To preach skepticism to us as a duty until “sufficient evidence” for religion be found, is tantamount therefore to telling us, when in presence of the religious hypothesis, that to yield to our fear of its being error is wiser and better than to yield to our hope that it may be true. It is not intellect against all passions, then; it is only intellect with one passion laying down its law.

William James (1842-1910) American psychologist and philosopher
“The Will to Believe” (1896)

 
Added on 1-Feb-04 | Last updated 10-Jan-12
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