--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Philosophy begins where religion ends…" description: "\"Philosophy begins where religion ends, just as by analogy chemistry begins where alchemy runs out, and astronomy takes the place of astrology.\" — Chris..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/445/christopher-hitchens-117_alchemy_philosophy-begins-where-religion-ends-ju_2984599.jpg" --- # Philosophy begins where religion ends, just as by analogy… ![“Philosophy begins where religion ends, just as by analogy chemistry begins where alchemy runs out, and astronomy takes the place of astrology.” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/445/christopher-hitchens-117_alchemy_philosophy-begins-where-religion-ends-ju_2984599.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/445/christopher-hitchens-117_alchemy_philosophy-begins-where-religion-ends-ju_2984599.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/445/christopher-hitchens-117_alchemy_philosophy-begins-where-religion-ends-ju_2984599.jpg) > “Philosophy begins where religion ends, just as by analogy chemistry begins where alchemy runs out, and astronomy takes the place of astrology.” [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Philosophy replaces religion as science replaces alchemy, and astronomy replaces astrology. **In simple terms:** Philosophy follows religion; science follows alchemy; astronomy follows astrology. Key Takeaway Seek logical foundations beyond belief systems. Themes philosophy science religion Mood analytical thought‑provoking Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - intellectual debate - personal belief Key Concepts epistemology progression Questions to Reflect On - What replaces your current worldview? - How do you handle uncertainty? A Different Perspective Transitions can be gradual, not abrupt. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alchemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alchemy/) [Analogies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/analogies/) [Astrology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astrology/) [Astronomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) [Chemistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chemistry/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) ## Related quotes > [Where mystery begins religion ends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/where-mystery-begins-religion-ends/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Chemistry begins in the stars. The stars are the source of the chemical elements, which are the building blocks of matter and the core…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-atkins/chemistry-begins-in-the-stars-the-stars-are-the-source-of-the/) [Peter Atkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-atkins/) > [Youth is a religion from which one always ends up being converted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/youth-is-a-religion-from-which-one-always-ends-up-being-converted/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [“The inner history of the Magian religion ends with Justinian’s time, as truly as that of the Faustian ends with Charles V and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-spengler/the-inner-history-of-the-magian-religion-ends-with-justinian-s-time/) [Oswald Spengler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-spengler/) > [Religion ends and philosophy begins, just as alchemy ends and chemistry begins, and astrology ends and astronomy begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/religion-ends-and-philosophy-begins-just-as-alchemy-ends-and/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [A good parson once said that where mystery begins religion ends. Cannot I say, as truly at least, of human laws, that where mystery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-good-parson-once-said-that-where-mystery-begins-religion-ends/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [The United States has an isolationist and insular culture, combined with a global and interventionist posture. This highly dangerous and febrile mixture, which greatly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-united-states-has-an-isolationist-and-insular-culture-combined/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Suppose that a man leaps out of a burning building—as my dear friend and colleague Jeff Goldberg sat and said to my face over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/suppose-that-a-man-leaps-out-of-a-burning-building-as-my-dear-friend/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Aristotle said that philosophy begins in wonder. I believe it also ends in wonder. The ultimate way in which we relate to the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/aristotle-said-that-philosophy-begins-in-wonder-i-believe-it-also/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [The Western approach to reality is mostly through theory, and theory begins by denying reality - to talk about reality, to go around reality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/the-western-approach-to-reality-is-mostly-through-theory-and-theory/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [“whenever a philosophy begins to believe in itself. It always creates the world according to its own image, it cannot do otherwise;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/whenever-a-philosophy-begins-to-believe-in-itself-it-always-creates/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [For me philosophy begins with these experiences of disappointment: a disappointment at the level of what I would think of as "meaning," namely that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-critchley/for-me-philosophy-begins-with-these-experiences-of-disappointment-a/) [Simon Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-critchley/) > [A philosophy that begins in doubt assails what no-one believes, and invites us to nothing believable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/a-philosophy-that-begins-in-doubt-assails-what-no-one-believes-and/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [“Pre-Socratic philosophy begins ... with the discovery of Nature; Socratic philosophy begins with the discovery of man's soul."3”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-b-irvine/pre-socratic-philosophy-begins-with-the-discovery-of-nature-socratic/) [William B. Irvine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-b-irvine/) > [Philosophy begins in wonder. And, at the end, when philosophic thought has done its best, the wonder remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/philosophy-begins-in-wonder-and-at-the-end-when-philosophic-thought/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) ## More by Christopher Hitchens > [“The spirit of our accurate and exact philosophy is outraged by conclusions that contradict each other so glaringly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-spirit-of-our-accurate-and-exact-philosophy-is-outraged-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Many governments employ torture but this was the first time that the element of Saturnalia and pornography in the process had been made so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/many-governments-employ-torture-but-this-was-the-first-time-that-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ It's \[Los Angeles\] mostly full of nonsense and delusion and egomania. 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Religion says that we would not know right from wrong, we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/religion-attacks-us-in-our-deepest-integrity-the-core-of-our-self/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“In the very recent past, we have seen the Church of Rome befouled by its complicity with the unpardonable sin of child rape, or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/in-the-very-recent-past-we-have-seen-the-church-of-rome-befouled-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's surprising to me how many of my friends send Christmas cards, or holiday cards, including my atheist and secular friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-surprising-to-me-how-many-of-my-friends-send-christmas-cards-or/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Suppose there were groups of secularists at hospitals who went round the terminally ill and urged them to adopt atheism: 'Don't be a mug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/suppose-there-were-groups-of-secularists-at-hospitals-who-went-round/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [There are, after all, atheists who say they wish the fable were true but are unable to suspend the requisite disbelief, or who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-are-after-all-atheists-who-say-they-wish-the-fable-were-true/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“It isn’t so long since a test of Anglican orthodoxy was applied to anyone seeking to study or teach at Oxford and Cambridge universities.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-isn-t-so-long-since-a-test-of-anglican-orthodoxy-was-applied-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Gullibility and credulity are considered undesireable qualities in every department of human life - except religion ... 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Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-much-worse-to-see-a-woman-drunk-than-a-man-i-don-t-know-quite/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's true that obscenity is a matter of taste and in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-true-that-obscenity-is-a-matter-of-taste-and-in-the-eye-of-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I worked out early on to give up things I couldn't do well at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-worked-out-early-on-to-give-up-things-i-couldn-t-do-well-at-all/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Writing is what's important to me, and anything that helps me do that - or enhances and prolongs and deepens and sometimes intensifies argument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/writing-is-what-s-important-to-me-and-anything-that-helps-me-do-that/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) [Explore all 1,241 Christopher Hitchens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More Alchemy quotes > [“I went because I was interested in the alchemy of issues.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-went-because-i-was-interested-in-the-alchemy-of-issues/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [As in the instances of alchemy, astrology, witchcraft, and other such popular creeds, political economy, has a plausible idea at the root of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/as-in-the-instances-of-alchemy-astrology-witchcraft-and-other-such/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [“...the world is only the visible aspect of God. 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But actually creating it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-corgan/everybody-can-close-their-eyes-picture-a-dream-house-or-a-perfect/) [Billy Corgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-corgan/) > [“She pushed the book towards them, and Harry and Ron read: The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Philosopher's Stone, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/she-pushed-the-book-towards-them-and-harry-and-ron-read-the-ancient/) [J.K. 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