Profound insights from Germany's greatest philosophical minds
To act is to align morals and actions with wider principles
Hegel discusses how ethical life (Sittlichkeit) arises when personal freedom aligns with the ethical laws of the society, presenting a complex relation between individuality and universality.
The will to power is not a being, not a becoming, but a pathos
Nietzsche's concept of 'will to power' describes a fundamental drive that motivates individuals, extending beyond mere survival or physical strength, emphasizing the dynamics of strength and wills.
I think, therefore I am
This phrase is foundational to Western philosophy and asserts that the act of thinking is evidence of one’s existence.
Knowledge begins with experience
Kant argues that while all knowledge begins with experience, it does not all arise out of experience, challenging the philosophies that either emphasized sensory experience alone or reason alone.
Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards
Known as the ‘Father of Existentialism,’ Kierkegaard stresses the retrospective understanding of life events, holding them up to existential perspectives of anxiety, despair, and individual will.