reason
“We only think when we are confronted with problems.”
“Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.”
“You know my methods, Watson.”
“Reason is our soul's left hand, faith her right.”
“The entire method consists in the order and arrangement of the things to which the mind's eye must turn so that we can discover some truth.”
“By all means let’s be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.”
“Men have fashioned an image of Chance as an excuse for their own stupidity.”
“Appearances to the mind are of four kinds: things either are as they appear; or they neither are, nor appear to be; or they are, and do not appear to be; or they are not, and yet appear to be.”
“Freedom is the right use of reason.”
“In history, the moments during which reason and reconciliation prevail are short and fleeting.”
“In order to properly understand the big picture, everyone should fear becoming mentally clouded and obsessed by themselves.”
“The straightening board was created because of warped wood; the rope line was made because of crooked timber.”
“That which has always been accepted by everyone, everywhere, is almost certain to be false.”
“Mens agitat molem.”
“A mind all logic is like a knife all blade. It makes the hand bleed that uses it.”
“The demand for certainty is one which is natural to man, but is nevertheless an intellectual vice.”
“Not to be absolutely certain is, I think, one of the essential things in rationality.”
“What Reason weaves, by Passion is undone.”
“We know the truth, not only by the reason, but also by the heart.”
“If Cleopatra's nose had been shorter, the whole face of the world would have been changed.”