Skeptical Quotes
Not to be absolutely certain is, I think, one of the essential things in rationality.
The general root of superstition [is] that men observe when things hit, and not when they miss, and commit to memory the one, and forget and pass over the other.
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 widespread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible.
The truth may be puzzling. It may take some work to grapple with. It may be counterintuitive. It may contradict deeply held prejudices. It may not be consonant with what we desperately want to be true. But our preferences do not determine what`s true.
Is it more probable that nature should go out of her course or that a man should tell a lie? We have never seen, in our time, nature go out of her course. But we have good reason to believe that millions of lies have been told in the same time. It is therefore at least millions to one that the reporter of a miracle tells a lie.
The beginning of wisdom is found in doubting; by doubting we come to the question, and by seeking we may come upon the truth.
The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones.
Education has failed in a very serious way to convey the most important lesson science can teach: skepticism.
What we call rational grounds for our beliefs are often extremely irrational attempts to justify our instincts.
Who is more humble? The scientist who looks at the universe with an open mind and accepts whatever the universe has to teach us, or somebody who says "Everything in this book must be considered the literal truth and never mind the fallibility of all the human beings involved in the writing of this book."?