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The thing that attracted me about philosophy was that it went straight to essentials. I had never liked fiddling detail; I perceived the general signi...more

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Girls are weighed down by restrictions, boys with demands - two equally harmful disciplines.

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I’ve done everything I wanted to do, writing books, learning about things, but I’ve been swindled all the same because it’s never anything more.

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One's life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship, and compassion

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I am too intelligent, too demanding, and too resourceful for anyone to be able to take charge of me entirely. No one knows me or loves me completely. ...more

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The point is not for women simply to take power out of men’s hands, since that wouldn’t change anything about the world. It’s a question precisely of ...more

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Yet I loathe the thought of annihilating myself quite as much now as I ever did. I think with sadness of all the books I’ve read, all the places I’ve ...more

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Why shouldn't a mystical theology be possible? 'I want to touch God or become God,' I declared in my journal. All through that year I abandoned myself...more

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The facts of religion were convincing only to those who were already convinced.

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One night I summoned God, if He really existed, to show Himself to me. He didn't, and I never addressed another word to Him. In my heart of hearts I w...more

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The fear of death never left me; I couldn't get used to the thought; I would still sometimes shake and weep with terror. By contrast, the fact of exis...more

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They use the pretext of avoiding war, to make you swallow any kind of peace, said Paul. They use the pretext of a revolution to involve us in any kind...more

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Ethics is the triumph of freedom over facticity.

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Regardless of the staggering dimensions of the world about us, the density of our ignorance, the risks of catastrophes to come, and our individual wea...more

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Scriassine studied me in turn. "You're not so dumb, you know. Generally I dislike intelligent women, maybe because they're not intelligent enough. The...more