Averroes (Ibn Rushd)

Ignorance leads to fear, fear leads to hatred, and hatred leads to violence. This is the equation.

Two truths cannot contradict one another.

The Law teaches that the universe was invented and created by God, and that it did not come into being by chance or by itself.

Man is not free if he must obey a law imposed on him against his will.

Knowledge is the conformity of the object and the intellect.

The world is divided into men who have wit and no religion and men who have religion and no wit.

The study of philosophy is nothing more than the study of death.

The purpose of rhetoric is to persuade, the purpose of logic is to prove, and the purpose of philosophy is to know.

The wise man does not expose himself needlessly to danger, since there are few things for which he cares sufficiently; but he is willing, in great crises, to give even his life.

The soul is neither inside nor outside the body; it is the body's form.

The truth does not contradict the truth; rather, it is consistent with it and bears witness to it.

Religion is for the masses, philosophy for the elite.

The study of philosophy is obligatory, even if it leads to conclusions contrary to those of the theologians.

The purpose of prophecy is to teach the masses what they cannot grasp through reason alone.

Aristotle’s philosophy is the supreme truth, and his intellect the limit of human achievement.

The masses must be governed by symbols and parables, not by pure reason.

If the intellect contradicts tradition, tradition must be interpreted metaphorically.

Theologians are like apes compared to philosophers.

The universe is eternal, and creation is a continuous process.