Civilizations can only be understood by those who are civilized.

Quote by Alfred North Whitehead

Topics: Alfred North Whitehead Quotes

If a dog jumps in your lap, it is because he is fond of you;...

If a dog jumps in your lap, it is because he is fond of you;...

Art attracts us only by what it reveals of our most secret self.

Art attracts us only by what it reveals of our most secret self.

In formal logic, a contradiction is the signal of defeat, but in the evolution of...

In formal logic, a contradiction is the signal of defeat, but in the evolution of...

But you can catch yourself entertaining habitually certain ideas and setting others aside; and that,...

But you can catch yourself entertaining habitually certain ideas and setting others aside; and that,...

If a dog jumps in your lap, it is because he is fond of you;...

If a dog jumps in your lap, it is because he is fond of you;...

Speech is human nature itself, with none of the artificiality of written language.

Speech is human nature itself, with none of the artificiality of written language.

When you're average, you're just as close to the bottom as you are the top.

When you're average, you're just as close to the bottom as you are the top.

Intelligence is quickness to apprehend as distinct from ability, which is capacity to act wisely...

Intelligence is quickness to apprehend as distinct from ability, which is capacity to act wisely...

Not ignorance, but ignorance of ignorance, is the death of knowledge.

Not ignorance, but ignorance of ignorance, is the death of knowledge.

The total absence of humor from the Bible is one of the most singular things...

The total absence of humor from the Bible is one of the most singular things...

The absolute pacifist is a bad citizen; times come when force must be used to...

The absolute pacifist is a bad citizen; times come when force must be used to...

Every philosophy is tinged with the coloring of some secret imaginative background, which never emerges...

Every philosophy is tinged with the coloring of some secret imaginative background, which never emerges...

I have suffered a great deal from writers who have quoted this or that sentence...

I have suffered a great deal from writers who have quoted this or that sentence...

We cannot think first and act afterward. From the moment of birth we are immersed...

We cannot think first and act afterward. From the moment of birth we are immersed...

The silly question is the first intimation of some totally new development.

The silly question is the first intimation of some totally new development.

Almost all new ideas have a certain aspect of foolishness when they are first produced.

Almost all new ideas have a certain aspect of foolishness when they are first produced.

The guiding motto in the life of every natural philosopher should be, seek simplicity and...

The guiding motto in the life of every natural philosopher should be, seek simplicity and...

The task of a university is the creation of the future, so far as rational...

The task of a university is the creation of the future, so far as rational...

Religion is the last refuge of human savagery.

Religion is the last refuge of human savagery.

Knowledge shrinks as wisdom grows.

Knowledge shrinks as wisdom grows.