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Skepticism Quotes
"Beware the irrational, however seductive. Shun the 'transcendent' and all who invite you to subordinate or annihilate yourself. Don't be afraid to be thought arrogant or selfish. Picture all experts as if they were mammals. Never be a spectator of unfairness or stupidity. Seek out argument and disputation for their own sake; the grave will provide plenty of time for silence."
70
"An agnostic is a creature that is religiously skeptical whenever it is told that God exists - or that He doesn't."
66
"Skepticism is thus a resting-place for human reason, where it can reflect upon its dogmatic wanderings and make survey of the region in which it finds itself, so that for the future it may be able to choose its path with more certainty. But it is no dwelling-place for permanent settlement. Such can be obtained only through perfect certainty in our knowledge, alike of the objects themselves and of the limits within which all our knowledge of objects is enclosed."
58
"We all approached doing a sequel with great trepidation and skepticism."
58
"Faith is like a pockpocket who loans a person his own money on generous terms."
55
"I'm very skeptical about the good intentions of Milosevic."
53
"Doubt is an illness that comes from knowledge and leads to madness."
52
"It is a just political maxim, that every man must be supposed a knave."
51
"I shouldn't believe anything I say, if I were you-and that includes what I just told you."
50
"There is no such thing as magic, supernatural, miracle; only something that's still beyond logic of the observer."
49
"It is quite extraordinary how very various are the opinions entertained on this point, and, before sifting them, one must be careful in the first place to eliminate from our inquiry the cases of that considerable class of persons who pinch themselves."
49
"When I want to know what France thinks, I ask myself."
49
"A good many things go around in the dark besides Santa Claus."
48
"It's been suggested that if the super-naturalists really had the powers they claim, they'd win the lottery every week. I prefer to point out that they could also win a Nobel Prize for discovering fundamental physical forces hitherto unknown to science. Either way, why are they wasting their talents doing party turns on television?By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out."
48
"I don't know449that much about the Bible, other than it waswritten thousands of years ago, which dilutesits relevance. However, I know its faithfulfollowers tend to cherry-pick verses to suittheir needs, the same way they cherry-pickwords or scenes from other books to labelobscene."
48
"No one, in the world's whole history, ever attempted to substantiate a truth by a miracle. Truth scorns the assistance of miracle. Nothing but falsehood ever attested itself by signs and wonders. No miracle ever was performed, and no sane man ever thought he had performed one, and until one is performed, there can be no evidence of the existence of any power superior to, and independent of nature."
47
"I try to deny myself any illusions or delusions, and I think that this perhaps entitles me to try and deny the same to others, at least as long as they refuse to keep their fantasies to themselves."
46
"Do not let yourself be tainted with a barren skepticism."
46
"The USA states that it can put a man on the moon. I have a hard time believing this, as it is quite clear that they cannot build a simple electrical system that does not make people sick in large numbers!"
46
"If I am fool, it is, at least, a doubting one; and I envy no one the certainty of his self-approved wisdom."
45
"The fact that my continuous and public rejection of Christianity does not worry me in the least should suggest to you just how inadequate I think your reasons for being a Christian are."
45
"There is no UFO and also there is no alien, at least not in common mind nor reference."
44
"If you tried to doubt everything you would not get as far as doubting anything. The game of doubting itself presupposes certainty."
44
"Take from the church the miraculous, the supernatural, the incomprehensible, the unreasonable, the impossible, the unknowable, the absurd, and nothing but a vacuum remains."
43
"Mystical explanations are thought to be deep the truth is that they are not even shallow."
43
"A foolish faith in authority is the worst enemy of truth."
41
"The believer claims to know, not just that God exists, but that his most detailed wishes are not merely knowable but actually known. Since religion drew its first breath when the species lived in utter ignorance and considerable fear, I hope I may be forgiven for declining to believe that another human being can tell me what to do, in the most intimate details of my life and mind, and to further dictate these terms as if acting as proxy for a supernatural entity."
41
"Because people don't believe it unless it happens to them."
41
"Investors should start with a view of skepticism. They should become intellectual investors rather than emotional investors. They should be careful, and they should be skeptical."
41
"Searching for truth without skepticism, is like having sex without a genital."
40
"Don't give your money to the church. They should be giving their money to you."
40
"We have not overthrown the divine right of kings to fall down for the divine right of experts."
39
"Billing and cooing to me is worse to witness an execution."
39
"It is an utter insult towards the fascinating neurons of your cerebral cortex, to believe anybody's words blindly, even if that person is a Scientist or a Philosopher. So, I urge to you, that you must exercise your own reasoning and judgment (that's what your cerebral cortex is for; to be specific the frontal lobes) at all times."
39
"That first week, I also went to Washington. That was really tough. I sympathize with those Washington figures who have to face 40 Times Washington bureau reporters. They ask hard questions and they're relentless. And they were quite suspicious and quite dubious about me."
37
"Rachel crossed her arms. "And the other three Oracles? I'm sure none of them was a beautiful young priestess whom you praised for her "what was it?" 'scintillating conversation'?"Ah" I wasn't sure why, but it felt like my acne was turning into live insects and crawling across my face. "Well, according to my extensive research-"Some books he flipped through last night, Meg clarified."
37
"I suppose that one reason I have always detested religion is its sly tendency to insinuate the idea that the universe is designed with 'you' in mind or, even worse, that there is a divine plan into which one fits whether one knows it or not. This kind of modesty is too arrogant for me."
36
"Irishmen are not reserved, and the company appeared dying to be intimately acquainted."
36
"Isaac Asimov's remark about the infantilism of pseudoscience is just as applicable to religion: 'Inspect every piece of pseudoscience and you will find a security blanket, a thumb to suck, a skirt to hold.' It is astonishing, moreover, how many people are unable to understand that 'X is comforting' does not imply 'X is true'."
35
"The cause of my life has been to oppose superstition. It's a battle you can't hope to win - it's a battle that's going to go on forever. It's part of the human condition."
35
"Don't believe anything you read on the net. Except this. Well, including this, I suppose."
35
"He was a sceptic, he was young, abstract, and therefore cruel."
35
"By nature, that mind is easily fooled by supernatural mysticism. It is extremely gullible. And no matter how much we the civilized human beings advance in the fields of modern sciences, there is always a part of us, that tries to allure us with magical nonsense, because that nonsense has been with us since the birth of humanity."
34
"Polygraph tests are 20th-century witchcraft."
34
"I don't believe that aliens exist,but I do believe that any new facts can strengthen foundation of my belief."
33
"When you don't have explanation for a certain phenomenon, as a real human, you should suspend judgement, instead of concocting supernatural explanations out of ignorance and primordial fanaticism."
33
"Her weight settled on her back foot as she crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him, now legitimately baffled."How delusional are you, aliens in your head notwithstanding?"
33
"Hearsay, even from the people I love, doesn't equate to gospel truth."
33
"Blind faith is not real religion my friend."
32
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