Martin Luther King, Jr. Quotes about Philosophy

The reason I can't follow the old eye-for-an-eye philosophy is that it ends up leaving everyone blind.

The reason I can't follow the old eye-for-an-eye philosophy is that it ends up leaving everyone blind.

Philosophy, Eye, Leaving

He (Jesus) knew that the old eye-for-eye philosophy would leave everyone blind. He did not seek to overcome evil with evil. He overcame evil with good. Although crucified by hate, he responded with aggressive love.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Jesus, Philosophy, Hate

Martin Luther King Jr. (1963). “Strength to Love”

Black Power is a nihilistic philosophy born out of the conviction that the Negro can't win... the view that American society is so hopelessly corrupt and enmeshed in evil that there is no possibility of salvation from within.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Philosophy, Winning, Views

We must be concerned not merely about who murdered them, but about the system, the way of life, the philosophy which produced the murderers .

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Philosophy, Way, Brilliant

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (2013). “The Essential Martin Luther King, Jr.: "I Have a Dream" and Other Great Writings”, p.138, Beacon Press

In spite of its glowing talk about the welfare of the masses, Communism's methods and philosophy strip man of his dignity and worth, leaving him as little more than a depersonalized cog in the ever-turning wheel of the state.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Philosophy, Men, Glowing

Martin Luther King (Jr.) (1968). “I Have a Dream: The Quotations of Martin Luther King, Jr”

I plan to stand by nonviolence, because I have found it to be a philosophy of life that regulates not only my dealings in the struggle for racial justice, but also my dealings with people, and with my own self.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Peace, Philosophy, Struggle

Kenneth L. Smith, Martin Luther King (Jr.), Ira G. Zepp (1986). “Search for the beloved community: the thinking of Martin Luther King, Jr”, Univ Pr of Amer

It is my hope that as the Negro plunges deeper into the quest for freedom and justice he will plunge even deeper into the philosophy of non-violence. The Negro all over the South must come to the point that he can say to his white brother: "We will match your capacity to inflict suffering with our capacity to endure suffering. We will meet your physical force with soul force. We will not hate you, but we will not obey your evil laws. We will soon wear you down by pure capacity to suffer".

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Brother, Hate, Philosophy

Martin Luther King (Jr.), Alex Ayres (1993). “The Wisdom of Martin Luther King, Jr”, Plume

I firmly believe that the Gandhian philosophy of nonviolent resistance is the only logical and moral approach to the solution of the race problem in the United States.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Philosophy, Believe, Equality

The Darwinian concept of the survival of the fittest has been substituted by a philosophy of the survival of the slickest.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Philosophy, Survival, Has Beens

Martin Luther King Jr. (1963). “Strength to Love”

The intellectual and moral satisfaction that I failed to gain from the utilitarianism of Bentham and Mill, the revolutionary methods of Marx and Lenin, the social contract theory of Hobbes, the "back to nature" optimism of Rousseau, and the superman philosophy of Nietzsche, I found in the nonviolent resistance philosophy of Gandhi. I came to feel that this was the only morally and practically sound method open to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Philosophy, Struggle, People

Martin Luther King (Jr.) (1964). “A Martin Luther King Treasury”

And violence is impractical, because the old eye for an eye philosophy ends up leaving everybody blind .. It is immoral because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for everybody. Means and ends are inseparable. The means represent the ideal in the making; in the long run of history destructive means cannot bring about constructive ends.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Running, Philosophy, War