A daily philosophy quotes app for iPhone, with the philosophers quoted accurately
Which philosophers are in Kandou's library (74 quotes from Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Epictetus, Emerson, and Thoreau, 17 of them free), how to get one a day on your Home Screen, and how to add the philosophers the library leaves out.
The short answer. Kandou is a quotes app for iPhone whose curated library leans on philosophy: 74 of its 125 quotes come from five philosophers (Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Epictetus, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau), taken from public-domain editions and each attributed to its author. Seventeen of them are free in the Starter collection; the rest come with Kandou Pro, a one-time $5.99 USD purchase. Kandou shows one quote a day (or on any schedule you set) on the Home tab and a Home Screen widget, and you can add the lines from your own reading beside the library. There is no subscription, no AI-generated wisdom, and no feed.
What a philosophy quotes app should do
Search the App Store for a daily philosophy app and you find two kinds. One is a course: lessons, audio, journaling prompts, sometimes a chatbot that talks like Socrates, usually on a subscription. The other is a feed of thousands of lines, often with shaky attributions, served one after another until you stop reading them.
A philosophy quote does its work in a different way. You read one line, carry it through the day, and come back to it. The ancient schools treated philosophy as a way of living, and a short line you return to was one of their tools: Marcus Aurelius filled Meditations with reminders to himself, and Seneca closed many of his letters with one line for his friend to keep. A good app for that needs only three things: quotes that are accurate and attributed, a pace slow enough to think, and room for the lines you find yourself.
The philosophers in Kandou’s library
Kandou’s library has four collections. The philosophy is spread across three of them:
| Philosopher | Quotes | Free | Collections | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marcus Aurelius | 28 | 7 | Starter, Stoic Wisdom | Meditations, George Long’s translation |
| Ralph Waldo Emerson | 13 | 3 | Starter, Motivation | The essays, Self-Reliance among them |
| Henry David Thoreau | 12 | 5 | Starter, Motivation | Walden |
| Seneca | 11 | 2 | Starter, Stoic Wisdom | Aubrey Stewart’s translation |
| Epictetus | 10 | 0 | Stoic Wisdom | Enchiridion and Discourses, George Long’s translation |
That is two traditions in one place. The Stoics (Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Epictetus) ask what is up to you and how to bear what is not; the Stoic quotes guide covers that collection in detail. The American Transcendentalists (Emerson and Thoreau) ask you to trust your own mind and to live deliberately. They read well side by side, because both schools are about how to live rather than how to argue.
A few of the free lines, as they appear in the app:
- “Very little indeed is necessary for living a happy life.” (Marcus Aurelius)
- “Postponement is the greatest waste of life: it wrings day after day from us.” (Seneca)
- “Trust yourself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
- “Our life is frittered away by detail.” (Henry David Thoreau)
The library is in English, and some translations are old enough to say “thou.” That is the trade for accuracy: these are the words as published, not paraphrases written to sound wise.
Getting a philosophy quote every day
In Kandou
- Start with the Starter collection. It is already added when you install Kandou, and 17 of its 25 quotes are by these five philosophers. With Pro, open the Library tab, tap Stoic Wisdom or Motivation, and tap Add to my quotes to bring the whole collection into your rotation under its own category.
- Set the rotation in Settings: Home to Daily at a morning time, and Widget to Daily as well. Personalized mode can add a second line in the evening.
- Narrow it to one school when you want. On the Home tab, tap Stoic Wisdom (or Motivation) in the category grid; the widget follows the same filter. Tap the category again to go back to the whole collection.
- Add the widget. Press and hold the Home Screen, tap Edit, then Add Widget, and search for Kandou. The small widget is free; the medium, large, and (on iOS 27) extra-large widgets come with Pro. A long passage from Meditations or Walden fits best in the large one.
- Add the philosophers the library leaves out. Tap the plus button, type or paste the line, put the author or the work in Author or Source (“Plato, The Republic”), and file it under a category of your own, such as Philosophy.
Three ways to read philosophy one line at a time
- One school a month. Filter the Home tab to Stoic Wisdom for a month, then to Motivation, where more than half the lines are Emerson and Thoreau, then to your own Philosophy category. A month is long enough for a school’s way of thinking to show.
- The argument with yourself. Leave the rotation unfiltered so Marcus Aurelius on accepting what happens lands the day after Thoreau on refusing a life of quiet desperation. When two lines disagree, write down which one you believe today and save that note as a quote with your own name.
- A commonplace book for your reading. Every line you underline in a philosophy book goes into Kandou with its source. The rotation brings it back months later, which is when you find out whether you understood it.
What Kandou is not
- Not a philosophy course. No lessons, no summaries, no AI philosopher. It keeps lines and shows them to you on your schedule.
- Not a survey of philosophy. There is no Plato, Aristotle, Nietzsche, Confucius, or Lao Tzu in the library. Add them yourself; your own quotes are up to 15 on Kandou Free and unlimited with Pro.
- English only for the library, iPhone only, no account. The app itself is in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, and French, and your collection stays on your iPhone and in your own iCloud.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good app for daily philosophy quotes?
Look for accurate attributions, a slow pace, and room for your own lines. Kandou does that on iPhone: 74 public-domain quotes from Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Epictetus, Emerson, and Thoreau, one a day on the Home tab and a Home Screen widget, plus any quotes you add. It is free to start, and Kandou Pro is a one-time $5.99 USD purchase with no subscription.
Is there a philosophy quotes app without a subscription?
Yes. Kandou is free on iPhone with no subscription and no ads. The free Starter collection includes 17 philosophy quotes, and Kandou Pro, a one-time $5.99 USD purchase, adds the Stoic Wisdom and Motivation collections with the rest.
Which philosophers are in Kandou?
Marcus Aurelius (28 quotes), Ralph Waldo Emerson (13), Henry David Thoreau (12), Seneca (11), and Epictetus (10), from public-domain editions such as George Long’s translations of Meditations and the Enchiridion, Emerson’s essays, and Walden.
Can I add quotes from other philosophers?
Yes. Add any line with the plus button, put the philosopher or the work in the Author or Source field, and file it under a category of your own. Kandou Free keeps up to 15 of your own quotes; Kandou Pro makes them unlimited.
Can I get a philosophy quote on my Home Screen every day?
Yes. Add the Kandou widget, set the widget rotation to Daily in Settings, and filter the Home tab to a philosophy category if you want only those lines; the widget follows the same filter. The small widget is free, and the medium, large, and extra-large widgets come with Pro.
Are the philosophy quotes in English?
Yes, the library is in English for now, taken from public-domain English editions and translations. The app is also in Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, and French, and your own quotes can be in any language.