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Men are not allowed to think freely about chemistry and biology: why should they be allowed to think freely about political philosophy?

— Auguste Comte A Dictionary of Scientific Quotations (1991)

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More quotes by Auguste Comte

Social positivism only accepts duties, for all and towards all. Its constant social viewpoint cannot include any notion of rights, for such notion always rests on individuality.

Le Catéchisme positiviste (1852)

There are three successive states of morality answering to the three principal stages of human life; the personal, the domestic, and the social stage.

A General View of Positivism (1848)

To understand a science it is necessary to know its history.

Mathematical Analysis is... the true rational basis of the whole system of our positive knowledge.

System of positive polity (1852)

The object of all true Philosophy is to frame a system which shall comprehend human life under every aspect, social as well as individual. It embraces, therefore, the three kinds of phenomena of which our life consists, Thoughts, Feelings, and Actions.

A General View of Positivism (1848)

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The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents.

H. P. Lovecraft The Call of Cthulhu (1926)

All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man's life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom.

Albert Einstein Moral Decay (1937)

Science and religion are two human enterprises sharing many features.

Freeman Dyson Infinite in All Directions (1988)

To doubt everything or to believe everything are two equally convenient solutions; both dispense with the necessity of reflection.

Henri Poincaré Science and Hypothesis (1901)

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