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Skepticism Quotes

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Skepticism Quotes

“An atheist is someone who is certain that God does not exist, someone who has compelling evidence against the existence of God. I know of no such compelling evidence. Because God can be relegated to remote times and places and to ultimate causes, we would have to know a great deal more about the universe than we do now to be sure that no such God exists. To be certain of the existence of God and to be certain of the nonexistence of God seem to me to be the confident extremes in a subject so riddled with doubt and uncertainty as to inspire very little confidence indeed.”

KnowsLittlesDoeSeemsCertainUniverseCausesDealsExistenceDoubtAtheismSubjectsInspireEvidenceUltimateAtheistExtremesUncertaintyCompellingSkepticismGod ExistsExistence Of God
Author:Carl Sagan
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“The doctrine of the sacredness of the soul sounds vaguely uplifting, but in fact is highly malignant. It discounts life on earth as just a temporary phase that people pass through, indeed, an infinitesimal fraction of their existence…the gradual replacement of lives for souls as the locus of moral value was helped along by the ascendency of skepticism and reason”

PeopleSoulReasonFactsEarthReligionValuesSoundExistenceMoralDoctrineUpliftingTemporaryPhasesSkepticismFractionsReplacementsDiscountsMoral ValuesSacredness
Book:The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined
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“I am not very sceptical, — a frame of mind which I believe to be injurious to the progress of science. A good deal of scepticism in a scientific man is advisable to avoid much loss of time, but I have met with not a few men, who, I feel sure, have often thus been deterred from experiment or observations, which would have proved directly or indirectly serviceable .”

MenScienceLossDealsMetsExperimentsObservationSkepticismProvenSkepticalAdvisableGood Science
Author:Charles Darwin
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“When even the brightest mind in our world has been trained up from childhood in a superstition of any kind, it will never be possible for that mind, in its maturity, to examine sincerely, dispassionately, and conscientiously any evidence or any circumstance which shall seem to cast a doubt upon the validity of that superstition. I doubt if I could do it myself.”

IfsWorldMindKindHas BeensSeemsScienceDoubtChildhoodCircumstancesEvidenceCastsMaturityIf I CouldOur WorldSuperstitionsSkepticismSincerelyExaminationValidity
Book:Delphi Complete Works of Mark Twain (Illustrated)
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“If you are only skeptical, then no new ideas make it through to you. You become a crotchety old person convinced that nonsense is ruling the world. (There is, of course, much data to support you.) But every now and then, a new idea turns out to be on the mark, valid and wonderful. If you are too much in the habit of being skeptical about everything, you are going to miss or resent it, and either way you will be standing in the way of understanding and progress.”

IfsWorldWayPersonsIdeasScienceTurnsCoursesUnderstandingSupportToo MuchProgressWonderfulMissingHabitStandingMarkConvincedDataNonsenseNow And ThenSkepticismNew IdeasRulingSkepticalResentSkepticSupport YouOld PersonRuling The World
Author:Carl Sagan
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“I simply go with what works. And what works is the healthy skepticism embodied in the scientific method. Believe me, if the Bible had ever been shown to be a rich source of scientific answers and enlightenment, we would be mining it daily for cosmic discovery.”

IfsBelieveWould BeScienceSpiritualityReligiousAnswersRichSourceHealthyEnlightenmentDiscoveryMethodCosmicBelieve In MeSkepticismScientific MethodMining
Book:The Sky is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist
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“Too much openness and you accept every notion, idea, and hypothesis-which is tantamount to knowing nothing. Too much skepticism-especially rejection of new ideas before they are adequately tested-and you're not only unpleasantly grumpy, but also closed to the advance of science. A judicious mix is what we need.”

NeedsIdeasScienceAcceptingKnowledgeKnowingToo MuchAcceptanceNotionRejectionOpennessSkepticismNew IdeasTestedHypothesisGrumpyKnowing Nothing
Author:Carl Sagan
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“If mankind is to profit freely from the small and sporadic crop of the heroically gifted it produces, it will have to cultivate the delicate art of handling ideas. Psychology is now able to tell us with reasonable assurance that the most influential obstacle to freedom of thought and to new ideas is fear; and fear which can with inimitable art disguise itself as caution, or sanity, or reasoned skepticism, or on occasion even as courage.”

IfsArtIdeasReasonAbleFreedomPsychologyInfluenceMankindProduceHeroProfitObstaclesOccasionsReasonableSanityDelicateSkepticismNew IdeasDisguiseGiftedAssuranceCautionCropsInfluentialFreedom Of ThoughtSporadic
Author:Wilfred Trotter
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“In childhood our credulity serves us well. It helps us to pack, with extraordinary rapidity, our skulls full of the wisdom of our parents and our ancestors. But if we don't grow out of it in the fullness of time, our ... nature makes us a sitting target for astrologers, mediums, gurus, evangelists, and quacks. We need to replace the automatic credulity of childhood with the constructive skepticism of adult science.”

IfsNeedsWellsHelpingReligionGrowsParentAtheismChildhoodSittingAdultsExtraordinaryMediumsTargetAncestorSkepticismPacksFullnessConstructiveGuruSkullsCredulityEvangelistsQuacks
Author:Richard Dawkins
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“There are all kinds of devices invented for the protection and preservation of countries: defensive barriers, forts, trenches, and the like... But prudent minds have as a natural gift one safeguard which is the common possession of all, and this applies especially to the dealings of democracies. What is this safeguard? Skepticism. This you must preserve. This you must retain. If you can keep this, you need fear no harm.”

IfsNeedsMindKindCountryNaturalCommonDemocracyTrustPossessionProtectionHarmAll KindsPreservesBarriersDevicesSkepticismPreservationPrudentDealingsTrenchesFortsNatural Gifts
Author:Demosthenes
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“I am opposed to any form of tyranny over the mind of man.”

MenMindGovernmentAmericaFormReligionReligiousLibertyChristianityLibertarianTyrannyCensorshipAmerican HistorySkepticismHostilityChurch And StateFreedom And LibertySeparation Of Church And StateForms Of GovernmentFreedom LibertyOur Founding FathersProperty RightsLimited GovernmentFounding Fathers ChristianClergyForefathersFounding Fathers ReligionSeparation Between Church And StateIndividual LibertyFounding Fathers ReligiousAmerican GovernmentReligion GodFree GovernmentLimiting GovernmentFounding Fathers Anti ReligionFounding Fathers Of AmericaAmerican Founding FathersFounding Fathers AtheistDeismLimited FreedomChristianity From Founding FathersGreat PatrioticReligion ChristianFaith ReligionPrice Of FreedomRevolution Founding FathersLimiting FreedomGovernment And SocietyChristian GodDeistTyranny Founding FathersPolitical ThinkingLiberty Tree
Author:Thomas Jefferson
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“The soul is the perceiver and revealer of truth. We know truth when we see it, let skeptic and scoffer say what they choose. Foolish people ask you, when you have spoken what they do not wish to hear, 'How do you know it is truth, and not an error of your own?' We know truth when we see it, from opinion, as we know when we are awake that we are awake.”

PeopleKnowsSoulTruthChoicesAsksWishMistakeOpinionSeeingErrorsHearingFoolishPerceiveAwakeTelling The TruthDo You KnowSkepticismRevealingDistinguishedSkepticRelative TruthScoffers
Book:Essays and Lectures
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