Skeptical Quotes

• What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the will to find out, which is the exact opposite.

  Bertrand Russell

  Believe, Science, Opposites

  "Sceptical Essays". Book by Bertrand Russell, Ch. 12: Free Thought and Official Propaganda, 1928.

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• Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?

  Epicurus

  God, Spiritual, Religious

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• There are two possible outcomes: if the result confirms the hypothesis, then you've made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, then you've made a discovery.

  Enrico Fermi

  Science, Discovery, Two

  "Nuclear Principles in Engineering". Book by Tatjana Jevremovic, 2005.

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• If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.

  Anatole France

  Funny, Wisdom, Stupid

  "Listening and Speaking : A Guide to Effective Oral Communication". Book by Ralph G. Nichols and Thomas R. Lewis, 1954.

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• Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?

  Epicurus

  Atheist, Faith Religion, Omnipotence

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• The most erroneous stories are those we think we know best - and therefore never scrutinize or question.

  Stephen Jay Gould

  Science, Thinking, Fog

  Stephen Jay Gould (2011). “Full House”, p.57, Harvard University Press

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• The beginning of knowledge is the discovery of something we do not understand.

  Frank Herbert

  Knowledge, Caring, Discovery

  Frank Herbert (2008). “God Emperor of Dune”, p.150, Penguin

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• The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd; indeed in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind, a widely spread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible.

  Bertrand Russell

  Learning, Knowledge, Parenting

  Marriage and Morals ch. 5 (1929)

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• The natural cause of the human mind is certainly from credulity to skepticism.

  Thomas Jefferson

  Cynical, Mind, Causes

  "Symposium On Epic Of Thomas Jefferson:Embargo Act Of 1807 & The Quest For Limited Government Over Big Government". Book by Festus Ogunbitan (p. 1498), April 11, 2014.

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• It's a most distressing affliction to have a sentimental heart and a skeptical mind.

  Naguib Mahfouz

  Heart, Mind, Affliction

  FaceBook post by Naguib Mahfouz from Mar 05, 2014

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• I believe in evidence. I believe in observation, measurement, and reasoning, confirmed by independent observers. I'll believe anything, no matter how wild and ridiculous, if there is evidence for it. The wilder and more ridiculous something is, however, the firmer and more solid the evidence will have to be.

  Isaac Asimov

  Believe, Independent, Science

  Isaac Asimov (1982). “Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine”

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• Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Inspirational, Witty, Kings

  Strength to Love (1963) ch. 4

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• I believe a marriage is between a man and a woman.

  George W. Bush

  Crazy, Believe, Men

  "Fox News Sunday" with Brit Hume, www.foxnews.com. August 3, 2003.

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• Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.

  Epicurus

  Atheist, Omnipotence, If There Is A God

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

  Adam Smith

  Cities, Progress, Valleys

  Adam Smith (1978). “Powers of Mind”

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• It ain't those parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand.

  Mark Twain

  Death, Religious, Atheist

  Mark Twain (2014). “Mark Twain on Common Sense: Timeless Advice and Words of Wisdom from America's Most-Revered Humorist”, p.31, Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.

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• It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data.

  Arthur Conan Doyle

  Mistake, Math, Science

  "A Scandal in Bohemia" (1891)

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• The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'

  Isaac Asimov

  Inspirational, Funny, Motivational

  "Betting On a Bass That Belts Them Out; Singing Fish Becomes Season’s Unlikely Hit" by Darragh Johnson, The Washington Post, July 30, 2000.

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• You know, I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman.

  Carly Fiorina

  Crazy, Believe, Men

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• I think it's much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers which might be wrong.

  Richard P. Feynman

  Badass, Knowledge, Science

  Richard P. Feynman (2005). “The Pleasure of Finding Things Out: The Best Short Works of Richard P. Feynman”, p.21, Hachette UK

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• Skepticism is a virtue in history as well as in philosophy.

  Napoleon Bonaparte

  Philosophy, Virtue, Skepticism

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

  George Jean Nathan

  Atheism, Forests, Sound

  George Jean Nathan (1971). “Materia, Critica: New Introd. by Charles Angoff”, p.5, Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press

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• History is the same thing over and over again.

  Woody Allen

  Fitness Motivational, Temporary Insanity, Bores You

  "Nothing Pleases Me More than Being Thought of as a European Filmmaker". Interview with Helene Zuber, www.spiegel.de. June 20, 2005.

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• Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

  Arthur C. Clarke

  Science, Technology, Possible And Impossible

  Letter to the editor, Science, 19 Jan. 1968.

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• It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.

  Arthur Conan Doyle

  Education, Mistake, Math

  "A Scandal in Bohemia" (1891)

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