"Only then, approaching my fortieth birthday, I made philosophy my life’s work." ― Karl Jaspers Topic(s): Birthday More From Karl Jaspers "The history of philosophy is not, like the history of the sciences, to be studied with the intellect alone. That which is receptive in us and that which impinges upon us from history is the reality of man’s being, unfolding itself in thought." "If philosophy is practice, a demand to know the manner in which its history is to be studied is entailed: a theoretical attitude toward it becomes real only in the living appropriation of its contents from the texts." More In Birthday "It is ironic that the one thing that all religions recognize as separating us from our creator, our very self-consciousness, is also the one thing that divides us from our fellow creatures. It was a bitter birthday present from evolution."― Annie Dillard "I’m amazed. When I was 40, I thought I’d never make 50. And at 50 I thought the frosting on the cake would be 60. At 60, I was still going strong and enjoying everything."― Gloria Stuart "In these troubled, uncertain times, we don’t need more command and control; we need better means to engage everyone’s intelligence in solving challenges and crises as they arise."― Margaret J. Wheatley