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1 " Philosophy is not a spectator sport. "
― Nigel Warburton , Felsefe Okuma Rehberi
2 " If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind. "
― Nigel Warburton , Free Speech: A Very Short Introduction
3 " إنّ القارئ المثالي: هو القارئُ الناقد، الذي يعتمد المناقشة المستمرة للبراهين المستعملة، والتفكير في براهين مناقضة لها "
― Nigel Warburton , Philosophy: The Basics
4 " لقد رسم العامة صورة للفيلسوف صورة شخص عبقري في تعامله مع الفكر المجرد، وهو قابع في مقعده الوثير بحجرته داخل أكسفورد أو كامبريدج، وعاجز في الوقت ذاته عن التعامل مع الجوانب العملية في الحياة، فهو الشخص القادر على تأويل أعقد ما في فلسفة هيجل، والعاجز في الآن نفسه عن أن يسلق لنفسه بيضة "
5 " The best way to live, then, was this: have a very simple lifestyle, be kind to those around you, and surround yourself with friends. "
― Nigel Warburton , A Little History of Philosophy
6 " Even if I believe my opinion to be true, and am highly confident about its truth, unless it is ‘fully, frequently and fearlessly’ discussed, I will end up holding it as a dead dogma, a formulaic and unthinking response. "
7 " Preserving freedom of speech maximizes the chance of truth emerging from its collision with error and half-truth. "
8 " Human knowledge progresses when people recognize that they may be wrong even on issues that seem certain to them. Wisdom involves openness to those who disagree with us. It is only when our ideas have been subjected to criticism and all objections considered—if necessary seeking these objections out—that we have any right to think of our judgement as better than another’s. "
9 " Central to Mill’s approach throughout On Liberty is his ‘Harm Principle’, the idea that individual adults should be free to do whatever they wish up to the point where they harm another person in the process. Mill’s principle is apparently straightforward: the only justification for interference with someone’s freedom to live their life as they choose is if they risk harming other people. "
10 " The best way to eliminate all suffering in the world would be to eliminate all sentient life. If there were no living things capable of feeling pain, then there would be no pain. "
11 " Kierkegaard was a Christian, though he hated the Danish Church and couldn't accept the way complacent Christians around him behaved. For him, religion was a heart-wrenching option, not a cosy excuse for a song in church. "
12 " Free speech is one of the core values in a democracy and it should be championed with a vengeance. "
13 " Mill is particularly concerned that minority opinions should not be silenced just because they are held by very few people. Unfashionable ideas have potential value for the whole of humanity, even if only held by one person: If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind. "
14 " One reason why false and offensive speech is permitted in most liberal democracies is precisely because the best answer to bad speech is good speech, rather than censorship. "
15 " Mill sets out several related arguments for protecting freedom of speech, not just from oppressive government intervention, but also from social pressures. Underlying them all are the assumptions that (a) truth is valuable, and (b) no matter how certain someone is that they know the truth, their judgement is still fallible: they might still be wrong. "
16 " The problem as he saw it was not how short our lives are, but rather how badly most of us use what time we have. "
17 " Sartre explained what he meant by the anguish of choice through the true story of a student who had come to ask his advice during the war. This young man had to make a very difficult decision. He could either stay at home to look after his mother; or he could run off and try to join the French Resistance and fight to save his country from the Germans. This was the most difficult decision of his life and he wasn't sure what to do. If he left his mother, she would be vulnerable without him. He might not succeed in getting to the Resistance fighters before being caught by the Germans, and then the whole attempt to do something noble would be a waste of energy and of a life. But if he stayed at home with his mother, he'd be letting others do the fighting for him. What should he do? What would you do? What advice would you give him? Sartre's advice was a bit frustrating. He told the student that he was free and that he should choose for himself. If Sartre had given the student any practical advice about what to do, the student would still have had to decide whether or not to follow it. There is no way to escape the weight of responsibility that comes with being human. "
18 " Free speech does indeed cause hurt—but there is nothing wrong in this. Knowledge advances through the destruction of bad ideas. Mockery "
19 " Muitas das actividades humanas adquirem o seu significado pelo facto de serem irrepetíveis. Fazemos escolhas, tomamos decisões que dão forma às pessoas em que nos tornamos. A nossa satisfação pela experiência imediata do padrão de luz e sombra numa floresta decorre, em parte, do facto de ser um efeito passageiro que podemos nunca mais voltar a ver. A nossa mortalidade faz-nos dar valor ao presente porque podemos não ter um futuro. O padrão das nossas escolhas e as coisas que nos acontecem dão-nos a nossa história pessoal. Contudo, se viermos a viver para sempre após a morte, esta fonte de significado não está disponível para nós. Haverá sempre tempo para fazer tudo. Bernard Williams (1929-2003) argumentou que uma imortalidade assim seria entediante e, afinal, sem significado. São os facto de haver morte e da sua finalidade que dão às nossas vidas o significado que elas têm. "
― Nigel Warburton , Philosophy: The Classics
20 " If the view is correct, then humanity misses the opportunity to exchange truth for error. If, however, the view is misguided, then we forfeit an opportunity to reinforce truth through its collision with error. Every opinion has value for us either because it is true, or else because, though false, it reinforces the truth and contributes to its emergence. "
