Quotes by Johann Gottlieb Fichte

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I'd rather count peas than study history.

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Man is meant to live in society, he must live in society; he is not a full man, and is opposed to his nature, if he lives in isolation; it is important not to confuse society with the separate, empirically determined society called the state. Life within the state is not an absolute goal of man. The state organization of a particular era is the result of its previous destinies.

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There is only one philosophy, just as there is only one mathematics.

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Self-improvement through the free influence of others upon us, and the improvement of others through our influence over them as free beings—this is our purpose in society.

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It's not in my power to feel a particular turn on or not. But it is in my power whether I will satisfy her or not.

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The external existence of God is fundamental, like the internal: they are indestructible and equal to each other, and this external divine existence constitutes the content of knowledge, in it alone the world and everything that exists is contained.

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The state and all human institutions, which are only a means, tend to their own destruction: the purpose of all government is to make government superfluous. All reality is active, and all that is active is real. We do not act as a result of knowledge, but know because we are meant to act.

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All individuals belonging to the human species differ from one another; only one thing makes them alike, namely their ultimate goal - perfection.

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Man has different aspirations and abilities, and everyone's purpose is to develop his abilities to the extent possible.

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Pay attention to yourself, turn your gaze away from what surrounds you and look inside - this is the first requirement of philosophy for the beginner. It's not about what's outside of you, it's about yourself.