“I believe that religion, generally speaking, has been a curse to mankind — that its modest and greatly overestimated services on the ethical side have been more than overcome by the damage it has done to clear and honest thinking. I believe that no discovery of fact, however trivial, can be wholly useless to the race, and that no trumpeting of falsehood, however virtuous in intent, can be anything but vicious. I believe that the evidence for immortality is no better than the evidence of witches, and deserves no more respect. I believe in the complete freedom of thought and speech — alike for the humblest man and the mightiest, and in the utmost freedom of conduct that is consistent with living in organized society. I believe in the capacity of man to conquer his world, and to find out what it is made of, and how it is run. I believe in the reality of progress. I —But the whole thing, after all, may be put very simply. I believe that it is better to tell the truth than to lie. I believe that it is better to be free than to be a slave. And I believe that it is better to know than be ignorant.” ThinkingRealityTruthReligionBeliefFreedomKnowledgeProgressSocietyMankindHonestyIgnoranceSpeechRespectEthicsEvidenceDiscoveryCapacitySlaveHumbleThoughtConquerCurseDamageVirtuousFalsehoodFreedom Of SpeechFreeLieViciousWitchesFactKnowFreedom Of ThoughtImmoralityIntentMighty Book:The Artist: A Drama Without Words Source: The Artist: A Drama Without Words
“What I'd like to read is a scientific review, by a scientific psychologist--if any exists--of 'A Scientific Man and the Bible'. By what route do otherwise sane men come to believe such palpable nonsense? How is it possible for a human brain to be divided into two insulated halves, one functioning normally, naturally and even brilliantly, and the other capable only of such ghastly balderdash which issues from the minds of Baptist evangelists? Such balderdash takes various forms, but it is at its worst when it is religious. Why should this be so? What is there in religion that completely flabbergasts the wits of those who believe in it? I see no logical necessity for that flabbergasting. Religion, after all, is nothing but an hypothesis framed to account for what is evidentially unaccounted for. In other fields such hypotheses are common, and yet they do no apparent damage to those who incline to them. But in the religious field they quickly rush the believer to the intellectual Bad Lands. He not only becomes anaesthetic to objective fact; he becomes a violent enemy of objective fact. It annoys and irritates him. He sweeps it away as something somehow evil...” FactsHumorFunnyScienceReligionBeliefReligiousBrainEnemyPsychologyViolenceEvidenceLogicWitDamageNonsenseSanityHypothesisPsychologistSuperstitionBaptistsUnknownSuperstitiousEvangelistsNecessityScientificEvangelicalsBaptistGod Of The GapsBadlandsBalderdashA Scientific Man And The BibleScientific Review Book:American Mercury Source: American Mercury
“It is the natural tendency of the ignorant to believe what is not true. In order to overcome that tendency it is not sufficient to exhibit the true; it is also necessary to expose and denounce the false. To admit that the false has any standing in court, that it ought to be handled gently because millions of morons cherish it and thousands of quacks make their livings propagating it—to admit this, as the more fatuous of the reconcilers of science and religion inevitably do, is to abandon a just cause to its enemies, cravenly and without excuse.” TruthScienceReligionBeliefNaturalExcuseIgnorantScience And ReligionReconcileFalseScience Vs ReligionTendencyMoronsDenounceFatuous Book:American Mercury Source: American Mercury
“Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance. No one in this world, so far as I know—and I have researched the records for years, and employed agents to help me—has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.” HumorGovernmentPoliticsBeliefDemocracyIgnoranceIntelligencePatheticPublic OfficePolitical Commentary Book:Notes On Democracy Source: Notes On Democracy