TST: New Content – Quotes

David Hume
1739

Normative Reasoning

The is–ought problem: You cannot move from what is to what ought to be without a value premise. Good reasoning makes that hidden step explicit.

Tue 1 Sep 2026

(1 week ago)

Updated 2 weeks ago.

“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.”

William James
1902

Moral Agency

You cannot control every thought that enters your mind, but you can learn to control which thoughts receive your attention. That ability gives you real power over stress.

Sat 1 Aug 2026

(1 month ago)

Updated 4 weeks ago.

“Truth is stranger than fiction…[which] is obliged to stick to possibilities;”

Mark Twain
1897

Fiction

Fiction lives within the possibilities of reality. Truth must answer to reality itself.

Wed 1 Jul 2026

(2 months ago)

Updated 2 months ago.

“Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.”

Carl Sagan
1979

Secular Spirituality

Embrace a secular approach to your spirituality. It grounds awe and meaning in observable human experience. For sure, judge spiritual claims against measurable effects.

Mon 1 Jun 2026

(3 months ago)

Updated 2 months ago.

“The historian without his facts is rootless…the facts without their historian are…meaningless.”

E. H. Carr
1961

Philosophy of History

Carr’s 1961 quote reminds us that facts do not become history by themselves. History emerges when evidence is selected, organized, interpreted, and placed into a meaningful story.

Sun 3 May 2026

(4 months ago)

Updated 2 months ago.

“In order for a war to be just, three things are necessary.”

Thomas Aquinas
circa 1265

Situational Ethics

Situational ethics, like Just War Theory, can be brought down to your life. When you cannot turn the other cheek, strive for a response that is proportionate and never exceeds the harm done.

Wed 22 Apr 2026

(5 months ago)

Updated 2 months ago.

“A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence.”

David Hume
1748

Belief

Your confidence in an idea, whether scientific or spiritual, should rise with support, not desire.

Wed 15 Apr 2026

(5 months ago)

Updated 1 month ago.

“Our statements about the…world face the tribunal of sense experience…as a corporate body.”

W. V. Quine
1951

Worldviews

Never defend a belief blindly; examine the larger web around it and decide what fits your authentic self.

Wed 8 Apr 2026

(5 months ago)

Updated 2 months ago.

“It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.”

William Kingdon Clifford
1877

Belief

Clifford argued that personal belief is a moral responsibility to humanity, not just a private habit. You have a moral obligation to be careful what you believe.

Wed 1 Apr 2026

(5 months ago)

Updated 6 days ago.