best quotations about
Thinking |
and Thought
| 124 quotes | Visits: 2,272 |
Quotations
 | All of humanity’s problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone. — Blaise Pascal, 1623-1662, French thinker 29 likes |
 | Madness is to think of too many things in succession too fast, or of one thing too exclusively. — Voltaire, 1694-1778, French philosopher & writer 14 likes |
 | Thoughts become perception, perception becomes reality. Alter your thoughts, alter your reality. — William James, 1842-1910, American philosopher 12 likes |
 | Stop thinking, and end your problems. — Lao-Tzu, 6th cent. BC, Chinese philosopher 12 likes |
 | The trouble with most people is that they think with their hopes or fears or wishes rather than with their minds. — Will Durant, 1885-1981, American historian & philosopher 12 likes |
 | A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes. — Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948, Indian leader of independence 11 likes |
 | To think is easy. To act is hard. But the hardest thing in the world is to act in accordance with your thinking. — Wolfgang Goethe, 1749-1832, German poet & philosopher 9 likes |
 | Thoughts, like fleas, jump from man to man, but they don't bite everybody. — Stanislaw Jerzy Lec, 1906-1966, Polish author of maxims 9 likes |
 | Life is a tragedy for those who feel, and a comedy for those who think. — Jean de La Bruyère, 1645-1696, French writer 8 likes |
 | I think that I think, therefore I think that I am. — Ambrose Bierce, 1842–1914, American writer 8 likes |
| There is a law in psychology that if you form a picture in your mind of what you would like to be, and you keep and hold that picture there long enough, you will soon become exactly as you have been thinking. — William James, 1842-1910, American philosopher 8 likes |
 | Reading is thinking with some one else's head instead of one's own. — Arthur Schopenhauer, 1788-1860, German philosopher 7 likes |
| As soon as you have made a thought, laugh at it. — Lao-Tzu, 6th cent. BC, Chinese philosopher 7 likes |
| All intelligent thoughts have already been thought; what is necessary is only to try to think them again. — Wolfgang Goethe, 1749-1832, German poet & philosopher 7 likes |
 | Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than you think. — Benjamin Disraeli, 1804-1881, British Prime Minister 7 likes |
| A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices. — William James, 1842-1910, American philosopher 7 likes |
 | It is too difficult to think nobly when one thinks only of earning a living. — Jean Jacques Rousseau, 1712-1778, Swiss-French philosopher 7 likes |
 | I think people in power have a vested interest to oppose critical thinking. — Carl Sagan, 1934-1996, American astronomer 7 likes |
 | Few people think more than two or three times a year; I have made an international reputation for myself by thinking once or twice a week. — George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Irish writer, Nobel 1925 6 likes |
 | They are never alone that are accompanied with noble thoughts. — Philip Sidney, 1554-1586, English poet & courtier 6 likes |
 | Great thoughts come from the heart. — Vauvenargues, 1715-1747, French author of maxims 6 likes |
 | Writers can’t write as fast as governments make wars; because to write demands thinking. — Bertolt Brecht, 1898-1956, German writer 6 likes |
 | He who thinks great thoughts often makes great errors. — Martin Heidegger, 1889-1976, German philosopher 6 likes |
 | People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought, which they avoid. — Søren Kierkegaard, 1813-1855, Danish philosopher 6 likes |
 | Thoughts are the shadows of our feelings — always darker, emptier, simpler. — Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844-1900, German philosopher 5 likes |
 | The ancestor of every action is a thought. — Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1884, American philosopher 5 likes |
 | Our most important thoughts are those that contradict our emotions. — Paul Valery, 1871-1945, French poet 5 likes |
 | First, think. Second, believe. Third, dream. And finally, dare. — Walt Disney, 1901-1966, American businessman & cartoonist 5 likes |
| The most thought-provoking thing in our thought-provoking time is that we are still not thinking. — Martin Heidegger, 1889-1976, German philosopher 5 likes |
 | Language etches the grooves through which your thoughts must flow. — Noam Chomsky, 1928-, American linguist, philosopher, social activist 5 likes |
 | You can think clearly only with your clothes on. — Margaret Atwood, 1939 -, Canadian writer 5 likes |
 | Thinking is not to agree or disagree. That's voting. — Robert Frost, 1874-1963, American poet 4 likes |
 | Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason so few engage in it. — Henry Ford, 1863-1947, American industrialist, founder of FORD 4 likes |
| I do not know what I think until I write it. — George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Irish writer, Nobel 1925 4 likes |
 | I am. I think. I will. — Ayn Rand, 1905-1982, American writer & philosopher 4 likes |
| Men who reject the responsibility of thought and reason can only exist as parasites on the thinking of others. — Ayn Rand, 1905-1982, American writer & philosopher 4 likes |
 | There is one art of which people should be masters - the art of reflection. — Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1772-1834, English poet & philosopher 4 likes |
 | If I look confused it is because I am thinking. — Sam Goldwyn, 1879-1974, American film producer 4 likes |
 | We think in generalities, but we live in detail. — Alfred North Whitehead, 1861-1947, British philosopher & mathematician 4 likes |
| The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another. — William James, 1842-1910, American philosopher 4 likes |
 | Heresy is only another word for freedom of thought. — Graham Greene, 1904-1991, British writer 4 likes |
 | I'll be more enthusiastic about encouraging thinking outside the box when there's evidence of any thinking going on inside it. — Terry Pratchett, 1948-2015, British writer 4 likes |
 | A thought is an arrow shot at the truth; it can hit a point, but not cover the whole target. But the archer is too well satisfied with his success to ask anything farther. — Sri Aurobindo, 1872-1950, Indian nationalist, yogi & philosopher 4 likes |
 | My words fly up, my thoughts remain below: Words without thoughts never to heaven go. — William Shakespeare, 1564-1616, English poet & playwright ‐ Hamlet 4 likes |
 | Language disguises thought. — Ludwig Wittgenstein, 1889-1951, Austrian philosopher 4 likes |
 | Independent thinking is not encouraged in a professional Army. It is a form of mutiny. Obedience is the supreme virtue. — David Lloyd George, 1863-1945, British Prime Minister [1916-1922] 4 likes |
 | It is for want of thinking that most Men are done. — Dr. Thomas Fuller, 1654-1734, English physician and adage collector 4 likes |
| If we examine our thoughts, we shall find them always occupied with the past and the future. — Blaise Pascal, 1623-1662, French thinker 3 likes |
 | Dare to think! — Immanuel Kant, 1724-1804, German philosopher 3 likes |
 | What a peculiar privilege has this little agitation of the brain which we call “thought”. — David Hume, 1711-1776, Scottish philosopher 3 likes |
| There are no evil thoughts except one; the refusal to think. — Ayn Rand, 1905-1982, American writer & philosopher 3 likes |
| Sometimes I think; and sometimes I am. — Paul Valery, 1871-1945, French poet 3 likes |
 | Where does a thought go when it's forgotten? — Sigmund Freud, 1856-1939, Austrian psychologist, founder of psychoanalysis 3 likes |
 | We think not in words but in shadows of words. — Vladimir Nabokov, 1899-1977, Russian-American writer 3 likes |
 | Life is a comedy for those who think and a tragedy for those who feel. — Francis Scott Fitzgerald, 1896-1940, American writer 3 likes |
| Ambition is the death of thought. — Ludwig Wittgenstein, 1889-1951, Austrian philosopher 3 likes |
 | Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think. — Martin Luther King, 1929-1968, American leader in the Civil Rights Movement 3 likes |
 | The end comes when we no longer talk with ourselves. It is the end of genuine thinking and the beginning of the final loneliness. — Edward Gibbon, 1737-1794, English historian 3 likes |
| I don't think in any language. I think in images. — Vladimir Nabokov, 1899-1977, Russian-American writer 2 likes |
| Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; He thinks too much: such men are dangerous. — William Shakespeare, 1564-1616, English poet & playwright ‐ Julius Caesar 2 likes |
| Wealth is the product of man’s capacity to think. — Ayn Rand, 1905-1982, American writer & philosopher 2 likes |
 | First thought is best in Art, second in other matters. — William Blake, 1757-1827, English poet & painter 2 likes |
 | You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts. — Khalil Gibran, 1883-1931, Lebanese-American poet & philosopher 2 likes |
 | What's drinking? A mere pause from thinking! — Lord Byron, 1788-1824, British poet 2 likes |
 | Think before you speak is criticism's motto; speak before you think is creation's. — E. M. Forster, 1879-1970, British writer 2 likes |
 | It is quite a three pipe problem, and I beg that you won’t speak to me for fifty minutes. — Arthur Conan Doyle, 1859-1930, British writer 2 likes |
 | To study and not think is a waste. To think and not study is dangerous. — Confucius, 551-479 BC, Chinese teacher & philosopher 2 likes |
 | Clear thinking at the wrong moment can stifle creativity. — Karl Lagerfeld, 1933-2019, German fashion designer 2 likes |
 | We are not philosophizing to save the revolution, but to save our thinking and our cohesion. — Cornelius Castoriadis, 1922-1997, Greek-French philosopher & social critic 2 likes |
| A person hoping to become a poet must have the capacity of thinking of several things at a time. — Vladimir Nabokov, 1899-1977, Russian-American writer 2 likes |
| To let the brain work without sufficient material is like racing an engine. It racks itself to pieces. — Arthur Conan Doyle, 1859-1930, British writer 1 likes |
 | Philosophy is an art form — art of thought or thought as art. — Susan Sontag, 1933-2004, American writer, critic, activist 1 likes |
| Brain: an apparatus with which we think we think. |
 | People do not like to think. If one thinks, one must reach conclusions. Conclusions are not always pleasant. |
 | It is only up to the head to think, but the whole body has memory. |
 | Put your feet up when you think; remove them when writing. |
 | We can all do good deeds, but very few of us can think good thoughts. |
 | Most people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so. |
| Language serves not only to express thought but to make possible thoughts which could not exist without it. |
 | It doesn't matter how smart you are unless you stop and think. |
| Like everything metaphysical the harmony between thought and reality is to be found in the grammar of the language. |
 | What I write is different from what I say, what I say is different from what I think, what I think is different from what I ought to think and so it goes further into the deepest darkness. |
 | Speech is external thought, and thought internal speech. |
| Thoughts are formed in the soul as clouds are formed in the air. |
| Misery is almost always the result of thinking. |
 | Thoughts are slow and deep and golden in the morning. |
 | Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow. |
| Why can’t somebody give us a list of things that everybody thinks and nobody says, and another list of things that everybody says and nobody thinks? |
 | Poetry is only born after painful journeys into the vast regions of thought. |
| Thinking is seeing... all poetry like every work of art proceeds from a swift vision of things. |
| The main objective is to learn to think crudely. Crude thinking is the great one’s thinking. |
 | The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud. |
 | During my 87 years I have witnessed a whole succession of technological revolutions. But none of them has done away with the need for character in the individual or the ability to think. — Bernard Baruch, 1870-1965, American businessman & statesman |
| Whatever failures I have known, whatever errors I have committed, whatever follies I have witnessed in private and public life have been the consequence of action without thought. — Bernard Baruch, 1870-1965, American businessman & statesman |
| Information cannot serve as an effective substitute for thinking. — Bernard Baruch, 1870-1965, American businessman & statesman |
 | The best kind of conversation is that which may be called thinking aloud. |
| Thinking begins only when we have come to know that reason, glorified for centuries, is the stiff-necked adversary of thought. |
 | To be wholly devoted to some intellectual exercise is to have succeeded in life. |
 | There are many people for whom “thinking” necessarily means identifying with existing trends. — Marshall McLuhan, 1911-1980, Canadian academic & media theorist |
| The consciousness of the seer, is a greater power for knowledge than the consciousness of the thinker. The perceptual power of the inner sight is greater and more direct than the perceptual power of thought. — Sri Aurobindo, 1872-1950, Indian nationalist, yogi & philosopher |
| True knowledge is not attained by thinking. It is what you are; it is what you become. — Sri Aurobindo, 1872-1950, Indian nationalist, yogi & philosopher |
 | Man is a thought-adventurer. |
| I can never decide whether my dreams are the result of my thoughts or my thoughts the result of my dreams. |
 | Everyone can perform magic, everyone can reach his goals, if he is able to think, if he is able to wait, if he is able to fast. |
 | It is a far, far better thing to have a firm anchor in nonsense than to put out on the troubled seas of thought. — John Kenneth Galbraith, 1908-2006, American-Canadian economist |
 | That's maybe the reason he does so many things so that he will not have to think . |
 | No one should be afraid of what he thinks, even if his thought seems to conflict with the most elementary laws of logic. |
 | A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking. |
 | Whatever you think today becomes what you are tomorrow. |
| I have needed God every day to defend myself against the abundance of thoughts. |
 | People don't think when they're enjoying themselves. Thinking is a sign of disturbance. — Marty Rubin, 1930-1994, Canadian gay activist, author & journalist |
| If it is true that the violin is the most perfect of musical instruments, then Greek is the violin of human thought. |
 | To think like everybody else is a recipe for prosperity and stupidity. |
 | What does not engage our feelings does not long engage our thoughts either. — Lou Andreas-Salomé, 1861-1937, Russian-German writer & psychoanalyst |
Latin Quotes
 | I think therefore I exist. Cogito ergo sum. — René Descartes, 1596-1650, French philosopher 39 likes |
Funny Quotes
 | I think I am, therefore, I am. I think. — George Carlin, 1936-2008, American comedian 10 likes |
Ancient Greek
 | Man: one who thinks of what he sees. Άνθρωπος: ο αναθρών ά όπωπε. — Plato, 427-347 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher 43 likes |
| One who thinks right is better than myriads who think wrong. Εις ευ φρονών μυρίων μη φρονούντων κρείττων εστί. — Plato, 427-347 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher 13 likes |
 | It is the mark of a divine mind to be always contemplating something noble. Θείου νου το αεί τι διαλογίζεσθαι καλόν. — Democritus, 470-370 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher 11 likes |
 | Think what you are doing. Νόει το πραττόμενον. — Bias of Priene, 625-540 BC, one of the 7 sages of Ancient Greece 6 likes |
 | Think of something worthy. Φρόνει τι κεδνόν. — Cleobulus, 6th cent. BC, Ancient Greek Poet, one of the 7 sages 6 likes |
| it is important to think clearly in times of trouble. Μέγα το εν συμφορήσι, φρονέειν ά δει. — Democritus, 470-370 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher 4 likes |
Movie Quotes
 | You think too much.That is your trouble. Clever people and grocers, they weigh everything. — from the film Zorba the Greek (1964) 9 likes |
 | - Why the thoughtful air? - Maybe because I'm thinking of something. That surprise you? — from the film Contempt (1963) 4 likes |
