SKEPTICISM QUOTES

quotations about skepticism

Skepticism quote

A universal skepticism is limited by its own criteria. If we assume it to be true, then it is false.

PAUL KURTZ

Exuberant Skepticism


You cannot knock a man down who will not stand up, nor argue with a skeptic.

AUSTIN O'MALLEY

Keystones of Thought

Tags: Austin O'Malley


The chief deficiency I see in the skeptical movement is its polarization: Us vs. Them -- the sense that we have a monopoly on the truth; that those other people who believe in all these stupid doctrines are morons; that if you're sensible, you'll listen to us; and if not, to hell with you. This is nonconstructive. It does not get our message across. It condemns us to permanent minority status.

CARL SAGAN

The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark


I would say skepticism is always warranted. I don't care who it is. You should be skeptical. In a sense, that's our job.

STEVE HAYS

"The Weekly Standard's Steve Hayes on rebuilding the public's trust", Poynter, May 15, 2017


It is the tension between creativity and skepticism that has produced the stunning and unexpected findings of science.

CARL SAGAN

Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science

Tags: Carl Sagan


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

THOMAS HENRY HUXLEY

Life and Letters of Thomas Henry Huxley

Tags: Thomas Henry Huxley


Much of the skepticism that we meet with is necessarily affectation or conceit, for it is as likely that the ignorant, weak, and indolent should become mathematicians as reasoning unbelievers. Patient study and perfect impartiality must precede rational conviction, whether ending in faith or doubt.

RICHARD SHARP

Letters and Essays in Prose and Verse


Skepticism is the sadism of embittered souls.

EMIL CIORAN

History & Utopia

Tags: Emil Cioran


Skepticism took it's toll
Closed the windows to my soul

DC TALK

"Fearless"


Is it possible to be skeptical and optimistic and ambitious, open, excited to possibility and willing to change the world as well? I think so.

GWEN IFILL

"Your Remembrances of Gwen Ifill", PBS Newshour, November 15, 2016


In the name of the Father, the Skeptic and the Son
I had one more stupid question

ALANIS MORISSETTE

"Forgiven"


Skepticism is in fact the wholly self-abrogating contradiction.

MICHAEL N. FORSTER

Hegel and Skepticism


Belief consists in accepting the affirmations of the soul; unbelief, in denying them. Some minds are incapable of skepticism.

RALPH WALDO EMERSON

"Montaigne; or, the Skeptic", Representative Men

Tags: Ralph Waldo Emerson


You must develop the habit of skepticism, not swallow every piece of superstition you are told by witch-doctors and professors.

CHINUA ACHEBE

Anthills of the Savannah

Tags: Chinua Achebe


Skepticism, like chastity, should not be relinquished too readily.

GEORGE SANTAYANA

attributed, Business Wit & Wisdom

Tags: George Santayana


The fear of God is not the beginning of wisdom. The fear of God is the death of wisdom. Skepticism and doubt lead to study and investigation, and investigation is the beginning of wisdom.

CLARENCE DARROW

Why I Am an Agnostic and Other Essays

Tags: Clarence Darrow


The path to sound credence is through the thick forest of skepticism.

GEORGE JEAN NATHAN

Materia Critica


Skepticism literally means a thoughtful inquiry, the looking at a problem in a disinterested spirit, the surveying of a question from many sides. In this sense it is the very essence of philosophy and science.

JOSEPH ALEXANDER LEIGHTON

The Field of Philosophy

Tags: Joseph Alexander Leighton


Skeptics always have more questions to ask, but we are willing to be persuaded to the honesty of an alternate point of view, even if we don't share it.

GWEN IFILL

"Your Remembrances of Gwen Ifill", PBS Newshour, November 15, 2016


Skepticism has never founded empires, established principles, or changed the world's heart; the great doers in history have always been men of faith.

EDWIN HUBBELL CHAPIN

Characters in the Gospels: Illustrating Phases of Character at the Present Day

Tags: E. H. Chapin