A quote to think about

Source: http://vi.sualize.us/eugene_v_debs_street_art_quote_activism_humor_picture_2V4e.html

This is a quote to make you think in these depressing and conformist times. His author was Eugene Debs, a USA activist who fought to improve the lives of the group he belonged to: workers. 

If you want to learn more about this extraordinary man, here you have a link to a post I wrote last year:

http://todayinsocialsciences.blogspot.com.es/2012/02/eugene-debs.html

Napoleonic quotes

Portrait of Napoleon I in his office, Hyppolite Delaroche

Source: http://now.uiowa.edu/2012/09/napol%C3%A9on-too-big-one-venue

Last year I wrote a post including some of Napoleon Bonaparte´s best quotes. If you want to read them and give your opinion about the one you prefer, click on the following link: 

http://todayinsocialsciences.blogspot.com.es/2011/11/make-your-choice.html

You can add your comments to the ones the students of the last year chose or you can leave them on this post. Here you have my choice: 

The only victories which leave no regret are those which are gained over ignorance

You can have an idea about why I prefer this quote ;)

A quote to think about

Source: https://www.facebook.com/ThisIknow

The last post dedicated to the USA in the 18th century will be this Thomas Jeffersson´s quote. In what present situations could we appeal to this quote?

Dare to think!

Source: http://www.zazzle.es/t+t+y+l+famous+phrases+tarjetas+postales

Tomorrow we´ll study the main features of Enlightenment and we´ll learn that the enlightened philosophers trusted Reason as the best way to reach knowledge and education as the only way to transform the world in a better place. This is how Immanuel Kant defined Enlightenment: 

"Enlightenment is man’s emergence from his self-imposed immaturity. Immaturity is the inability to use one’s understanding without guidance from another. This immaturity is self-imposed when its cause lies not in lack of understanding, but in lack of resolve and courage to use it without guidance from another. Sapere Aude! “Have courage to use your own understanding!”–that is the motto of enlightenment"

The enlightened philosophers wrote a lot of essays about the most basic worries of mankind: the search for happiness, the unalienable rights everybody has from birth, the best government, ethics and morality, the elimination of privileges, religion... They also reflected about the best way of organizing a society they didn´t like. I ´ve selected several quotes of some of the most important enlightened philosophers. I think these quotes contain ideas worth be shared. Many of these quotes belong to Voltaire, a very witty thinker. Here you have some of his ideas about tolerance: 

"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"

"No opinion is worth burning your neighbour for"

"Discord is the great ill of mankind; and tolerance is the only remedy for it."

"Love truth, but pardon error"

And this is what he wrote about death penalty: 

"It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets"

"The punishment of criminals should be of use; when a man is hanged he is good for nothing"

"It is better to risk saving a guilty person than to condemn an innocent one"

And this one refers to the fact of being aware on one´s ignorance:

"The more I read, the more I meditate; and the more I acquire, the more I am enabled to affirm that I know nothing"

Please, read these quotes, choose the one you prefer and explain why: 

Which of these quotes do you like most?

• To be is to do (Imanuel Kant)
• As long as people believe in absurdities they will continue to commit atrocities (Voltaire)
• If man makes himself a worm he must not complain when he is trodden on (Kant)
• We are born weak, we need strength; helpless, we need aid; foolish, we need reason. All that we lack at birth, all that we need when we come to man's estate, is the gift of education.(Rousseau)
• To become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them (Montesquieu)
• Common sense is not so common (Voltaire)
• It is too difficult to think nobly when one thinks only of earning a living. (Rousseau)
• The tyranny of a prince in an oligarchy is not so dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of a citizen in a democracy (Montesquieu)
• Men are equal; it is not birth but virtue that makes the difference. (Voltaire)
• Always recognize that human individuals are ends, and do not use them as means to your end.(Kant)
• No problem can stand the assault of sustained thinking (Voltaire)
• Every man is guilty of all the good he didn't do (Voltaire)
• True greatness consists in the use of a powerful understanding to enlighten oneself and others (Voltaire)
• The true triumph of reason is that it enables us to get along with those who do not possess it (Voltaire)
• The instruction we find in books is like fire. We fetch it from our neighbours, kindle it at home, communicate it to others, and it becomes the property of all. (Voltaire)
• Once the people begin to reason, all is lost (Voltaire)
• Whatever you do, stamp out abuses, and love those who love you.(Voltaire)

Freeblogpolls

Time to think

Source: http://rushinspeaks.blogspot.com/2010/04/mans-search-for-meaning-understanding.html

Here you have some quotes to think about and grow internally. There are two authors with more than one quote. These are Albert Einstein, the famous scientist, and Viktor Frankl, a Jewish doctor who survived to the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Dachau from 1942 to 1945. Frankl wrote an inspirational book called Man´s  search for meaning. I hope you like the quotes and reach some conclusions from them. 

What is your favourite quote about making mistakes, learning how to be a better person and moving forward ?

• A stumble may prevent a fall. Thomas Fulller
• The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke
• The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. Friedrich Nietzsche.
• The hardest are the battles that I fight with myself every single day. Napoleon Bonaparte
• He who learns but does not think, is lost. He who thinks but does not learn, is in great danger. Confucius
• When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. Viktor Frankl
• Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he/she learned in school. Albert Einstein.
• The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look and do nothing. Albert Einstein
• Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do. Johan Wolfgang von Goethe
• Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to. Mark Twain.
• A human being is a deciding being. Viktor Frankl
• Try not to become a man of success, but rather to become a man of value. Albert Einstein

Make your choice!

Source: http://www.gunclassics.com/napoleon.html

Napoleon Bonaparte left a lot of quotes that summarized his thoughts about many different topics. There are many referred to war and fighting, such as "Soldiers generally win battles; generals get credit for them" or "One must change one´s tactics every ten years if one wishes to maintain one´s superiority". Others were related to government, such as "Men are more easily governed through their vices than through their virtues" or "The man fitted for affairs and authority never considers individuals, but things and their consequences". He also thought about revolution and wrote "A revolution is an idea, taken up by bayonets" and "A revolution can be neither made nor stopped. The only thing that can be done is for one of several of its children to give it a direction by dint of victories". He also expressed his opinion about religion, for example when he said "Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich", "Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet" or "If I had to choose a religion, the sun as the universal giver of life would be my god". His thoughts about human nature are very interesting as well: " A man will fight harder for his interests than for his rights", "The surest way to remain poor is to be an honest man" or "Men are moved by two levers only: fear and interest". His reflection on history was "History is a set of lies agreed upon". But his opinion about women was more negative and controversial: "Women are nothing but machines for producing children". And this is what he said about the Spanish people: "Of all the peoples of Europe, Spaniards disgust me the least". 


There are a lot of interesting Napoleon´s quotes. Here you have a selection of the ones I most like. Which one do you prefer? Leave your opinions on the comments´ section.

What is your favourite Napoleon Bonaparte´s quote?

• A true man hates no one
• The only conquests that are permanent and leave no regrets are our conquests over ourselves
• There are only two forces in the world, the sword and the spirit. In the long run the sword will always be conquered by the spirit
• Courage isn't having the strength to go on - it is going on when you don't have strength.
• Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action comes, stop thinking and go in
• The only victories which leave no regret are those which are gained over ignorance
• To listen to the interests of all, marks an ordinary government; to foresee them, marks a great government.
• Truth fears no question
• Show me a family of readers and I will show you the people who move the world.
• The people to fear are not those who disagree with you, but those who disagree with you and are too cowardly to let you know.
• The greatness of a man is not measured from his feet to his head, but from his head to the sky
• A leader is a dealer in hope
• It requires more courage to suffer than to die.
• Among those who dislike oppression are many who like to oppress.
• War is the business of barbarians

Acepolls

Give your opinion!

Source: http://damianfmaceira.blogspot.com/2011/07/retorno-desde-hogwarts.html

As you know, we have a specific classroom for Social Sciences this year. But our room is impersonal and cold right now. It would be a good idea to decorate the walls with some posters including inspirational quotes related to history. Here you have a poll to choose the quotes you like more. Please, vote and explain your choice on the comments´ section.

What are you favourite historical quotes?

• Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. (Martin Luther King)
• Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something. (Plato)
• It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong. (Voltaire)
• He who knows best knows how little he knows. (Thomas Jefferson)
• A small leak can sink a great ship. (Benjamin Franklin)
• Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison (Henry David Thoreau)
• Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. (Martin Luther King)
• Be the change you wish to see in the world (Mahatma Gandhi)
• The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it. (Karl Marx)
• There is a driving force more powerful than steam, electricity and nuclear power: the will. (Albert Einstein)
• Women, wake up; the tocsin of reason sounds throughout the universe; recognize your rights.(Olympe de Gouges)
• The secret of freedom lies in educating people, whereas the secret of tyranny is in keeping them ignorant. (Maximilien Robespierre)

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