Cornel West Quotes

Rightly defined philosophy is simply the love of wisdom.

Men who are lovers of wisdom [i.e., philosophers] must be inquirers into many things.

I'm not sure what theory is, unless it's the pursuit of fundamental questions.

The basic drive behind real philosophy is curiosity about the world, not interest in the writings of philosophers.

Philosophy is the sum total of all that you know and what you decide is valuable.

By realizing that we are ignorant of the most important things, we realize at the same time that the most important thing for us, or the one thing needful, is quest for knowledge of the most important things or quest for wisdom.

They would need to be already wise, in order to love wisdom.

The word philosophy sounds high-minded, but it simply means the love of wisdom. If you love something, you don't just read about it; you hug it, you mess with it, you play with it, you argue with it.

The aim of education is the knowledge, not of facts, but of values.

I like the concept of teenagers and philosophy.

Science gives us knowledge, but only philosophy can give us wisdom.

The wise man doesn't give the right answers, he poses the right questions.

We ascend the hill-tops of philosophy, not to gaze up at the ever-visible heavens, but to embrace in one grand view the human world beneath us.

Science is what you know. Philosophy is what you don't know.

He who looks the higher is the more highly distinguished, and turning over the great book of nature (which is the proper object of philosophy) is the way to elevate one's gaze.

Philosophy is the product of wonder. The effort after the general characterization of the world around us is the romance of human thought.

It is clear, then, that wisdom is knowledge having to do with certain principles and causes. But now, since it is this knowledge that we are seeking, we must consider the following point: of what kind of principles and of what kind of causes is wisdom the knowledge?

Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.

No man really becomes a fool until he stops asking questions.

For this feeling of wonder shows that you are a philosopher, since wonder is the only beginning of philosophy.

The first key to wisdom is assiduous and frequent questioning.

We are born to inquire into truth; it belongs to a greater to possess it

Philosophy cannot be taught; it is the application of the sciences to truth.

Information is endlessly available to us; where shall wisdom be found?