334 Quotes by Jostein Gaarder

Hegel said that ‘truth’ is subjective, thus rejecting the existence of any ‘truth’ above or beyond human reason. All knowledge is human knowledge.

Geboren zu werden bedeutet, die ganze Welt geschenkt zu bekommen.

But understanding will always require some effort. You probably wouldn’t admire a friend who was good at everything if it cost her no effort.

As material beings we belong wholly to the natural world. We are therefore subject to causal relations. As such, we have no free will. But as rational beings we have a part in what Kant calls das Ding an sich – that is, the world as it exists in itself, independent of our sensory impressions. Only when we follow our ‘practical reason’ – which enables us to make moral choices – do we exercise our free will, because when we conform to moral law, it is we who make the law we are conforming to.

For nature is good, an man is ‘by nature’ good; it is civilization which ruins him.

Nowadays, people of many lands and cultures are being intermingled more and more. Christians, Muslims, and Buddhists may live in the same apartment building. In which case it is more important to accept each other’s beliefs than to ask why everyone does not believe the same thing.

We can’t own each other’s past. The questioin is whether we have a future together.

Although I’ve always been easily led by my imagination, I was, and I remain, a rational person.

A Russian astronaut and a Russian brain surgeon were once discussing religion. The brain surgeon was a Christian but the astronaut was not. The astronaut said, ‘I’ve been out in space many times but I’ve never seen God or angels.’ And the brain surgeon said, ‘And I’ve operated on many clever brains but I’ve never seen a single thought.