Doubt and skepticism

Explore 22 quotes about Doubt and skepticism

Doubt grows with knowledge.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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Topic

Doubt and skepticism

Author

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Statement Type

Paradox

Language

German

Time

1819 1810s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Von Goethe, Johann Wolfgang. "Individual Points." Ueber Kunst und Altersthum [On Art and Antiquity]. 1826, vol. 5, issue 3.

Current Citation

Von Goethe, Johann Wolfgang. Maxims and Reflections, edited by Peter Hutchinson, translated by Elisabeth Stopp. Penguin Classics, 1999, no. 281.

To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation.

Yann Martel

Life of Pi (novel)

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Topic

Doubt and skepticism

Author

Yann Martel

Source

Life of Pi (novel)

Medium

Novel

Language

English

Time

2001 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Martel, Yann. Life of Pi. Knopf Canada, 2001, ch. 7.

Scepticism is the chastity of the intellect, and it is shameful to surrender it too soon or to the first comer.

George Santayana

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Topic

Doubt and skepticism

Author

George Santayana

Source

Scepticism and Animal Faith

Language

English

Time

1923 1920s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Santayana, George. Scepticism and Animal Faith. Charles Scribner's Sons/Constable And Company, 1923, ch. 9.

Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

Thomas

John 20:25

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Topic

Doubt and skepticism Jesus's resurrection

Speaker

Thomas

Source

Gospel of John The Bible

Medium

Scripture

Genre

Religious literature

Language

Greek

Time

90 90s 1st century

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 3

Citation

The Holy Bible: The King James Version. 1611. (John 20:25).

To doubt everything and to believe everything are two equally convenient solutions; each saves us from thinking.

Henri Poincaré

Science and Hypothesis

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Topic

Critical thinking Doubt and skepticism Credulity

Author

Henri Poincaré

Source

Science and Hypothesis

Genre

Scientific literature

Language

French

Time

1902 1900s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Poincare, Henri. La science et l'hypothese [Science and Hypothesis]. Flammarion, 1902, introduction.

Current Citation

Poincare, Henri. Science and Hypothesis: The Complete Text, translated by Melanie Frappier, Andrea Smith and David J. Stump, edited by Melanie Frappier and David J. Stump. Bloomsbury Academic, 2022, preface.

The skeptical are the most credulous.

Blaise Pascal

Pensées

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Topic

Doubt and skepticism Credulity

Author

Blaise Pascal

Source

Pensées

Medium

Epigram

Genre

Philosophical literature

Statement Type

Paradox

Language

French

Time

1662 1660s 17th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Pascal, Blaise. Pensées [Thoughts]. Paris: Chez G. Desprez, 1670, no. 257

Current Citation

Pascal, Blaise. "Pensées." Pensées and Other Writings, edited by Anthony Levi, translated by Honor Levi. Oxford University Press, 2008, no. 257.

Doubt is not a pleasant condition. But certainty is an absurd one.

Voltaire

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Topic

Doubt vs. certainty Doubt and skepticism Certainty

Author

Voltaire

Medium

Letter

Language

French

Time

1770 1770s 18th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Voltaire. Letter to Frederick William. 28 Nov. 1770.

I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!

Mark 9:24

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Topic

Faith Doubt and skepticism

Source

Gospel of Mark The Bible

Medium

Scripture

Genre

Religious literature

Language

Greek

Time

60 60s 1st century

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 3

Citation

The Holy Bible, New International Version. International Bible Society, 1978. (Mark 9:24).

There is nothing more awe-inspiring than a miracle except the credulity that can take it at par.

Mark Twain

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Topic

Miracles Credulity Doubt and skepticism

Author

Mark Twain

Source

Journals of Mark Twain

Medium

Personal journal

Language

English

Time

1904 1900s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Twain, Mark. Mark Twain's Notebook, edited by Albert Bigelow Paine. The Mark Twain Company, 1932, ch. 35. Originally from Notebook, c. 1904.

We need more dissent and less dogma.

Camille Paglia

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Topic

Thinking outside the box Thinking for oneself Dissent Dogma Doubt and skepticism

Speaker

Camille Paglia

Source

Spiked

Medium

Interview

Language

English

Time

2015 2010s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Paglia, Camille. "Feminist Trouble." Interviewed by Ella Whelan. Spiked Magazine, 10 Dec. 2015, www.spiked-online.com/2015/12/10/feminist-trouble/.

I am too much of a sceptic to deny the possibility of anything.

T.H. Huxley

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Topic

Doubt and skepticism

Author

T.H. Huxley

Medium

Letter

Statement Type

Metaphor, analogy and simile

Language

English

Time

1886 1880s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Huxley, Thomas Henry. Letter to Herbert Spencer. 22 Mar. 1886.

The road to resolution lies by doubt:
The next way home's the farthest way about.

Francis Quarles

Emblems

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Topic

Doubt and skepticism

Author

Francis Quarles

Source

Emblems

Medium

Poem

Statement Type

Paradox

Language

English

Time

1635 1630s 17th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Quarles, Francis. Emblemes, Divine and Moral. London, 1635, bk. 4, emblem 2.

Our doubts are traitors
And makes us lose the good we oft might win
By fearing to attempt.

William Shakespeare

Measure for Measure

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Topic

Taking risks Doubt and skepticism Fear Courage

Speaker

Lucio

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Measure for Measure

Medium

Play

Genre

Comedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1616 1610s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Measure for Measure." Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. London: Edward Blount and William and Isaac Jaggard, 1623, act 1, sc. 4.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Measure for Measure." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 1, sc. 4.

Take nothing on its looks; take everything on evidence. There's no better rule.

Charles Dickens

Great Expectations

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Topic

Doubt and skepticism Evidence Appearance vs. reality

Speaker

Mr. Jaggers

Author

Charles Dickens

Source

Great Expectations

Medium

Novel

Genre

Coming of age story

Statement Type

Advice

Language

English

Time

1861 1860s 19th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Dickens, Charles. "Great Expectations." All the Year Round. London: Chapman and Hall, 18 May 1861, ch. 40.

Current Citation

Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. Penguin Classics, 2002, ch. 40.

Every time someone says "I do not believe in fairies", somewhere there's a fairy that falls down dead.

Hook

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More information about this quote

Topic

Fairies Doubt and skepticism Magic

Speaker

Tinkerbell

Actor

Julia Roberts

Source

Hook

Medium

Film

Genre

Adventure (film) Adventure

Language

English

Time

1991 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Hook. Directed by Steven Spielberg, Amblin Entertainment, 1991.

If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.

Francis Bacon

Read The Advancement of Learning at Project Gutenberg

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Topic

Doubt vs. certainty Certainty Doubt and skepticism Beliefs Convictions

Author

Francis Bacon

Source

The Advancement of Learning

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

English

Time

1605 1600s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Bacon, Francis. The Advancement of Learning. London: Oxford: Rob Youn and Ed Forrest, 1605, bk. 1, ch. 5, sect. 11.

Current Citation

Bacon, Francis. "The Advancement of Learning." Francis Bacon: The Major Works, edited by Brian Vickers. Oxford University Press, 2008, bk. 1, ch. 5, sect. 11.

One of the meanings of human existence, the source of human freedom, is never to accept anything as definitive, untouchable, obvious, or immobile.

Michel Foucault

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Topic

Dogma Doubt and skepticism Freedom

Speaker

Michel Foucault

Source

Power, Moral Values and the Intellectual History of the Present

Medium

Interview

Language

French

Time

1980 1980s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Foucault, Michel. "Power, Moral Values, and the Intellectual." Interviewed and translated by Michael Bess. History of the Present, Spring 1988.

There lives more faith in honest doubt,
Believe me, than in half the creeds.

Alfred Tennyson

In Memoriam A.H.H.

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Topic

Doubt vs. certainty Doubt and skepticism Faith

Author

Alfred Tennyson

Source

In Memoriam A.H.H.

Medium

Poem

Statement Type

Paradox

Language

English

Time

1850 1850s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Tennyson, Alfred, Lord. In Memoriam A.H.H. London: Edward Moxon, 1850, pt. 96, st. 3.

Current Citation

Tennyson, Alfred, Lord. "In Memoriam A.H.H." Alfred Tennyson: The Major Works, edited by Adam Roberts. Oxford University Press, 2009, pt. 96, st. 3.

The basic stimulus to the intelligence is doubt, a feeling that the meaning of an experience is not self-evident.

W.H. Auden

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Topic

Doubt and skepticism

Author

W.H. Auden

Source

The Protestant Mystics Forewords and Afterwords

Medium

Essay

Language

English

Time

1973 1970s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Auden, W. H. "The Protestant Mystics." Forewords and Afterwords. Random House/Faber and Faber, 1973.

Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.

Jesus

John 4:48

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More information about this quote

Topic

Miracles Doubt and skepticism Faith

Speaker

Jesus

Source

Gospel of John The Bible

Medium

Scripture

Genre

Religious literature

Language

Greek

Time

90 90s 1st century

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 3

Citation

The Holy Bible: The King James Version. 1611. (John 4:48).