the essence of philosophy is not the possession of the truth but the search for truth. ... Philosophy means to be on the way. Its questions are more essential than its answers, and every answer becomes a new question.

My own being can be judged by the depths I reach in making these historical origins my own.

Only as an individual can man become a philosopher.

The Greek word for philosopher (philosophos) connotes a distinction from sophos. It signifies the lover of wisdom (knowledge) as distinguished from him who considers himself wise in the possession of knowledge. This meaning of the word still endures: the essence of philosophy is not the possession of the truth but the search for truth. ... Philosophy means to be on the way. Its questions are more essential than its answers, and every answer becomes a new question.

At the present moment, the security of coherent philosophy, which existed from Parmenides to Hegel, is lost.

The study of law left me unsatisfied, because I did not know the aspects of life which it serves. I perceived only the intricate mental juggling with fictions that did not interest me.

Reason is like an open secret that can become known to anyone at any time; it is the quiet space into which everyone can enter through his own thought