“When we look to presumed sources of origin for competing evolutionary explanations of the giraffe's long neck, we find either nothing at all, or only the shortest of speculative conjectures. Length, of course, need not correspond with importance. Garrulous old Polonius , in a rare moment of clarity, reminded us that "brevity is the soul of wit" (and then immediately vitiated his wise observation with a flood of woolly words about Hamlet 's Madness.” NeedsLooksLongSoulMomentsCoursesWiseSourceImportanceMadnessWitClarityObservationExplanationNecksLengthFloodCompetingBrevityConjectureGiraffePoloniusRare MomentsMoments Of Clarity Author:Stephen Jay Gould
“The transcendent and the numinous can be accessible to the most materialistic of scientists, without positing the supernatural. At the same time, there is no reason to mistrust the same experiences in believers simply because they posit a supernatural source. The question is not, "Does God exist?" It's irrelevant. The question is whether believers and nonbelievers can rejoice in the same experiences and not denigrate the other's explanation as to the origins of very powerful human responses.” HumansDoeReasonPowerfulSourceScientistUnityResponseBelieverExplanationNo ReasonRejoiceIrrelevantVery PowerfulMaterialisticTranscendentMistrustGod ExistsNuminous Author:Norman Cota
“But let the wise be warned against too great readiness to explanation: it multiplies the sources of mistake, lengthening the sum for reckoners sure to go wrong.” MistakeWiseSourceExplanationReadiness Book:Middlemarch: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) Source: Middlemarch: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
“Religion is (a) a pre-scientific system of explanation and technology; (b) a source of meaning, direction and emotional expression in life; (c) a means of social control; (d) a means of coping with uncertainty and death.” MeanSocialTechnologyEmotionalExpressionSourceUncertaintyExplanationCopingSocial ControlEmotional Expression Author:Max More