It is not what we believe, but why we believe it. Moral responsibility…

Thomas Huxley
164 citations
It is not what we believe, but why we believe it. Moral responsibility lies in diligently weighing the evidence. We must actively doubt; we have to scrutinize our views, not take them on trust. No virtue attached to blindly accepting orthodoxy, however 'venerable'.
Thought
12

More Author Quotes

For every man the world is as fresh as it was at the first day, and as full of untold novelties for him who has the eyes to see them. ✨ Thomas Henry Huxley (2008). A Scientific Education, p.37, Lulu. … ▶
Unity of plan everywhere lies hidden under the mask: of diversity of structure-the complex is everywhere evolved out of the simple. ✨ Thomas Henry Huxley (1872). Lay Sermons, Addresses, and Reviews, … ▶
That man, I think, has had a liberal education, who has been so trained in youth that his body is the ready servant of his will. ✨ Thomas Henry Huxley (1997). The Major Prose of Thomas Henry Huxley, … ▶
A well-worn adage advises those who set out upon a great enterprise to count the cost, yet some of the greatest enterprises have succeeded because the people who undertook them did not count the cost.
Science has fulfilled her function when she has ascertained and enunciated truth. ✨ Thomas H. Huxley (2013). Man's Place in Nature, p.128, Courier Corporation

It is not what we believe, but why we believe it. Moral responsibility lies in diligently weighing the evidence. We must actively doubt; we have to scrutinize our views, not take them on trust. No virtue attached to blindly accepting orthodoxy, however 'venerable'.

More Author Quotes

Most Cited Authors

The Best Quotes

Most Liked Authors

Curated Author Quotes