The danger to society is not merely that it should believe wrong things, though that is great enough; but that it should become credulous, and lose the habit of testing things and inquiring into them; for then it must sink…

Quote by William Kingdon Clifford

Topics: William Kingdon Clifford Quotes

The rule which should guide us in such cases is simple and obvious enough: that...

The rule which should guide us in such cases is simple and obvious enough: that...

The harm which is done by credulity in a man is not confined to the...

The harm which is done by credulity in a man is not confined to the...

When an action is once done, it is right or wrong for ever; no accidental...

When an action is once done, it is right or wrong for ever; no accidental...

To sum up: it is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon...

To sum up: it is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon...

If I steal money from any person, there may be no harm done from the...

If I steal money from any person, there may be no harm done from the...

An atmosphere of beliefs and conceptions has been formed by the labours and struggles of...

An atmosphere of beliefs and conceptions has been formed by the labours and struggles of...

A little reflection will show us that every belief, even the simplest and most fundamental,...

A little reflection will show us that every belief, even the simplest and most fundamental,...

Every rustic who delivers in the village alehouse his slow, infrequent sentences, may help to...

Every rustic who delivers in the village alehouse his slow, infrequent sentences, may help to...

We feel much happier and more secure when we think we know precisely what to...

We feel much happier and more secure when we think we know precisely what to...

Namely, we have no right to believe a thing true because everybody says so unless...

Namely, we have no right to believe a thing true because everybody says so unless...

We may always depend on it that algebra, which cannot be translated into good English...

We may always depend on it that algebra, which cannot be translated into good English...

In like manner, if I let myself believe anything on insufficient evidence, there may be...

In like manner, if I let myself believe anything on insufficient evidence, there may be...

This sense of power is the highest and best of pleasures when the belief on...

This sense of power is the highest and best of pleasures when the belief on...

Our lives our guided by that general conception of the course of things which has...

Our lives our guided by that general conception of the course of things which has...

It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.

It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.

Nor is it that truly a belief at all which has not some influence upon...

Nor is it that truly a belief at all which has not some influence upon...

To consider only one other such witness: the followers of the Buddha have at least...

To consider only one other such witness: the followers of the Buddha have at least...

He who truly believes that which prompts him to an action has looked upon the...

He who truly believes that which prompts him to an action has looked upon the...

If a belief is not realized immediately in open deeds, it is stored up for...

If a belief is not realized immediately in open deeds, it is stored up for...

Into this, for good or ill, is woven every belief of every man who has...

Into this, for good or ill, is woven every belief of every man who has...