Raymond Smullyan quotes
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“Some people are always critical of vague statements. I tend rather to be critical of precise statements; they are the only ones which can correctly be labeled wrong.”
-- Raymond SmullyanSource : Raymond M. Smullyan (2013). “The Tao Is Silent”, p.25, Harper Collins
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“I believe that either Jupiter has life or it doesn't. But I neither believe that it does, nor do I believe that it doesn't.”
-- Raymond SmullyanSource : Raymond Smullyan (1983). “Five Thousand B.C. and Other Philosophical Fantasies”, p.88, Macmillan
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“It has always puzzled me that so many people have taken it for granted that God favors those who believe in him. Isn't it possible that the actual God is a scientific God who has little patience with beliefs founded on faith rather than evidence?”
-- Raymond SmullyanSource : Raymond Smullyan (1983). “Five Thousand B.C. and Other Philosophical Fantasies”, p.33, Macmillan
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“Why do I act as I do? To tell you the truth, I have absolutely no idea why. It is simply my nature to act as I act, and that's all I can say.”
-- Raymond Smullyan -
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“All my life I have been intensely repelled by the idea of 'making an effort'. I hate this idea today as much as I did as a child. I don't know why I hate it so much; I just do.”
-- Raymond Smullyan -
“There is nothing like a naturalistic orientation to dispel all these morbid thoughts of "sin" and "free will" and "moral responsibility.”
-- Raymond SmullyanSource : Jason Rosenhouse, Raymond M. Smullyan (2014). “Four Lives: A Celebration of Raymond Smullyan”, p.325, Courier Corporation
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“I have free will, but not of my own choice. I have never freely chosen to have free will. I have to have free will, whether I like it or not!”
-- Raymond SmullyanSource : Raymond M. Smullyan, Jason Rosenhouse (2014). “Four Lives: A Celebration of Raymond Smullyan”, p.305, Courier Corporation
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“Recently, someone asked me if I believed in astrology. He seemed somewhat puzzled when I explained that the reason I don't is that I'm a Gemini.”
-- Raymond SmullyanSource : Raymond Smullyan (1983). “Five Thousand B.C. and Other Philosophical Fantasies”, p.31, Macmillan
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“Because I have been a magician for many years, people have often asked me whether I ever have sawn a woman in half. I reply, Oh, yes I've sawn over seventy women in half in my lifetime, and I'm learning the second half of the trick now.”
-- Raymond SmullyanSource : Raymond Smullyan (1983). “Five Thousand B.C. and Other Philosophical Fantasies”, p.31, Macmillan
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“Why should I be worried about death?...”
-- Raymond Smullyan -
“Humor could not flourish in a wholly serious and rational atmosphere.”
-- Raymond SmullyanSource : Raymond M. Smullyan, Jason Rosenhouse (2014). “Four Lives: A Celebration of Raymond Smullyan”, p.273, Courier Corporation
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“Metaphysical problems about "mind" versus "matter" arise only from epistemological confusions.”
-- Raymond SmullyanSource : Raymond Smullyan (1983). “Five Thousand B.C. and Other Philosophical Fantasies”, p.84, Macmillan
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“Why should I be worried about dying? It's not going to happen in my lifetime!”
-- Raymond Smullyan
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