All that is not thought is pure nothingness; since we can think only thought and all the words we use to speak of things can express only thoughts, t… - Henri Poincaré

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All that is not thought is pure nothingness; since we can think only thought and all the words we use to speak of things can express only thoughts, to say there is something other than thought, is therefore an affirmation which can have no meaning.
And yet—strange contradiction for those who believe in time—geologic history shows us that life is only a short episode between two eternities of death, and that, even in this episode, conscious thought has lasted and will last only a moment. Thought is only a gleam in the midst of a long night. But it is this gleam which is everything.

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About Henri Poincaré

Jules Henri Poincaré (29 April 1854 – 17 July 1912), generally known as Henri Poincaré, was one of France's greatest mathematicians and theoretical physicists, and a philosopher of science.

Biography information from Wikiquote

Also Known As

Alternative Names: Jules Henri Poincare Henri Poincare Poincare Jules Henri Poincaré Poincaré
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Every definition implies an axiom, since it asserts the existence of the object defined. The definition then will not be justified, from the purely logical point of view, until we have proved that it involves no contradiction either in its terms or with the truths previously admitted.

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La recherche de la vérité doit être le but de notre activité ; c'est la seule fin qui soit digne d'elle. Sans doute nous devons d'abord nous efforcer de soulager les souffrances humaines, mais pourquoi ?

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