The Wisdom Letter #276

5 quotes from Arthur Schopenhauer, Søren Kierkegaard, and more.

✹ For today’s edition of Wisdom Letter, we have carefully curated five bite-sized quotes from brilliant thinkers such as Arthur Schopenhauer and Søren Kierkegaard, each paired with a philosophical question designed to provoke deep reflection.

Quote № 01:

“Life is short and truth works far and lives long: let us speak the truth.”

— Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860)

~ Follow-up Question:

In a world where time is fleeting and human life is inherently transient, how should individuals balance the pursuit of momentary comfort or success with the potentially disruptive yet enduring consequences of telling the truth, particularly when honesty challenges prevailing norms or power structures?

---

Quote № 02:

“What I really need is to get clear about what I must do, not what I must know, except insofar as knowledge must precede every act. What matters is to find a purpose, to see what it really is that God wills that I shall do; the crucial thing is to find a truth which is truth for me, to find the idea for which I am willing to live and die.”

— Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855)

~ Follow-up Question:

How does the pursuit of a singular, deeply personal truth shape the development of one’s identity and values, and can such an inward journey toward existential clarity be meaningfully shared with others, or is it necessarily solitary and incommunicable?

---

Quote № 03:

“Against that positivism which stops before phenomena, saying “there are only facts,” I should say: no, it is precisely facts that do not exist, only interpretations.”

— Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)

~ Follow-up Question:

If all perceived facts are ultimately interpretations shaped by language, perspective, and context, what does this suggest about the possibility of objective knowledge, and how should we understand the limits of empirical science in explaining reality?

✱✱✱
Support Philosophors:
buymeacoffee.com/philosophors

Quote № 04:

“We are all ready to be savage in some cause. The difference between a good man and a bad one is the choice of the cause.”

— William James (1842–1910)

~ Follow-up Question:

How does the idea that everyone is capable of savagery challenge traditional distinctions between good and evil, and what does this suggest about the role of context, ideology, or circumstance in shaping human behavior?

---

Quote № 05:

“My whole religion is this: do every duty, and expect no reward for it, either here or hereafter.”

— Bertrand Russell (1872–1970)

~ Follow-up Question:

If moral duty is to be pursued without expectation of reward, either in this life or beyond, what motivates ethical action in the absence of external incentives, and does such motivation suggest a deeper, perhaps existential, foundation for human responsibility?

✽ Thank you for reading today’s Wisdom Letter.

---

✺ Please Support Philosophors

If this letter added something meaningful to your day, please consider supporting it. Your donation helps keep Philosophors thoughtful, independent, and ad-free — and ensures it can keep arriving in your inbox.

✦ Donate Here → buymeacoffee.com/philosophors