Action is the activity of the rational soul, which abhors irrationality and must combat it or be corrupted by it. When it sees the irrationality of others, it must seek to correct it, and can do this either by teaching or engaging in public affairs itself, correcting through its practice. And the purpose of action is to enable philosophy to continue, for if men are reduced to the material alone, they become no more than beasts.
Considering he was neither priest nor scholar, the young man gave sensible, thoughtful replies -- the more so, perhaps, for being untrained, for he had not learned what he should believe or should not believe. Present a statement to him in flagrant contradiction to all Christian doctrine and he could be persuaded to agree on its good sense, unless he remembered it was the sort of thing of which pyres are made for the incautious.
Eine zentrale ethische Idee ist die Forderung, möglichst viele unserer eigenen Thesen, Entscheidungen und Handlungen zu begründen und auch von unseren Mitmenschen Begründungen für deren Thesen, Entscheidungen und Handlungen einzufordern. Wir sollen in das Spiel des Gebens und Forderns von Gründen eintreten. Beispielsweise sollen wir nicht einfach je nach unseren unmittelbaren Präferenzen, Leidenschaften und Wünschen durch unser Leben trudeln, sondern uns Konzepte eines für uns guten Lebens machen, die wir vor uns selbst und vor anderen begründen können. Wenn wir uns fragen, welche Art von Person wir sein und welche Art von Leben wir führen wollen, dann muss die Antwort konsistent (= widerspruchsfrei) sein und argumentativ gut gestützt werden; denn sie sollte einer gründlichen Kritik standhalten können. Das ist der sokratische Standpunkt.
We owe a huge debt to Galileo for emancipating us all from the stupid belief in an Earth-centered or man-centered (let alone God-centered) system. He quite literally taught us our place and allowed us to go on to make extraordinary advances in knowledge.
Atheism is a conclusion reached by the most reasonable methods and one which is not asserted dogmatically but is explained in its every feature by the light of reason. The atheist does not boast of knowing in a vainglorious, empty sense. He understands by knowledge the most reasonable and clear and sound position one can take on the basis of all the evidence at hand. This evidence convinces him that theism is not true, and his logical position, then, is that of atheism. We repeat that the atheist is one who denies the assumptions of theism. he asserts, in other words, that he doesn't believe in a God because he has no good reason for believing in a God. That's atheism -- and that's good sense.
If the Creator stood before a million men with the light of a million lamps, only a few would truly see him because truth is already alive in their hearts. Truth can only be seen by those with truth in them. He who does not have Truth in his heart, will always be blind to it.
To seek truth requires one to ask the right questions. Those void of truth never ask about anything because their ego and arrogance prevent them from doing so. Therefore, they will always remain ignorant. Those on the right path to Truth are extremely heart-driven and childlike in their quest, always asking questions, always wanting to understand and know everything — and are not afraid to admit they don't know something. However, every truth seeker does need to breakdown their ego first to see Truth. If the mind is in the way, the heart won't see anything.