Theme

Philosophy quotes about critique

Critique appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat critique as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.

Why this theme matters

Across 4 recurring voices here (notably Paulin Hountondji and Aimé Césaire), critique is framed through Africana Philosophy and Critical Rationalism. Some passages define critique; others warn how it fails; still others relocate it inside habit, community, or language.

In the history of philosophy

Discussions of critique travel through Africana and European modern traditions. Compare the quotations below with their school labels rather than forcing a single definition.

Thinkers in this collection

Karl Popper , Alfred North Whitehead , Friedrich Schiller , Diogenes of Sinope , Elizabeth Anscombe , Kwasi Wiredu , Paulin Hountondji , Aimé Césaire

Frequently asked questions

What did philosophers say about critique?

They disagreed in productive ways. In this archive, Paulin Hountondji, Aimé Césaire, and related voices treat critique as something to clarify, cultivate, or critique—not merely to celebrate.

Where can I find philosophy quotes about critique?

This theme page gathers 15 verified English quotations tagged Critique, with links to thinkers and sources.

How should I read quotes about critique?

Read the sentence, then check school and source. A compact line is an entry point into an argument about critique, not a substitute for the surrounding text.

  1. We may become the makers of our fate when we have ceased to pose as its prophets.
  2. It is easy to obtain confirmations…for nearly every theory—if we look for confirmations.
  3. Seek simplicity and distrust it.
  4. Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain.
  5. I am looking for a human being.
  6. The greater part of modern moral philosophy derives from Sidgwick and is utilitarian or consequentialist.
  7. By decolonization, I mean divesting African philosophical thinking of all undue influences emanating from our colonial past. The crucial word in this formulation is "undue".
  8. By 'African philosophy' I mean a set of texts, specifically, the set of texts written by Africans and described as philosophical by their authors themselves.
  9. In fact, it is an ethnological work with philosophical pretensions, or more simply, if I may coin the word, a work of 'ethnophilosophy'.
  10. Contemporary African philosophy, inasmuch as it remains an ethnophilosophy, has been built up essentially for a European public. The African ethnophilosopher's discourse is not intended for Africans.
  11. A civilization that proves incapable of solving the problems it creates is a decadent civilization.
  12. A civilization that chooses to close its eyes to its most crucial problems is a stricken civilization. A civilization that uses its principles for trickery and deceit is a dying civilization.
  13. My turn to state an equation: colonization = "thingification."
  14. In spite of decolonisation, the philosophical character of European standpoint on colonisation together with its corresponding practices remains unchanged in its relations with the erstwhile colonies. It is precisely this condition which calls for the need for the authentic liberation of Africa.
  15. Philosophy, by definition, is an individual critical activity; the myth of a collective, unanimous African philosophy must be discarded.
  16. If you meet the Buddha, kill the Buddha; if you meet a patriarch, kill the patriarch; if you meet an arhat, kill the arhat.