“But you must still know to respect other people's faith.' 'Why? We don't respect any other delusion. We lock up people who believe they're Christ, yet we're supposed to humour those who believe in him.' 'By definition, faith is irrational: a belief you hold against the normal rules of evidence.' 'In which case I believe in Jedi” PeopleKnowsBelieveStillsBeliefI BelieveChristCasesHumourNormalEvidenceDefinitionsI Believe InDelusionLocksIrrationalRespecting OthersLock Up Book:The Enemy of the Good Source: The Enemy of the Good
“The believing mind is externally impervious to evidence. The most that can be accomplished with it is to induce it to substitute one delusion for another. It rejects all overt evidence as wicked.” MindBelieveEvidenceAccomplishedWickedDelusionRejectsSubstitutesImpervious Author:H. L. Mencken
“No democratic delusion is more fatuous than that which holds that all men are capable of reason, and hence susceptible to conversion by evidence. If religions depended upon evidence for their prolongation, then all of them would collapse.” IfsMenReasonCapableEvidenceDemocraticConversionDelusionCollapseSusceptible Book:Mencken Chrestomathy Source: Mencken Chrestomathy
“There are certain ways you have to delude yourself. Self-delusion is important, for instance in family life. You know what I mean? If you're in love with your wife you have to go in there with blind faith. You have to support everything. And with your kids, you have to believe that you're doing something that has higher purpose; even though you don't have any evidence that that's the way it's going to turn out.” IfsKnowsWayBelieveMeanImportantSelfKidsPurposeCertainTurnsSupportWifeLove YouHigherEvidenceBlindInstanceDelusionFamily LifeBlind FaithSelf DelusionHigher Purpose Author:Greg Graffin
“To me, the human move to take responsibility for the living Earth is laughable - the rhetoric of the powerless. The planet takes care of us, not we of it. Our self-inflated moral imperative to guide a wayward Earth, or heal our sick planet, is evidence of our immense capacity for self delusion. Rather, we need to protect ourselves from ourselves.” NeedsHumansSelfCareEarthMovingResponsibilityMoralPlanetsProtectEvidenceCapacitySickTake CareGuidesHealDelusionImmenseRhetoricPowerlessTaking ResponsibilityImperativesSelf DelusionLaughable Author:Lynn Margulis
“In the oasis complex, the thirsty man images he sees water, palm trees, and shade not because he has evidence for the belief, but because he has a need for it. Desperate needs bring about a hallucination of their solution: thirst hallucinates water, the need for love hallucinates a prince or princess. The oasis complex is never a complete delusion: the man in the desert does see something on the horizon. It is just that the palms have withered, the well is dry, and the place is infected with locusts.” MenLoveNeedsWellsDoeAgeBeliefWaterTreeSolutionsEvidenceComplexesDesertDryDesperateDelusionHorizonShadePrincessThirstPalmsThirstyHallucinationsOasisWitheredPalm Trees Book:On Love: A Novel Source: On Love: A Novel
“If, after a rigid examination, it be found an imposition, it should be extensively published to the world as such; the evidences and arguments on which the imposture was detected, should be clearly and logically stated, that those who have been sincerely yet unfortunately deceived, may perceive the nature of the deception and be reclaimed, and that those who continue to publish the delusion, may be exposed and silenced.” IfsWorldShouldMayHas BeensFoundHonestyEvidenceArgumentDeceptionPerceiveDelusionExposedPublishDeceivedSincerelyExaminationImposition Author:Orson Pratt
“Unless a writer lives with a periodic delusion of his greatness, he will not continue writing. He must believe, against all reason and evidence, that the public will experience a catastrophic loss if he does not complete his novel. The public is just clamoring to give him his fame. From the book Dare to be a Great Writer: 329 Keys to Powerful Fiction by” IfsGivingWritingBelieveDoeBookReasonLossPowerfulFictionNovelGreatnessKeysFameEvidenceDareDelusionGreat Writers Author:Leonard Bishop
“There exists a black kingdom which the eyes of man avoid because its landscape fails signally to flatter them. This darkness, which he imagines he can dispense with in describing the light, is error with its unknown characteristics. Error is certainty's constant companion. Error is the corollary of evidence. And anything said about truth may equally well be said about error: the delusion will be no greater.” MenWellsMaySaidLightEyeBlackMistakeDarknessGreaterImagineFailingEvidenceConstantErrorsKingdomsCertaintyLandscapeCharacteristicsDelusionCompanionDescribing Author:Louis Aragon
“Error is certainty's constant companion. Error is the corollary of evidence. And anything said about truth may equally well be said about error: the delusion will be no greater.” WellsMaySaidTruthGreaterEvidenceConstantErrorsCertaintyDelusionCompanion Author:Louis Aragon