50 Clever Philosophical Phrases to Make You Think

The unexamined life is not worth living.

Socrates

The less intelligent a man is, the less mysterious his existence seems to him.

Arthur Schopenhauer

I have always regarded men’s actions as the best interpreters of their thoughts.

John Locke

The wise man never says everything he thinks, but always thinks everything he says.

Aristotle

The only obstacle in life is waiting for tomorrow and forgetting about today.

Lucius Aneu Seneca

The new is not in what is said, but in the event of its return.

Michel Foucault

You cannot step into the same river twice.

heraclitus

Do you live a life today that you would like to live for all eternity?

Friedrich Nietzsche

The problem with the world is that the stupid are overconfident, and the smart are full of doubts.

Bertrand Russell

There is no favorable wind for the sailor who does not know where to go.

seneca

I think therefore I am.

Rene Descartes

Man is nothing more than what he makes of himself: this is the first principle of existentialism.

Jean-Paul Sarte

Our greatest strength is not to never fall, but to grow each time we fall.

Confucius

Error happens in many ways, while being correct is possible only in one way.

Aristotle

Life can only be understood looking back, but it can only be lived looking forward.

Soren Kierkegaard

Try to move the world – the first step will be to move yourself.

Plato

We should judge a man more by his questions than by his answers.

Voltaire

You have to be a hero to face the morals of your time.

Michel Foucault

Man is the measure of all things.

Protagoras

The most difficult thing in this world is for man to know himself.

Tales of Miletus

Reading is thinking with the head of others.

Arthur Schopenhauer

He is not free who has not obtained dominion over himself.

Pythagoras

What worries you, enslaves you.

John Locke

Many men have started a new era in their lives by reading a book.

Henry David Thoreau

When I want to achieve something, I need to fight for it instead of waiting.

Mario Sergio Cortella

The best of all wonders is not the conqueror of the world, but the master of himself.

Arthur Schopenhauer

I can always choose, but I must know that if I don’t choose, I’m still choosing.

Jean-Paul Sarte

True knowledge comes from within.

Socrates

The world is a book, and whoever sits at home reads only one page.

Saint Augustine

The man who suffers before necessary, suffers more than necessary.

Lucius Aneu Seneca

Think what they want of you, do what you think is fair.

Pythagoras

I’d rather be a man of paradoxes than a man of prejudice.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Always have a “B” plan for all your projects. Seek the best and prepare for the worst, because life is only for winners.

Tales of Miletus

Pay attention not to who says, but what good is said and keep it in memory.

Saint Thomas Aquinas

A collection of thoughts is a moral pharmacy where you can find remedies for all ills.

Voltaire

There is nothing in the world that is better distributed than reason: everyone is convinced that they have plenty of it.

Rene Descartes

A life without challenges is not worth living.

Socrates

Necessity is the mother of invention.

Plato

We don’t do what we want and yet we are responsible for what we are.

Jean-Paul Sarte

Getting started is the hardest part of the job.

Plato

Prosperity does not exist without many fears and discomforts; and adversity without many comforts and hopes.

Francis Bacon

Reading gives knowledge to the mind. Thinking embodies what we read.

John Locke

The most indispensable thing for a man is to recognize the use he should make of his own knowledge.

Plato

Of everything we spend, the most expensive is time.

antiphon

Bad books are intellectual poison, capable of withering the spirit.

Arthur Schopenhauer

When you admit ignorance, you are opening the door to wisdom.

Socrates

Revolutions are not about small issues, but are born from small issues and bring big issues into play.

Aristotle

Things don’t change. We moved.

Henry David Thoreau

Wise is he who knows the limits of his own ignorance.

Socrates

The ignorant affirms, the wise doubts, the sensible reflects.

Aristotle