#skepticism

Truth has two beautiful daughters; their names are skepticism and faith. Skepticism to examine the past to make sure it was not full of lies, and faith to believe that the future won't be full of them also. ↗

— Shannon L. Alder

#choices #commonsense #decisions #faith #investigation

On the road from the City of Skepticism, I had to pass through the Valley of Ambiguity. ↗

— Adam Smith

#city #had #i #pass #road

Well, I had a small degree, that little infection of skepticism about America which resides in the minds of even America's closest friends. That America can't be quite as good as it says it is. And why does it need so relentlessly to keep saying how good it is? ↗

— Robert MacNeil

#america #closest #closest friends #degree #does

To point out nonepistemic motives in another’s view of the world, therefore, is always a criticism, as it serves to cast doubt upon a person’s connection to the world as it is. ↗

— Sam Harris

#criticism #skepticism #motivational

Scepticism is the chastity of the intellect, and it is shameful to surrender it too soon or to the first comer: there is nobility in preserving it coolly and proudly through long youth, until at last, in the ripeness of instinct and discretion, it can be safely exchanged for fidelity and happiness. ↗

— George Santayana

#freethinking #skepticism #nobility

The justifications of men who kill should always be heard with skepticism, said the monster. ↗

— Patrick Ness

#murder #skepticism #men

I can indeed hardly see how anyone ought to wish Christianity to be true for if so the plain language of the text seems to show that the men who do not believe, and this would include my father, brother and almost all of my friends, will be everlastingly punished. And this is a damnable doctrine. ↗

— Charles Darwin

#charles-darwin #religion #skepticism #men

The real reason why so few men believe in God is that they have ceased to believe that even a God can love them. ↗

— Thomas Merton

#skepticism #love

Skeptics always want miracles such as stepping down from the Cross, but never the greater miracle of forgiveness. ↗

— Fulton J. Sheen

#jesus #miracles #skepticism #the-cross #forgiveness

Those whose acquaintance with scientific research is derived chiefly from its practical results easily develop a completely false notion of the mentality of the men who, surrounded by a skeptical world, have shown the way to kindred spirits scattered wide through the world and through the centuries. Only one who has devoted his life to similar ends can have a vivid realization of what has inspired these men and given them the strength to remain true to their purpose in spite of countless failures. It is cosmic religious feeling that gives a man such strength. A contemporary has said, not unjustly, that in this materialistic age of ours the serious scientific workers are the only profoundly religious people. ↗

— Albert Einstein

#science #skepticism #age