Sidney Hook Quotes
Sidney Hook was an American philosopher, long-time professor at New York University, and one of the most prominent American public intellectuals of the twentieth century. A pupil of John Dewey, he produced his Towards the Understanding of Karl Marx in 1933, the first serious American philosophical study of Marx, and remained throughout his career a defender of an experimental, democratic, and anti-Stalinist socialism that gradually moved him toward Cold War liberalism. The quotes below are attributed to Sidney Hook, organized by topic.
Sidney Hook on Freedom
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Attributed to Sidney Hook:
“A free society is one in which we agree to disagree by reasoning.”
Sidney Hook on Politics
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Attributed to Sidney Hook:
“Democracy without dissent is tyranny in disguise.”
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Attributed to Sidney Hook:
“Marx is best understood as a philosopher of practice, not of dogma.”
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Attributed to Sidney Hook:
“The hero in history is the one whose actions are not merely effects.”
Sidney Hook on Truth
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Attributed to Sidney Hook:
“What is worth defending must be defended in plain speech.”