Man is not what he believes himself to be in his conscious decisions.

Astonishment is the root of philosophy.

The fatal pedagogical error is to throw answers like stones at the heads of those who have not yet asked the questions.

Our search for such [moral] principles can start with . . . the unconditional imperative to acknowledge every person as a person. If we ask for the contents given by this absolute, we find, first, something negative-the command not to treat a person as a thing. This seems little, but it is much. It is the core of the principle of justice.

Cynically speaking, one could say that it is true to life to be cynical about it.

The awareness of the ambiguity of one's highest achievements, as well as one's deepest failures is a definite symptom of maturity.

Faith consists in being vitally concerned with that ultimate reality to which I give the symbolical name of God. Whoever reflects earnestly on the meaning of life is on the verge of an act of faith.