#skepticism

I suppose that Willie had his natural quota of ordinary suspicion and caginess, but those things tend to evaporate when what people tell you is what you want to hear. ↗

— Robert Penn Warren

#gullibility #skepticism #men

Given the power and influence that science increasingly has in our daily lives, it is important that we as citizens of an open and democratic society learn to separate good science from bunk. This is not just a matter of intellectual curiosity, as it affects where large portions of our tax money go, and in some cases even whether people’s lives are lost as a result of nonsense. ↗

— Massimo Pigliucci

#skepticism #money

Isn't this enough? Just this world? Just THIS? ↗

— Tim Minchin

#music #religion #skepticism #song-lyrics #spirituality

A mode of thought does not become 'critical' simply by attributing that label to itself, but by virtue of its content. ↗

— Alan Sokal

#critical-thinking #science #skepticism #science

As every inquiry which regards religion is of the utmost importance, there are two questions in particular which challenge our attention, to wit, that concerning its foundation in reason, and that concerning it origin in human nature. ↗

— David Hume

#skepticism #nature

The typical atheist rebels against God as a teenager rebels against his parents. When his own desires or standards are not fulfilled in the way that he sees fit, he, in revolt, storms out of the house in denial of the Word of God and in scrutiny of a great deal of those who stand by the Word of God. The epithet 'Heavenly Father' is a grand reflection, a relation to that of human nature. ↗

— Criss Jami

#atheism #bible #bitterness #denial #epithet

The capacity to combine commitment with skepticism is essential to democracy. ↗

— Mary Catherine Bateson

#combine #commitment #democracy #essential #skepticism

I've encountered a lot of people who sound like critics but very few who have substantive criticisms. There is a lot of skepticism, but it seems to be more a matter of inertia than it is of people having some real reason for thinking something else. ↗

— K. Eric Drexler

#critics #else #encountered #few #having

I'd say there was a fair amount of skepticism at the time about whether the Internet held any promise. And of course I felt that it did. ↗

— Jim Clark

#amount #any #course #did #fair

I'm the most cynical person, and I know what that sounds like when you say, I don't drink and drive, and I don't. But I know people look at that with skepticism, and I understand. ↗

— Tracey Gold

#drink #drive #i #know #like