher of astronomy and philosophy
Please remember to keep your guesses on the answer page (ie not as comments on this post), to avoid spoilers for others.