WIST Quotations

Rickover, Hyman -- Speech (1954-03-16), “Administering a Large Military Development Project,” US Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California

Dave — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 05:08:57 +0000

Unfortunately, in real life there are no exact or final answers. In a job which must go ahead at a rapid pace we cannot withhold judgment “until all the facts are in.” Rarely is all the evidence at hand. Decisions must be made, and action taken, before complete knowledge can be acquired.

Hyman Rickover (1900-1986) Polish-American naval engineer, admiral [b. Chaim Gdala Rykower]
Speech (1954-03-16), “Administering a Large Military Development Project,” US Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California
(Source)

Ustinov, Peter -- Interview (1995-06-22) by Warren Allen Smith, Free Inquiry Magazine

Dave — Sat, 24 Jan 2026 04:45:23 +0000

I think that it’s an honorable thing to change your mind occasionally. I don’t think it’s a sign of weakness or lack of integrity. I believe men are united by their doubts and separated by their convictions. Therefore, it’s a very good thing to have doubts. Doubts are the greatest spur to activity that I know of.

Peter Ustinov (1921-2004) English actor, author, director
Interview (1995-06-22) by Warren Allen Smith, Free Inquiry Magazine
(Source)

Doyle, Arthur Conan -- Story (1886-04), “A Study in Scarlet,” Part 1, ch. 3 [Holmes], Beeton’s Christmas Annual, Vol. 28 (1887-11-21)

Dave — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 20:02:18 +0000

It was easier to know it than to explain why I know it. If you were asked to prove that two and two made four, you might find some difficulty, and yet you are quite sure of the fact.

Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) British writer and physician
Story (1886-04), “A Study in Scarlet,” Part 1, ch. 3 [Holmes], Beeton’s Christmas Annual, Vol. 28 (1887-11-21)
(Source)

Published in novel form 1888-07.

Bible, Vol. 2. New Testament -- Hebrews 11: 1 [KJV (1611)]

Dave — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 15:07:36 +0000

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

[Ἔστιν δὲ πίστις ἐλπιζομένων ὑπόστασις, πραγμάτων ἔλεγχος οὐ βλεπομένων.]

The Bible (The New Testament) (AD 1st - 2nd C) Christian sacred scripture
Hebrews 11: 1 [KJV (1611)]
(Source)

(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:

Only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for, or prove the existence of the realities that at present remain unseen.
[JB (1966)]

Only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for, or prove the existence of realities that are unseen.
[NJB (1985)]

To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see.
[GNT (1992 ed.)]

Faith is the reality of what we hope for, the proof of what we don’t see.
[CEB (2011)]

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
[NRSV (2021 ed.)]

McLaughlin, Mignon -- The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 10 (1963)

Dave — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 20:49:36 +0000

What you were sure of yesterday, you know now to be false, but what you are sure of today is absolutely true.

Mignon McLaughlin (1913-1983) American journalist and author
The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 10 (1963)
(Source)

Taleb, Nassim Nicholas -- The Black Swan, Part 2, ch. 10 “The Scandal of Prediction” (2007)

Dave — Mon, 09 Jun 2025 15:23:09 +0000

Forecasting by bureaucrats tends to be used for anxiety relief rather than for adequate policy making.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb (b. 1960) Lebanese-American essayist, statistician, risk analyst, aphorist
The Black Swan, Part 2, ch. 10 “The Scandal of Prediction” (2007)
(Source)

Billings, Josh -- Josh Billings’ Farmer’s Allminax, 1870-06 (1870 ed.)

Dave — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 18:59:19 +0000

The time tew be karefullest iz when we hav a hand full ov trumps.

[The time to be carefullest is when we have a hand full of trumps.]

Josh Billings (1818-1885) American humorist, aphorist [pseud. of Henry Wheeler Shaw]
Josh Billings’ Farmer’s Allminax, 1870-06 (1870 ed.)
(Source)

Repeated in Everybody's Friend, Or; Josh Billing's Encyclopedia and Proverbial Philosophy of Wit and Humor, ch. 156 "Affurisms: Embers on the Harth" (1874).

Taylor, Barbara Brown -- Learning to Walk in the Dark, ch. 7 (2014)

Dave — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 17:33:22 +0000

I cannot say for sure when my reliable ideas about God began to slip away, but the big chest I used to keep them in is smaller than a shoebox now. Most of the time, I feel so ashamed about this that I do not own up to it unless someone else mentions it first. Then we find a quiet place where we can talk about what it is like to feel more and more devoted to a relationship that we are less and less able to say anything about.

Barbara Brown Taylor (b. 1951) American minister, academic, author
Learning to Walk in the Dark, ch. 7 (2014)
(Source)

Whitehead, Alfred North -- Process and Reality: An Essay in Cosmology, Preface (1929)

Dave — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 19:28:02 +0000

How shallow, puny, and imperfect are efforts to sound the depths in the nature of things. In philosophical discussion, the merest hint of dogmatic certainty as to finality of statement is an exhibition of folly.

Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947) English mathematician and philosopher
Process and Reality: An Essay in Cosmology, Preface (1929)
(Source)

The book is a collection of his Gifford Lectures, University of Edinburgh (1927-1928).

Hand, Learned -- Speech (1955-01-29), “A Fanfare for Prometheus,” American Jewish Committee annual dinner, New York City

Dave — Wed, 08 May 2024 20:27:08 +0000

Nor need we be surprised that men so often embrace almost any doctrines, if they are proclaimed with a voice of absolute assurance. In a universe that we do not understand, but with which we must in one way or another somehow manage to deal; and aware of the conflicting desires that clamorously beset us, between which we must choose, and which we must therefore manage to weigh, we turn in our bewilderment to those who tell us that they have found a path out of the thickets and possess the scales by which to appraise our needs. Over and over again such prophets succeed in converting us to unquestioning acceptance; there is scarcely a monstrous belief that has not had its day and its passionate adherents, so eager are we for safe footholds in our dubious course.

Learned Hand (1872-1961) American jurist
Speech (1955-01-29), “A Fanfare for Prometheus,” American Jewish Committee annual dinner, New York City
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- “Philosophy for Laymen,” Universities Quarterly (1946-11)

Dave — Wed, 08 May 2024 15:20:24 +0000

The demand for certainty is one which is natural to man, but is nevertheless an intellectual vice.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Philosophy for Laymen,” Universities Quarterly (1946-11)
(Source)

Reprinted in Unpopular Essays, ch. 2 (1951).

Hoffer, Eric -- Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 87 (1955)

Dave — Tue, 07 May 2024 16:19:14 +0000

Fear comes from uncertainty. When we are absolutely certain, whether of our worth or worthlessness, we are almost impervious to fear. Thus a feeling of utter unworthiness can be a source of courage.

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 87 (1955)
(Source)

Tocqueville, Alexis de -- Letter to De Gobineau (1858-08-05)

Dave — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 15:29:33 +0000

A hypothesis which permits the prediction of certain effects that always reoccur under certain conditions does, in its way amount to a demonstrable certainty. Even the Newtonian system had no more than such a foundation.

[Une hypothèse qui permet de prévoir certains effets qui se reproduisent toujours ressemble absolument à une vérité démontrée. Le système de Newton ne repose guère sur un autre fondement. Si en réalité et de l aveu du.]

Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) French writer, diplomat, politician
Letter to De Gobineau (1858-08-05)
(Source)

(Source (French))

Maugham, W. Somerset -- The Summing Up, ch. 5 (1938)

Dave — Thu, 18 Apr 2024 14:59:23 +0000

If in the following pages I seem to express myself dogmatically, it is only because I find it very boring to qualify every phrase with an ‘I think’ or ‘to my mind.’ Everything I say is merely an Opinion of my own. The reader can take it or leave it. If he has the patience to read what follows he will see that there is only one thing about which I am certain, and this is that there is very little about which one can be certain.

W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) English novelist and playwright [William Somerset Maugham]
The Summing Up, ch. 5 (1938)
(Source)

Loeb, Sophie Irene -- Epigrams of Eve, “Wise and Otherwise” (1913)

Dave — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 16:24:13 +0000

It is wise to be sure, but otherwise to be too sure.

Sophie Irene Loeb (1876-1929) Ukrainian-American journalist, activist
Epigrams of Eve, “Wise and Otherwise” (1913)
(Source)

Hawking, Stephen -- “Is Everything Determined?” lecture, Sigma Club Seminar, Cambridge University (1990-04)

Dave — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 22:38:45 +0000

It may be that everything we do is determined by some grand unified theory. If that theory has determined that we shall die by hanging, then we shall not drown. But you would have to be awfully sure that you were destined for the gallows to put to sea in a small boat during a storm. I have noticed that even people who claim that everything is predestined and that we can do nothing to change it look before they cross the road. Maybe it’s just that those who don’t look don’t survive to tell the tale.

Stephen Hawking (1942-2018) English physicist, author
“Is Everything Determined?” lecture, Sigma Club Seminar, Cambridge University (1990-04)
(Source)

Reprinted in Black Holes and Baby Universes, and Other Essays, ch. 12 (1994). Hawking's thesis that the universe is actually deterministic, but too complex to be predictable, so acting as though free will exists is useful socially and, like fluid dynamics equations, satisfactory for most purposes.

Austen, Jane -- Emma, Vol. 1, ch. 7 [Emma] (1816)

Dave — Tue, 26 Mar 2024 15:40:54 +0000

I lay it down as a general rule, Harriet, that if a woman doubts as to whether she should accept a man or not, she certainly ought to refuse him. If she can hesitate as to ‘Yes,’ she ought to say ‘No’ directly.

Jane Austen (1775-1817) English author
Emma, Vol. 1, ch. 7 [Emma] (1816)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- “Am I an Atheist or an Agnostic?” sec. “Skepticism” (1949)

Dave — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 15:57:00 +0000

When one admits that nothing is certain one must, I think, also admit that some things are much more nearly certain than others. It is much more nearly certain that we are assembled here tonight than it is that this or that political party is in the right. Certainly there are degrees of certainty, and one should be very careful to emphasize that fact, because otherwise one is landed in an utter skepticism, and complete skepticism would, of course, be totally barren and completely useless.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Am I an Atheist or an Agnostic?” sec. “Skepticism” (1949)
(Source)

Originally given as a speech, "Agnosticism v. Atheism," Rationalist Press Assoc. Annual Dinner, London (1949-05-20); then printed as "Agnosticism v. Atheism," The Literary Guide and Rationalist Review (1949-07); then released as an essay under this title later in 1949.

Kafka, Franz -- The Trial, ch. 1 (1925) [tr. Wyllie (2003)]

Dave — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 14:52:26 +0000

They’re talking about things of which they don’t have the slightest understanding, anyway. It’s only because of their stupidity that they’re able to be so sure of themselves.

Franz Kafka (1883-1924) Czech-Austrian Jewish writer
The Trial, ch. 1 (1925) [tr. Wyllie (2003)]
(Source)

The protagonist Josef K., musing over the minor functionaries who have arrested him on unknown charges.

Byron, George Gordon, Lord -- “Beppo,” st. 27 (1818)

Dave — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 16:56:49 +0000

For most men (till by losing rendered sager)
Will back their own opinions by a wager.

George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824) English poet
“Beppo,” st. 27 (1818)
(Source)

France, Anatole -- (Misquotation)

Dave — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 20:40:12 +0000

It is the certainty that they possess the truth that makes men cruel.

[C’est la certitude qu’ils tiennent la vérité qui rend les hommes cruels.]

Anatole France (1844-1924) French poet, journalist, novelist, Nobel Laureate [pseud. of Jaques-Anatole-François Thibault]
(Misquotation)

Widely attributed (in French and English) to Anatole France, but not found in his works, including the one location it is sometimes cited from, Les Dieux Ont Soif [The Gods Are Thirsty, The Gods Are Athirst, The Gods Will Have Blood] (1912), in either English translation or, more importantly, in the original French.

While thematically keeping in the novel's depiction of the French Revolution and the Terror, the closest match to the quote I can find is this portion of ch. 22, talking about the expediting of the trials of those charged with counter-revolutionary crimes, eliminating the need to prove a misdeed by simply inquiring as to the accused's beliefs.

Justice thus abbreviated satisfied them; the pace was quickened, and no obstacles were left to fret them. They limited themselves to an inquiry into the opinions of the accused, not conceiving it possible that anyone could think differently from themselves except in pure perversity. Believing themselves the exclusive possessors of truth, wisdom, the quintessence of good, they attributed to their opponents noting but error and evil. They felt themselves all-powerful; they envisaged God.
[tr. Allinson (1913), Jackson (1921)]

Justice, thus curtailed, satisfied them; the pace was quickened and no obstacles were left to confuse them. They confined themselves to inquiring into the opinions of the accused, not conceiving it possible that anyone, except from pure perversity, could think differently from themselves. Believing themselves to possess a monopoly of truth, wisdom and goodness, they attributed to their opponents all error, stupidity and evil. They felt themselves omnipotent: their eyes had seen God.
[tr. Davies (1979)]

La justice abrégée les contentait. Rien, dans sa marche accélérée, ne les troublait plus. Ils s’enquéraient seulement des opinions des accusés, ne concevant pas qu’on pût sans méchanceté penser autrement qu’eux. Comme ils croyaient posséder la vérité, la sagesse, le souverain bien, ils attribuaient à leurs adversaires l’erreur et le mal. Ils se sentaient forts : ils voyaient Dieu.
[Original]

Carr, E. H. -- (Attributed)

Dave — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 18:53:28 +0000

Change is certain. Progress is not.

E. H. Carr (1892-1982) British historian, journalist, international relations theorist [Edward Hallett "Ted" Carr]
(Attributed)

This is widely cited to his collection, From Napoleon to Stalin and Other Essays (1980), but I cannot find it there.

Ehrman, Bart -- God’s Problem, ch. 8 (2008)

Dave — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 21:41:20 +0000

There are few things more dangerous than inbred religious certainty.

Bart D. Ehrman (b. 1955) American Biblical scholar, author
God’s Problem, ch. 8 (2008)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Interview by Woodrow Wyatt, BBC TV (1959)

Dave — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 13:41:52 +0000

I think nobody should be certain of anything. If you’re certain, you’re certainly wrong, because nothing deserves certainty, and so one ought always to hold all one’s beliefs with a certain element of doubt and one ought to be able to act vigorously in spite of the doubt.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Interview by Woodrow Wyatt, BBC TV (1959)
(Source)

Collected in Bertrand Russell's BBC Interviews (1959) [UK] and Bertrand Russell Speaks His Mind (1960) [US]. Reprinted (abridged) in The Humanist (1982-11/12), and in Russell Society News, #37 (1983-02).

Euripides -- Bellerophon [Βελλεροφῶν], frag. 304 (TGF) (c. 430 BC) [tr. Wodhull (1809)]

Dave — Tue, 12 Sep 2023 16:27:10 +0000

But what is there in man’s precarious life
To be relied on? o’er the foamy deep
Rides the swift vessel by the wind impell’d:
But as to human fortunes, Time reduces
The great to nothing, and augments the small.

Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Bellerophon [Βελλεροφῶν], frag. 304 (TGF) (c. 430 BC) [tr. Wodhull (1809)]
(Source)

Barnes frag. 117, Musgrave frag. 20. Alternate translations:

Where indeed is there sureness in man's life? For swift ships the winds drive a straight path on the ocean deep, but men's fortunes are changed by the largeness of time, their greatness to nothing, while with increase for the lesser ....
[tr. Collard, Hargreaves, Cropp (1995)]

Where -- where --
for those that die
life’s sure foundation? If we were ships
over the depths of ocean
winds would drive us
straight.
But those that die
their fortune shifts, it veers
in twists of fate -- as Time
(slowly --– slowly) generates itself
at its own leisure
reducing what was great
to nothing – raising up
another ....
[tr. Stevens (2012)]

Hand, Learned -- “Sources of Tolerance,” speech, University of Pennsylvania Law School (1930-06)

Dave — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 17:05:37 +0000

I conceive that there is nothing which gives a man more pause before taking as absolute what his feelings welcome, and his mind deems plausible, than even the flicker of recollection that something of the sort has been tried before, felt before, disputed before, and for some reason or other has now quite gone into Limbo.

Learned Hand (1872-1961) American jurist
“Sources of Tolerance,” speech, University of Pennsylvania Law School (1930-06)
(Source)

Dawkins, Richard -- Speech, Edinburgh International Science Festival (1992-04-15)

Dave — Wed, 12 Jul 2023 02:15:12 +0000

It is often said […] that although there is no positive evidence for the existence of God, nor is there evidence against his existence. So it is best to keep an open mind and be agnostic. At first sight that seems an unassailable position, at least in the weak sense of Pascal’s wager. But on second thoughts it seems a cop-out, because the same could be said of Father Christmas and tooth fairies. There may be fairies at the bottom of the garden. There is no evidence for it, but you can’t prove that there aren’t any, so shouldn’t we be agnostic with respect to fairies?

Richard Dawkins (b. 1941) English ethologist, evolutionary biologist, author
Speech, Edinburgh International Science Festival (1992-04-15)

Quoted in "EDITORIAL: A scientist's case against God," The Independent (1992-04-20).

Billings, Josh -- Everybody’s Friend, Or; Josh Billing’s Encyclopedia and Proverbial Philosophy of Wit and Humor, ch. 152 “Affurisms: Chicken Feed” (1874)

Dave — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 17:06:33 +0000

I hav lived in this world jist long enuff tew look karefully the seckond time into things that i am the most certain ov the fust time.

[I have lived in this world just long enough to look carefully the second time into things that I am the most certain of the first time.]

Josh Billings (1818-1885) American humorist, aphorist [pseud. of Henry Wheeler Shaw]
Everybody’s Friend, Or; Josh Billing’s Encyclopedia and Proverbial Philosophy of Wit and Humor, ch. 152 “Affurisms: Chicken Feed” (1874)
(Source)

La Bruyere, Jean de -- The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 5 “Of Society and Conversation [De la Société et de la Conversation],” § 76 (5.76) (1688) [tr. Van Laun (1885)]

Dave — Tue, 10 Jan 2023 22:22:52 +0000

Profound ignorance makes a man dogmatical; he who knows nothing thinks he can teach others what he just now has learned himself.

[C’est la profonde ignorance qui inspire le ton dogmatique. Celui qui ne sait rien croit enseigner aux autres ce qu’il vient d’apprendre lui-même.]

Jean de La Bruyère (1645-1696) French essayist, moralist
The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 5 “Of Society and Conversation [De la Société et de la Conversation],” § 76 (5.76) (1688) [tr. Van Laun (1885)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

Profound Ignorance makes a Man dogmatick. If he knows nothing, he thinks he can teach others what he is to learn himself.
[Bullord ed. (1696)]

Profound Ignorance makes a Man dogmatick; he who knows nothing, thinks he can teach others what he just now has learn'd himself.
[Curll ed. (1713)]

A dogmatic tone is generally inspired by abysmal ignorance. The man who knows nothing thinks he is informing others of something which he has that moment learnt.
[tr. Stewart (1970)]

Johnson, Samuel -- Essay (1759-05-19), The Idler, No. 57

Dave — Wed, 09 Nov 2022 17:56:03 +0000

He is no wise man that will quit a certainty for an uncertainty.

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Essay (1759-05-19), The Idler, No. 57
(Source)

Quoting his friend, Sophron (Wisdom, Prudence), who prefers old, tested ways to new ones.

Confucius -- The Analects [論語, 论语, Lúnyǔ], Book 9, verse 4 (9.4) (6th C. BC – 3rd C. AD) [tr. Ames/Rosemont (1998)]

Dave — Mon, 27 Jun 2022 19:48:40 +0000

There were four things the Master abstained from entirely: he did not speculate, he did not claim or demand certainty, he was not inflexible, and he was not self-absorbed.

[子絕四、毋意、毋必、毋固、毋我]

Confucius (c. 551- c. 479 BC) Chinese philosopher, sage, politician [孔夫子 (Kǒng Fūzǐ, K'ung Fu-tzu, K'ung Fu Tse), 孔子 (Kǒngzǐ, Chungni), 孔丘 (Kǒng Qiū, K'ung Ch'iu)]
The Analects [論語, 论语, Lúnyǔ], Book 9, verse 4 (9.4) (6th C. BC – 3rd C. AD) [tr. Ames/Rosemont (1998)]
(Source)

Different versions of the Analects take these four items in slightly differing order, reflected in the translations below. (Source (Chinese)). Alternate translations:

There were four things from which the Master was entirely free. He had no foregone conclusions, no arbitrary predeterminations, no obstinacy, and no egoism.
[tr. Legge (1861)]

The Master barred four (words); - he would have no "shall"s, no "must"s, no "certainly"s, no "I"s.
[tr. Jennings (1895)]

There were four things from which Confucius was entirely free : He was free from self-interest, from prepossessions, from bigotry and from egoism.
[tr. Ku Hung-Ming (1898)]

The Master was entirely free from four things: he had no preconceptions, no pre-determinations, no obduracy, and no egoism.
[tr. Soothill (1910)]

He was cut off from four things; he had no prejudices, no categoric imperatives, no obstinacy or no obstinate residues, no time-lags, no egotism.
[tr. Pound (1933); yes, that looks to be five things]

There are four things that the Master wholly eschewed: he took nothing for granted, he was never over-positive, never obstinate, never egotistic.
[tr. Waley (1938)]

The Master recognized four prohibitions; Do not be swayed by personal opinion; recognize no inescapable necessity; do not be stubborn; do not be egotistic.
[tr. Ware (1950)]

He denounced (or tried to avoid completely) four things: arbitrariness of opinions, dogmatism, narrow-mindedness and egotism.
[tr. Lin Yutang (1938)]

There were four things the Master refused to have anything to do with: he refused to entertain conjectures or insist on certainty; he refused to be inflexible or to be egotistical.
[tr. Lau (1979)]

The Master cut out four things. He never took anything for granted, he never insisted on certainty, he was never inflexible and never egotistical.
[tr. Dawson (1993)]

The Master absolutely eschewed four things: capriciousness, dogmatism, willfulness, self-importance.
[tr. Leys (1997)]

The Master was absolutely free from four things: free from conjecture, free from arbitrariness, free from obstinacy, free from egoism.
[tr. Huang (1997)]

Confucius prohibited the four points: no wantonness, no dictatorship, no stubbornness, and no arrogance.
[tr. Cai/Yu (1998)]

The Master avoided four things: no wish, no will, no set, no self.
[tr. Brooks/Brooks (1998); they further interpret, "no fixed opinions, no foregone conclusions, no stubbornness, no self-absorption"]

The Master had freed himself of four things: idle speculation, certainty, inflexibility, and conceit.
[tr. Hinton (1998)]

The Master observed four prohibitions: no willfulness, no obstinacy, no narrow-mindedness, no egotism.
[tr. Watson (2007)]

The Master stayed away from four things: he did not put forth theories or conjectures; he did not think he must be right; he was not obdurate; he was not self-centered.
[tr. Annping Chin (2014)]

Confucius has four ultimate mindsets for perfect: no prejudice, no absolute must, no fixation, no self.
[tr. Li (2020)]

Teller, Edward -- (Attributed)

Dave — Mon, 06 Jun 2022 17:31:51 +0000

I believe in evil. It is the property of all those who are certain of truth. Despair and fanaticism are only differing manifestations of evil.

Edward Teller (1908-2003) Hungarian-American theoretical physicist
(Attributed)
(Source)

Attributed in a personal communication from Judith Shoolery, in Istvan Hargittai, The Martians of Science: Five Physicists Who Changed the Twentieth Century (2006).

Todorov, Tzvetan -- Hope and Memory: Reflections on the Twentieth Century, ch. 5 “The Past in the Present” (2003)

Dave — Fri, 13 May 2022 16:33:32 +0000

A maxim for the twenty-first century might well be to start not by fighting evil in the name of good, but by attacking the certainties of people who claim always to know where good and evil are to be found. We should struggle not against the devil himself but what allows the devil to live — Manichaean thinking itself.

Tzvetan Todorov (1939-2017) Bulgarian-French historian, philosopher, literary critic, sociologist
Hope and Memory: Reflections on the Twentieth Century, ch. 5 “The Past in the Present” (2003)
(Source)

Paraphrased variant:

We should not be simply fighting evil in the name of good, but struggling against the certainties of people who claim always to know where good and evil are to be found.

Clifford, William Kingdon -- “The Ethics of Belief,” Part 1 “The Duty of Inquiry,” Lecture, London (11 Apr 1876)

Dave — Mon, 08 Nov 2021 17:27:38 +0000

To know all about anything is to know how to deal with it under all circumstances. We feel much happier and more secure when we think we know precisely what to do, no matter what happens, than when we have lost our way and do not know where to turn. And if we have supposed ourselves to know all about anything, and to be capable of doing what is fit in regard to it, we naturally do not like to find that we are really ignorant and powerless, that we have to begin again at the beginning, and try to learn what the thing is and how it is to be dealt with — if indeed anything can be learnt about it. It is the sense of power attached to a sense of knowledge that makes men desirous of believing, and afraid of doubting.

William Kingdon Clifford (1845-1879) English mathematician and philosopher
“The Ethics of Belief,” Part 1 “The Duty of Inquiry,” Lecture, London (11 Apr 1876)
(Source)

Taylor, A. J. P. -- “What Else Indeed?” New York Review of Books (5 Aug 1965)

Dave — Mon, 20 Sep 2021 19:24:53 +0000

Knowledge breeds doubt, not certainty, and the more we know the more uncertain we become.

A. J. P. Taylor (1906-1990) British historian, journalist, broadcaster [Alan John Percivale Taylor]
“What Else Indeed?” New York Review of Books (5 Aug 1965)
(Source)

Beauvoir, Simone de -- All Said and Done (1974)

Dave — Thu, 26 Aug 2021 23:58:11 +0000

I tore myself away from the safe comfort of certainties through my love for truth — and truth rewarded me.

Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986) French author, existentialist philosopher, feminist theorist
All Said and Done (1974)
(Source)

Martin, Graham Dunstan -- Shadows in the Cave (1990)

Dave — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 14:42:54 +0000

Dogma thinks it knows. Belief knows it does not. Dogma is credulous. Belief is sceptical, but forever open-minded.

Graham Dunstan Martin (1932-2021) British author, translator, philologist
Shadows in the Cave (1990)

Hinshelwood, Cyril -- “Classics among the intellectual disciplines,” Presidential Address to the Classical Association, Hull, UK (1959-04-09)

Dave — Mon, 19 Apr 2021 18:10:37 +0000

A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional objectivity. It would be more nearly true to say that it is based upon wonder, adventure and hope.

Cyril Norman Hinshelwood (1897-1967) British chemist and Nobel laureate
“Classics among the intellectual disciplines,” Presidential Address to the Classical Association, Hull, UK (1959-04-09)

Quoted in the Sunday Times (1959-05-17), and in E. J. Bowen's obituary of Hinshelwood, in Chemistry in Britain, Vol. 3 (1967), p. 534.

Bowlby, John -- Maternal Care and Mental Health (1951)

Dave — Mon, 05 Apr 2021 19:02:22 +0000

It must be remembered that evidence is never complete, that knowledge of truth is always partial, and that to await certainty is to await eternity.

John Bowlby 1907-1990) British psychologist, psychiatrist, psychoanalyst
Maternal Care and Mental Health (1951)
(Source)

The last phrase is often attributed to Jonas Salk, who used it ("It is said to await certainty is to await eternity") in a telegram to Basil O'Connor (8 Nov 1954). But as Salk himself noted, it was not original to him.

Popper, Karl -- “Knowledge and the Shaping of Reality,” lecture, Alpbach (Aug 1982)

Dave — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 18:06:10 +0000

Since we can never know anything for sure, it is simply not worth searching for certainty; but it is well worth searching for truth; and we do this chiefly by searching for mistakes, so that we have to correct them.

Sir Karl Popper (1902-1994) Austrian-British philosopher
“Knowledge and the Shaping of Reality,” lecture, Alpbach (Aug 1982)
(Source)

Reprinted in In Search of a Better World, ch. 1 (1994).

Hyujeong -- Mirror of Zen [Samga Gwigam; Samga Kwigom; Seonga Gwigam], ch. 14 [tr. Jorgensen (2012)]

Dave — Mon, 22 Mar 2021 17:29:35 +0000

You must have three essentials for the investigation of Chan [Zen]. The first is that you must have the foundation of great faith. The second is that you must have a zealous determination. The third is that you must have the feeling of great doubt. If you omit one of these it is like breaking off the leg of a tripod, which ends up becoming a useless vessel.

高峰云、叅禪須具三要一有大信根
二有大憤志三有大疑情苟闕其一
如折足之鼎終成廢器。

Hyujeong (1520-1604) Korean Seon (Sŏn, Zen) Master [Sosan Taesa, Seosan Daesa, Dae Seonsa]
Mirror of Zen [Samga Gwigam; Samga Kwigom; Seonga Gwigam], ch. 14 [tr. Jorgensen (2012)]
(Source)

Alternate translations:

For the study of Seon, there are three requirements: (1) having the great root of faith; (2) having great determination, and (3) having great doubt. If you lack one of these, it is like a broken like on a tripod sacrificial vessel. In the end you will discard it.
[tr. Miller (2017)]

There are three essentials to Sŏn meditation. First of all, you must be rooted in Great Faith and Great Confidence. Secondly, one must have Great Anger -- a strong, inwardly-directed, ardent determination to practice. Thirdly, one must have Great Doubt. If one of these is missing, it is like a tripod vessel with one leg cut off -- in the end, it will be of no use.
[Source]

It is well known that Ganhwaseon practitioners must have three things of essential importance: The first is a Foundation of Great Faith (大信根) for the practice which is possible; the second is Great Zealous Determination (大憤志) of practice to attain enlightenment; the third is a Great Feeling of Doubt (大疑情) on the Hwadu. If one of these is lacking, then it is like a tripod pot with a broken foot and is useless.
[Source]

Newton, Isaac -- Opticks, Preface (unpublished) (1703)

Dave — Mon, 01 Mar 2021 17:43:50 +0000

What certainty can there be in a Philosophy which consists in as many Hypotheses as there are Phenomena to be explained. To explain all nature is too difficult a task for any one man or even for any one age. ‘Tis much better to do a little with certainty, & leave the rest for others that come after you, than to explain all things by conjecture without making sure of any thing.

Isaac Newton (1642-1727) English physicist and mathematician
Opticks, Preface (unpublished) (1703)
(Source)

Montagu, Ashley -- Science and Creationism, Introduction (1984)

Dave — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 15:23:33 +0000

Bigotry and science can have no communication with each other, for science begins where bigotry and absolute certainty end. The scientist believes in proof without certainty, the bigot in certainty without proof. Let us never forget that tyranny most often springs from a fanatical faith in the absoluteness of one’s beliefs.

Ashley Montagu (1905-1999) British-American anthropologist and humanist [b. Israel Ehrenberg, a/k/a Montague Francis Ashley-Montagu]
Science and Creationism, Introduction (1984)

The second sentence is frequently (mis)quoted:

"Science has proof without any certainty. Creationists have certainty without any proof."
"Religion gives us certainty without proof; science gives us proof without certainty."

Murray, William -- In Andrew Stuart, Letters to the Right Honorable Lord Mansfield (1773)

Dave — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 17:12:07 +0000

As mathematical and absolute certainty is seldom to be attained in human affairs, reason and public utility require that judges and all mankind in forming their opinions of the truth of facts should be regulated by the superior number of the probabilities on the one side or the other whether the amount of these probabilities be expressed in words and arguments or by figures and numbers.

William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield (1705-1793) British barrister, politician, judge, legal reformer
In Andrew Stuart, Letters to the Right Honorable Lord Mansfield (1773)
(Source)

A restatement by Stuart of a point Mansfield made.

Mill, John Stuart -- On Liberty, ch. 2 “Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion” (1959)

Dave — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 18:20:01 +0000

There is no such thing as absolute certainty, but there is assurance sufficient for the purposes of human life.

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) English philosopher and economist
On Liberty, ch. 2 “Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion” (1959)
(Source)

Mill is actually describing an argument he goes on to counter.

Wittgenstein, Ludwig -- On Certainty, Para. 115 (1969) [tr. Paul & Anscombe]

Dave — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 17:41:29 +0000

If you tried to doubt everything you would not get as far as doubting anything. The game of doubting itself presupposes certainty.

Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) Austrian-English philosopher
On Certainty, Para. 115 (1969) [tr. Paul & Anscombe]

Gigerenzer, Gerd -- Reckoning with Risk (2003)

Dave — Mon, 04 Jan 2021 19:35:13 +0000

Certainty has become a consumer product. It is marketed the world over — by insurance companies, investment advisers, election campaigns, and the medical industry.

Gerd Gigerenzer (b. 1947) German research psychologist
Reckoning with Risk (2003)

Fromm, Erich -- Man for Himself, ch. 3 (1947)

Dave — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 17:53:21 +0000

Man must accept the responsibility for himself and the fact that only by using his own powers can he give meaning to his life. But meaning does not imply certainty; indeed, the quest for certainty blocks the search for meaning. Uncertainty is the very condition to impel a man to unfold his powers. If he faces the truth without panic, he will recognize that there is no meaning to life except the meaning man gives his life by the unfolding of his powers, by living productively.

Erich Fromm (1900-1980) American psychoanalyst and social philosopher
Man for Himself, ch. 3 (1947)
(Source)

Teller, Edward -- (Attributed)

Dave — Tue, 01 Dec 2020 00:12:09 +0000

I believe in evil. It is the property of all those who are certain of truth. Despair and fanaticism are only differing manifestations of evil.

Edward Teller (1908-2003) Hungarian-American theoretical physicist
(Attributed)

Quoted in István Hargittai, The Martians of Science: Five Physicists Who Changed the Twentieth Century (2006), via Judith Shoolery.

Darwin, Charles -- The Descent of Man, Introduction (1871)

Dave — Tue, 24 Nov 2020 00:09:12 +0000

It has often and confidently been asserted, that man’s origin can never be known: but ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science.

Charles Darwin (1809-1882) English naturalist
The Descent of Man, Introduction (1871)
(Source)

Wilson, Robert Anton -- The Eye in the Pyramid (1975) [with Robert Shea]

Dave — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 22:43:00 +0000

ONLY THE MADMAN IS ABSOLUTELY SURE.

Robert Anton Wilson (1932-2007) American author, futurist self-described "agnostic mystic" [pen name of Robert Edward Wilson]
The Eye in the Pyramid (1975) [with Robert Shea]
(Source)

Locke, John -- An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Book 4 “Of Knowledge and Opinion,” ch. 19 “Of Enthusiasm,” sec. 1 “Love of truth necessary” (1689)

Dave — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 15:34:21 +0000

There is nobody, in the commonwealth of learning, who does not profess himself a lover of truth, — and there is not a rational creature, that would not take it amiss, to be thought otherwise of. And yet, for all this, one may truly say, there are very few lovers of truth, for truth-sake, even amongst those who persuade themselves that they are so. How a man may know, whether he be so, in earnest, is worth inquiry; and I think, there is this one unerring mark of it, viz. the not entertaining any proposition with greater assurance than the proofs it is built on will warrant. Whoever goes beyond this measure of assent, it is plain, receives not truth in the love of it, loves not truth for truth-sake, but for some other by-end.

John Locke (1632-1704) English philosopher
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Book 4 “Of Knowledge and Opinion,” ch. 19 “Of Enthusiasm,” sec. 1 “Love of truth necessary” (1689)
(Source)

Lara, Adair -- “A Lot of Knowledge Is Dangerous, Too,” San Francisco Chronicle (9 Oct 1997)

Dave — Tue, 21 Apr 2020 00:05:59 +0000

We are never so certain of our knowledge as when we’re dead wrong.

Adair Lara (b. 1952) American writer, columnist, teacher
“A Lot of Knowledge Is Dangerous, Too,” San Francisco Chronicle (9 Oct 1997)
(Source)

Tawney, R. H. -- Religion and the Rise of Capitalism, ch. 5 (1926)

Dave — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 19:28:40 +0000

The certainties of one age are the problems of the next.

R. H. Tawney (1880-1962) English writer, economist, historian, social critic [Richard Henry Tawney]
Religion and the Rise of Capitalism, ch. 5 (1926)
(Source)

Feynman, Richard -- The Character of Physical Law, ch. 3 “The Great Conservation Principles” (1965)

Dave — Fri, 10 Jan 2020 21:54:32 +0000

So we have to make guesses in order to give any utility at all to science. In order to avoid simply describing experiments that have been done, we have to propose laws beyond their observed range. There is nothing wrong with that, despite the fact that it makes science uncertain. If you thought before that science was certain — well, that is just an error on your part.

Richard Feynman (1918-1988) American physicist
The Character of Physical Law, ch. 3 “The Great Conservation Principles” (1965)
(Source)

Meredith, George -- Modern Love, Sonnet 50 (1862)

Dave — Fri, 17 Nov 2017 18:40:11 +0000

Ah, what a dusty answer gets the soul
When hot for certainties in this our life!

George Meredith (1828-1909) English novelist and poet
Modern Love, Sonnet 50 (1862)
(Source)

Parker, Robert -- Hush Money (1999)

Dave — Wed, 31 May 2017 17:09:20 +0000

He took my seat and smiled again, like an affable crocodile. He was probably a very principled man, too. So were they all, all principled men. And women. There were few things more annoying than a visibly principled person. Or more troublesome. Most of the ones I’d met could have used a little uncertainty to dilute their principled-ness.

Robert B. Parker (1932-2010) American writer
Hush Money (1999)
(Source)

Bronowski, Jacob -- The Ascent of Man, Ep. 11 “Knowledge or Certainty” (1973)

Dave — Mon, 16 Jan 2017 20:32:35 +0000

It’s said that science will dehumanize people and turn them into numbers. That’s false, tragically false. Look for yourself. This is the concentration camp and crematorium at Auschwitz. This is where people were turned into numbers. Into this pond were flushed the ashes of some four million people. And that was not done by gas. It was done by arrogance, it was done by dogma, it was done by ignorance. When people believe that they have absolute knowledge, with no test in reality, this is how they behave. This is what men do when they aspire to the knowledge of gods.

Jacob Bronowski (1908-1974) Polish-English humanist and mathematician
The Ascent of Man, Ep. 11 “Knowledge or Certainty” (1973)

Adams, John -- Letter (1782-09-27) to Edmund Jenings

Dave — Thu, 03 Nov 2016 03:49:41 +0000

Thanks be to God, that he gave me Stubborness, when I know I am right.

John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797–1801)
Letter (1782-09-27) to Edmund Jenings
(Source)

Shakespeare, William -- Hamlet, Act 2, sc. 2, l. 124ff (2.2.124-127) (c. 1600)

Dave — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 14:53:38 +0000

HAMLET: Doubt thou the stars are fire;
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;
But never doubt I love.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Hamlet, Act 2, sc. 2, l. 124ff (2.2.124-127) (c. 1600)
(Source)

A letter from Hamlet to Ophelia, read by Polonius.

Cadbury, Henry -- “My Personal Religion,” lecture, Harvard School of Divinity (1936)

Dave — Tue, 24 May 2016 13:52:37 +0000

I am often inclined to be envious of other people’s religion. They are so cocksure dogmatically that they act as though they are omniscient. Life has no doubts, its direction is determined, all evil is by hypothesis overruled by an all-wise God for good. I do not share this view of life, any more than I share the Christian Science views of disease, but I can see that it makes people enthusiastic, effective, self-forgetful and often fanatical and great bores.

Henry Joel Cadbury (1883-1974) American biblical scholar, Quaker historian, writer, activist
“My Personal Religion,” lecture, Harvard School of Divinity (1936)
(Source)

Maher, Bill -- The Decider (21 Jul 2007)

Dave — Wed, 11 May 2016 13:43:01 +0000

The problem is that the people with the most ridiculous ideas are always the people who are most certain of them.

William "Bill" Maher (b. 1956) American comedian, political commentator, critic, television host.
The Decider (21 Jul 2007)

Pliny the Elder -- Historia Naturalis [Natural History], Book 2, ch. 7 (AD 77-79) [tr. Holland (1601)]

Dave — Mon, 09 May 2016 15:20:48 +0000

So as this only point among the rest remaineth sure and certain, namely, that nothing is certaine.

Pliny the Elder (AD 23-79) Roman author, naturalist, philosopher, military commander [Gaius Plinius Secundus]
Historia Naturalis [Natural History], Book 2, ch. 7 (AD 77-79) [tr. Holland (1601)]
(Source)

Often paraphrased, "The only certainty is that nothing is certain."

Mencken, H. L. -- “The National Letters,” Prejudices: Second Series (1920)

Dave — Mon, 02 May 2016 17:52:36 +0000

It is the dull man who is always sure, and the sure man who is always dull.

H. L. Mencken (1880-1956) American writer and journalist [Henry Lewis Mencken]
“The National Letters,” Prejudices: Second Series (1920)
(Source)

Asimov, Isaac -- Asimov’s Guide to Science (1972)

Dave — Tue, 26 Apr 2016 21:36:10 +0000

Inspect every piece of pseudoscience and you will find a security blanket, a thumb to suck, a skirt to hold. What does the scientist have to offer in exchange? Uncertainty! Insecurity!

Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) Russian-American author, polymath, biochemist
Asimov’s Guide to Science (1972)

Darrow, Clarence -- Personal Liberty (1928)

Dave — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 13:29:54 +0000

The world is made up for the most part of morons and natural tyrants, sure of themselves, strong in their own opinions, never doubting anything.

Clarence Darrow (1857-1938) American lawyer
Personal Liberty (1928)

Bullock, Christopher -- The Cobler of Preston [Toby Guzzle] (1716)

Dave — Mon, 18 Apr 2016 15:48:56 +0000

‘Tis impossible to be sure of any thing but Death and Taxes.

Christopher Bullock (1690?-1724) English actor and dramatist
The Cobler of Preston [Toby Guzzle] (1716)
(Source)

Earliest spotting of the phrase; if not popular before, it was subsequently picked up by a number of sources prior to the more famous formulation by Benjamin Franklin in 1789. More discussion: Nothing Is Certain, Except Death and Taxes – Quote Investigator.

Asimov, Isaac -- Free Inquiry (Spring 1982)

Dave — Tue, 12 Apr 2016 19:49:43 +0000

I am an atheist, out and out. It took me a long time to say it. I’ve been an atheist for years and years, but somehow I felt it was intellectually unrespectable to say one was an atheist, because it assumed knowledge that one didn’t have. Somehow it was better to say one was a humanist or an agnostic. I finally decided that I’m a creature of emotion as well as of reason. Emotionally I am an atheist. I don’t have the evidence to prove that God doesn’t exist, but I so strongly suspect he doesn’t that I don’t want to waste my time.

Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) Russian-American author, polymath, biochemist
Free Inquiry (Spring 1982)

Pratchett, Terry -- Discworld No. 31, Monstrous Regiment (2003)

Dave — Wed, 06 May 2015 12:01:58 +0000

The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to the presence of those who think they’ve found it.

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) English author
Discworld No. 31, Monstrous Regiment (2003)
(Source)

Eco, Umberto -- The Name of the Rose (1980)

Dave — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 12:33:00 +0000

They lied to you. The Devil is not the Prince of Matter; the Devil is the arrogance of the spirit, faith without smile, truth that is never seized by doubt. The Devil is grim because he knows where he is going, and, in moving, he always returns whence he came.

Umberto Eco (1932-2016) Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, novelist
The Name of the Rose (1980)

Hume, David -- An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals, Sec. 9.13 “Conclusion, Pt. 1” (1751)

Dave — Mon, 23 Dec 2013 15:13:57 +0000

Where men are the most sure and arrogant, they are commonly the most mistaken, and have there given reins to passion, without that proper deliberation and suspense, which can alone secure them from the grossest absurdities.

David Hume (1711-1776) Scottish philosopher, economist, historian, empiricist
An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals, Sec. 9.13 “Conclusion, Pt. 1” (1751)

Russell, Bertrand -- “Philosophy and Politics,” lecture, National Book League, London (1946-10-23)

Dave — Tue, 09 Jul 2013 13:30:18 +0000

The essence of the Liberal outlook lies not in what opinions are held, but in how they are held: instead of being held dogmatically, they are held tentatively, and with a consciousness that new evidence may at any moment lead to their abandonment. This is the way in which opinions are held in science, as opposed to the way in which they are held in theology. The decisions of the Council of Nicaea are still authoritative, but in science fourth century opinions no longer carry any weight.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Philosophy and Politics,” lecture, National Book League, London (1946-10-23)
(Source)

Collected in Unpopular Essays (1950).

Franklin, Benjamin -- Letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy (13 Nov 1789)

Dave — Fri, 03 May 2013 12:21:53 +0000

Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency, but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy (13 Nov 1789)
(Source)

See Bullock.

Descartes, René -- Discourse on Method [Discours de la méthode], Part 3 (1637) [tr. Haldane & Ross (1911)]

Dave — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 17:57:12 +0000

Not that indeed I imitated the sceptics, who only doubt for the sake of doubting, and pretend to be always uncertain; for, on the contrary, my design was only to provide myself with good ground for assurance, and to reject the quicksand and mud in order to find the rock or clay.

[Non que j’imitasse pour cela les sceptiques, qui ne doutent que pour douter, et affectent d’être toujours irrésolus; car, au contraire, tout mon dessein ne tendoit qu’à m’assurer, et à rejeter la terre mouvante et le sable pour trouver le roc ou l’argile.]

René Descartes (1596-1650) French philosopher, mathematician
Discourse on Method [Discours de la méthode], Part 3 (1637) [tr. Haldane & Ross (1911)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

Not that I therein imitated the Scepticks, who doubt onely to the end they may doubt, and affect to be always unresolved: For on the contrary, all my designe tended onely to fix my self, and to avoid quick-mires and sands, that I might finde rock and clay.
[tr. Newcombe ed. (1649)]

Not that in this I imitated the sceptics who doubt only that they may doubt, and seek nothing beyond uncertainty itself; for, on the contrary, my design was singly to find ground of assurance, and cast aside the loose earth and sand, that I might reach the rock or the clay.
[tr. Veitch (1901)]

For all that, I did not imitate the sceptics who doubt only for doubting's sake, and pretend to be always undecided; on the contrary, my whole intention was to arrive at a certainty, and to dig away the drift and the sand until I reached the rock or the clay beneath.
[tr. Huxley (1870)]

In doing this I was not copying the sceptics, who doubt only for the sake of doubting and pretend to be always undecided; on the contrary, my whole aim was to reach certainty -- to cast aside the loose earth and sand so as to come upon rock or clay.
[tr. Cottingham, Stoothoff (1985)]

Szasz, Thomas -- “Mental Illness,” The Second Sin (1973)

Dave — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 14:48:56 +0000

Doubt is to certainty as neurosis is to psychosis. The neurotic is in doubt and has fears about persons and things; the psychotic has convictions and makes claims about them. In short, the neurotic has problems, the psychotic has solutions.

Thomas Szasz (1920-2012) Hungarian-American psychiatrist, educator
“Mental Illness,” The Second Sin (1973)
(Source)

Tolkien, J.R.R. -- The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 1: The Fellowship of the Ring, Book 2, ch. 2 “The Council of Elrond” [Gandalf] (1954)

Dave — Tue, 24 May 2011 16:31:29 +0000

Despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not.

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) English writer, fabulist, philologist, academic [John Ronald Reuel Tolkien]
The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 1: The Fellowship of the Ring, Book 2, ch. 2 “The Council of Elrond” [Gandalf] (1954)
(Source)

Horace -- Odes [Carmina], Book 3, # 29, l. 41ff (3.29.41-48) (23 BC) [tr. Dryden (1685)]

Dave — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 13:02:32 +0000

Happy the Man, and happy he alone,
He who can call today his own:
He who, secure within, can say,
Tomorrow do thy worst, for I have lived today.
Be fair or foul or rain or shine
The joys I have possessed, in spite of fate, are mine.
Not Heav’n it self upon the past has pow’r,
But what has been, has been, and I have had my hour.

[Ille potens sui
laetusque deget cui licet in diem
dixisse “Vixi: cras vel atra
nube polum pater occupato
vel sole puro; non tamen inritum
quodcumque retro est efficiet neque
diffinget infectumque reddet
quod fugiens semel hora vexit.”]

Horace (65–8 BC) Roman poet, satirist, soldier, politician [Quintus Horatius Flaccus]
Odes [Carmina], Book 3, # 29, l. 41ff (3.29.41-48) (23 BC) [tr. Dryden (1685)]
(Source)

"To Maecenas." (Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:

He's Master of himself alone,
He lives, that makes each day his own:
He lives that can distinctly say
It is enough, for I have liv'd to day:
Let Jove to morrow smiling rise,
Or let dark Clouds spread o're the Skys:
He cannot make the pleasures void
Nor sower the sweets I have enjoy'd,
Nor call that back which winged hours have born away.
[tr. Creech (1684)]

Happy he,
Self-centred, who each night can say,
“My life is lived: the morn may see
A clouded or a sunny day:
That rests with Jove: but what is gone,
He will not, cannot turn to nought;
Nor cancel, as a thing undone,
What once the flying hour has brought.
[tr. Conington (1872)]

That man is master of himself and shall live happy, who has it in his power to say, "I have lived to-day: to-morrow let the Sire invest the heaven, either with a black cloud, or with clear sunshine; nevertheless he shall not render ineffectual what is past, nor undo or annihilate what the fleeting hour has once carried off.
[tr. Smart/Buckley (1853)]

Lord of himself that man will be,
And happy in his life alway.
Who still at eve can say with free
Contented soul, "I've lived to-day!
Let Jove to-morrow, if he will,
With blackest clouds the welkin fill,
Or flood it all with sunlight pure.
Yet from the past he cannot take
Its influence, for that is sure.
Nor can he mar, or bootless make
Whate'er of rapture and delight
The hours have borne us in their flight."
[tr. Martin (1864)]

Happy indeed is he,
Lord of himself, to whom
’Tis given to say, as each day ends, “I have lived:”
To-morrow let the Sire invest the heaven
With darkest cloud or “purest ray serene,”
He mars not what has been,
Nor from Time's sum blots out one fleeted hour.
[tr. Bulwer-Lytton (1870)]

That man will live in happiness and self-command who can say at the close of each day, "I have lived. To-morrow let the Great Father fill the sky with black cloud or bright sunshine, yet can he not make void that which is to come, nor cause that not to have been which the flying hour hath once carried away on its wings."
[tr. Elgood (1893)]

Self-ruled, light-hearted shall he be,
Who daily 'I have lived,' can say,
Dark tempests let the Sire decree,
Or brightness, for the coming day.
Yet cannot he the bygone days
Unmake, or hold the past undone,
Nor can with utmost might erase
The work of hours whose glass is run.
[tr. Gladstone (1894)]

He will, his soul possessing, live joyfully,
Who, as each day goes by, can say, "I have liv'd;
To-morrow let th' Almighty Father
Either fill up with the darkling storm-cloud,
Or the pure sunlight! That which is past, e'en He
Cannot undo and cause to have never been,
Nor can He by his pow'r demolish
Bliss that the past fleeting hour has given."
[tr. Phelps (1897)]

That man will be
Master of self, and pass in joy, who daily may
Declare "I have lived*: to-morrow let the Father
Encompass heaven, or with black cloud,
Or sunshine clear: still that which is behind
He will not render void nor forge anew
Nor make as though undone,
Whate'er the flying hour has once removed.
[tr. Garnsey (1907)]

Self-centred he,
And blest, who can make boast each coming night
"This day I've lived." Or dark or bright
To-morrow's dawn may be,
As Jove shall please. But never deed that's done
Can ev'n high Heaven make as 'twere thing of naught;
Or act, by Time to issue brought,
Cancel as though 'twere none.
[tr. Marshall (1908)]

Master of himself and joyful will that man live who day by day can say: "I have lived to-day ; to-morrow let the Father fill the heaven with murky clouds, or radiant sunshine! Yet will he not render vain whatever now is past, nor will he alter and undo what once the fleeting hour has brought.
[tr. Bennett (Loeb) (1912)]

Lord of himself, and happy, will
He be, who can from day to day
Say, "I have lived; let Jove fulfill
Tomorrow's sky with leaden-grey
Clouds or with shine, he can't undo
What has been done, nor make as naught,
No, nor reforge and shape anew,
What once the flying hour has brought.
[tr. Mills (1924)]

Call him happy
And lord of his own soul who every evening
Can say, "Today I have lived.
Tomorrow Jove may blot the sky with cloud
Or fill it with pure sunshine, yet he cannot
Devalue what has once been held as precious,
Or tarnish nor melt back
The gold the visiting hour has left behind."
[tr. Michie (1963)]

A man is his own
Master, is happy, Maecenas, saluting
The sun and saying “Today I’ve been
Alive.” The gods can let tomorrow’s
Sky glow or be black with clouds,
But tomorrow's tomorrow, I've got what I've got,
Nothing I've had in my hands will be nothing,
Though time takes it.
[tr. Raffel (1983)]

Happy the man who has earned the right to say:
"I've lived my life. There may be storms tomorrow,
Maybe fair weather. Nobody knows for sure.
What I have had in the past cannot be taken
Away from me now."
[tr. Ferry (1997)]

Master of himself and joyful
will that man live who is able
every day to say: "I have lived."
Tomorrow let the Father fill the sky
either with dark clouds or radiant sunshine.
But even he cannot undo that which is done
or render vain the past
or alter what the fleeting hour has once wrought.
[tr. Alexander (1999)]

He’s happy, he’s his own master, who can say
each day: ‘I’ve lived: tomorrow, the Father may
fill the heavens with darkening cloud,
or fill the sky with radiant sunshine:
yet he can’t render whatever is past as
null and void, he can never seek to alter,
or return and undo, whatever
the fleeting moment tosses behind it.
[tr. Kline (2015)]

Mill, John Stuart -- On Liberty, ch. 2 “Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion” (1859)

Dave — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 03:02:44 +0000

To refuse a hearing to an opinion because they are sure that it is false, is to assume that their certainty is the same thing as absolute certainty. All silencing of discussion is an assumption of infallibility.

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) English philosopher and economist
On Liberty, ch. 2 “Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion” (1859)
(Source)

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Jr. -- “Natural Law,” Harvard Law Review (1918-11)

Dave — Wed, 05 May 2010 14:56:26 +0000

Certitude is not the test of certainty. We have been cocksure of many things that were not so.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841-1935) American jurist, Supreme Court Justice
“Natural Law,” Harvard Law Review (1918-11)
(Source)

Legal citation: 32 Harvard Law Review 40, 41 (1918).

Schlesinger, Arthur -- “The Opening of the American Mind,” New York Times (23 Jul 1989)

Dave — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 12:52:12 +0000

It is this belief in absolutes, I would hazard, that is the great enemy today of the life of the mind. This may seem a rash proposition. The fashion of the time is to denounce relativism as the root of all evil. But history suggests that the damage done to humanity by the relativist is far less than the damage done by the absolutist — by the fellow who, as Mr. Dooley once put it, “does what he thinks th’ Lord wud do if He only knew th’ facts in th’ case.”

Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. (1917-2007) American historian, author, social critic
“The Opening of the American Mind,” New York Times (23 Jul 1989)

Hoffer, Eric -- True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 3, ch. 13, § 61 (1951)

Dave — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:49:19 +0000

The fanatic cannot be weaned away from his cause by an appeal to his reason or moral sense. He fears compromise and cannot be persuaded to qualify the certitude and righteousness of his holy cause. But he finds no difficulty in swinging suddenly and wildly from one holy cause to another. He cannot be convinced but only converted, His passionate attachment is more vital than the quality of the cause to which he is attached.

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 3, ch. 13, § 61 (1951)
(Source)

Gaiman, Neil -- Sandman, Book 9. The Kindly Ones, # 57 “Chapter 1” (1993-02)

Dave — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:23:36 +0000

THE CRONE: Can’t say I’ve ever been too fond of beginnings, myself. Messy little things. Give me a good ending any time. You know where you are with an ending.

Neil Gaiman (b. 1960) British author, screenwriter, fabulist
Sandman, Book 9. The Kindly Ones, # 57 “Chapter 1” (1993-02)
(Source)

As the eldest of the Kindly Ones (Fates, Moirai, etc.), the Crone's task, in the aspect of Atropos, is literally to cut the thread at the end of a life.

Hoffer, Eric -- True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 3, ch. 13, § 57 (1951)

Dave — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:58:07 +0000

To be effective a doctrine must not be understood, but has to be believed in. We can be absolutely certain only about things we do not understand. A doctrine that is understood is shorn of its strength.

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 3, ch. 13, § 57 (1951)
(Source)

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Sr. -- Article (1872-05), “The Poet at the Breakfast-Table,” Atlantic Monthly

Dave — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:17:40 +0000

Men are idolaters, and want something to look at and kiss and hug, or throw themselves down before; they always did, they always will; and if you don’t make it of wood, you must make it of words, which are just as much used for idols as promissory notes are used for values.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809-1894) American poet, essayist, scholar
Article (1872-05), “The Poet at the Breakfast-Table,” Atlantic Monthly
(Source)

Collected in The Poet at the Breakfast-Table, ch. 5 (1872).

Van der Post, Laurens -- The Lost World of the Kalahari, ch. 3 (1958)

Dave — Wed, 06 May 2009 12:43:32 +0000

Human beings are perhaps never more frightening than when they are convinced beyond doubt that they are right.

Laurens van der Post (1906-1996) Afrikaner author, conservationist, statesman, humanitarian
The Lost World of the Kalahari, ch. 3 (1958)

Havel, Vaclav -- Speech, Salzburg Festival (26 Jul 1990)

Dave — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:57:55 +0000

Isn’t it the moment of most profound doubt that gives birth to new certainties? Perhaps hopelessness is the very soil that nourished human hope; perhaps one could never find sense in life without first experiencing its absurdity.

Václav Havel (1936-2011) Czech playwright, essayist, dissident, politician
Speech, Salzburg Festival (26 Jul 1990)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- “Am I an Atheist or an Agnostic?” sec. “Don’t Be Too Certain!” (1949)

Dave — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 15:35:48 +0000

Not to be absolutely certain is, I think, one of the essential things in rationality.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Am I an Atheist or an Agnostic?” sec. “Don’t Be Too Certain!” (1949)
(Source)

Originally given as a speech, "Agnosticism v. Atheism," Rationalist Press Assoc. Annual Dinner, London (1949-05-20), then printed as "Agnosticism v. Atheism," The Literary Guide and Rationalist Review (1949-07), then released as an essay under this title later in 1949.

Mencken, H. L. -- Minority Report : H.L. Mencken’s Notebooks, #418 (1956)

Dave — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:15:32 +0000

Moral certainty is always a sign of cultural inferiority. The more uncivilized a man, the surer he is that he knows precisely what is right and what is wrong. All human progress, even in morals, has been the work of men who have doubted the current moral values, not of men who have whooped them up and tried to enforce them. The truly civilized man is always skeptical and tolerant in this field as in all others. His culture is based on “I am not too sure.”

H. L. Mencken (1880-1956) American writer and journalist [Henry Lewis Mencken]
Minority Report : H.L. Mencken’s Notebooks, #418 (1956)
(Source)

Huxley, T. H. -- Essay (1889-06), “Agnosticism and Christianity,” The Nineteenth Century magazine, Vol. 25, No. 148

Dave — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 10:11:50 +0000

Agnosticism is not properly described as a “negative” creed, nor indeed as a creed of any kind, except in so far as it expresses absolute faith in the validity of a principle which is as much ethical as intellectual. This principle may be stated in various ways, but they all amount to this: that it is wrong for a man to say that he is certain of the objective truth of any proposition unless he can produce evidence which logically justifies that certainty. This is what Agnosticism asserts; and, in my opinion, it is all that is essential to Agnosticism.

T. H. Huxley (1825-1895) English biologist [Thomas Henry Huxley]
Essay (1889-06), “Agnosticism and Christianity,” The Nineteenth Century magazine, Vol. 25, No. 148
(Source)

Collected in his Essays Upon Some Controverted Questions, ch. 12 (1892).

Amiel, Henri-Frédéric -- Journal entry (1856-12-17), Journal Intime (1882) [tr. Ward (1884)]

Dave — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 11:36:20 +0000

The man who insists upon seeing with perfect clearness before he decides, never decides. Accept life, and you must accept regret.

[Qui veut voir parfaitement clair avant de se déterminer ne se détermine jamais. Qui n’accepte pas le regret n’accepte pas la vie.]

Henri-Frédéric Amiel (1821-1881) Swiss philosopher, poet, critic
Journal entry (1856-12-17), Journal Intime (1882) [tr. Ward (1884)]
(Source)

(Source (French))

Montaigne, Michel de -- Essays, Book 1, ch. 31 (1.31), “That a Man Is Soberly to Judge of the Divine Ordinance [Qu’il faut sobrement se mesler de juger des ordonnances divines] (1572) [tr. Frame (1943), ch. 32]

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Nothing is so firmly believed as what is least known.

[N’est rien creu si fermement, que ce qu’on sçait le moins.]

Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) French essayist
Essays, Book 1, ch. 31 (1.31), “That a Man Is Soberly to Judge of the Divine Ordinance [Qu’il faut sobrement se mesler de juger des ordonnances divines] (1572) [tr. Frame (1943), ch. 32]
(Source)

Both the essay and the quote appeared in the 1st (1580) edition.

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

Nothing is so firmely beleeved, as that which a man knoweth least.
[tr. Florio (1603)]

Nothing is so firmly believed as what we least know.
[tr. Cotton (1686)]

What we know is the least of what we do not know.
[tr. Friswell (1868)]

Nothing is so firmly believed, as what we least know.
[tr. Cotton/Hazlitt (1877)]

Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we know least.
[tr. Ives (1925), ch. 32]

Nothing is so firmly believed as whatever we know least about.
[tr. Screech (1987), ch. 32]

Osler, William -- Montreal Medical Journal (1902)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

The greater the ignorance the greater the dogmatism.

Sir William Osler (1849-1919) Canadian physician
Montreal Medical Journal (1902)

Voltaire -- Letter (1770-11-28) to Frederick William, Prince of Prussia [tr. Tallentyre (1919)]

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is an absurd one.

[Le doute n’est pas une état bien agréable, mais l’assurance est un état ridicule.]

Voltaire (1694-1778) French writer [pseud. of Francois-Marie Arouet]
Letter (1770-11-28) to Frederick William, Prince of Prussia [tr. Tallentyre (1919)]
(Source)

The French is sometimes given (e.g.) as "Le doute n'est pas une condition agréable, mais la certitude est absurde."

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

Doubt is not a very agreeable state, but certainty is a ridiculous one.
[tr. Robertson (1922)]

Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd.
[E.g. (1994)]

Doubt is not an agreeable condition, but certainty is an absurd one.
[E.g.]

Durant, William James -- The Age of Faith, ch. 38 “The Age of Romance” (1950)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Inquiry is fatal to certainty.

William James (Will) Durant (1885-1981) American historian, teacher, philosopher
The Age of Faith, ch. 38 “The Age of Romance” (1950)
(Source)

Goethe, Johann von -- Spruche in Prosa [Proverbs in Prose] (1819)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

We know accurately only when we know little, with knowledge doubt increases.

[Eigentlich weiss man nur wenn man wenig weiss; mit dem Wissen wachst des Zweifel.]

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) German poet, statesman, scientist
Spruche in Prosa [Proverbs in Prose] (1819)

Bacon, Francis -- De Augmentis Scientiarum [Advancement of Learning], Book 1, ch. 5, sec. 8 (1605)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin in doubts, he shall end in certainties.

Francis Bacon (1561-1626) English philosopher, scientist, author, statesman
De Augmentis Scientiarum [Advancement of Learning], Book 1, ch. 5, sec. 8 (1605)

Alt trans. (Willey Book ed., (1944)): "If we begin with certainties, we shall end in doubts; but if we begin with doubts, and are patient with them, we shall end in certainties."

Parker, Robert -- Early Autumn (1981)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Too much positive is either scared or stupid or both. Reality is uncertain.

Robert B. Parker (1932-2010) American writer
Early Autumn (1981)

Galbraith, John Kenneth -- The Great Crash, 1929, ch. 9 “Cause and Consequence,” sec. 3 (1954)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

The causes of the Great Depression are still far from certain. A lack of certainty, it may also be observed, is not evident in the contemporary writing on the subject. Much of it tells what went wrong and why with marked firmness. However, this paradoxically can itself be an indication of uncertainty. When people are least sure they are often most dogmatic.

John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006) Canadian-American economist, diplomat, author
The Great Crash, 1929, ch. 9 “Cause and Consequence,” sec. 3 (1954)
(Source)

Hand, Learned -- “The Spirit of Liberty,” speech, “I Am an American Day,” New York (1941-05-21)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 19:00:00 +0000

The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand the mind of other men and women; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which weighs their interests alongside its own without bias; the spirit of liberty remembers that not even a sparrow falls to earth unheeded; the spirit of liberty is the spirit of Him who, near two thousand years ago, taught mankind that lesson it has never learned but never quite forgotten; that there may be a kingdom where the least shall be heard and considered side by side with the greatest.

Learned Hand (1872-1961) American jurist
“The Spirit of Liberty,” speech, “I Am an American Day,” New York (1941-05-21)
(Source)

Mill, John Stuart -- On Liberty, ch. 2 “Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion” (1859)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

The fatal tendency of mankind to leave off thinking about a thing when it is no longer doubtful is the cause of half their errors.

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) English philosopher and economist
On Liberty, ch. 2 “Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion” (1859)
(Source)

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Jr. -- “The Path of the Law,” Harvard Law Review (Feb 1897)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

… [L]onging for certainty and for repose [is] in every human mind. But certainty generally is an illusion, and repose is not the destiny of man.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841-1935) American jurist, Supreme Court Justice
“The Path of the Law,” Harvard Law Review (Feb 1897)
(Source)

Citation 10 Harvard Law Review 457 (1897).

Bierce, Ambrose -- “Positive,” The Devil’s Dictionary (1911)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 18:00:00 +0000

POSITIVE, adj. Mistaken at the top of one’s voice.

Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?) American writer and journalist
“Positive,” The Devil’s Dictionary (1911)
(Source)

Originally published in the "Cynic's Word Book" column in the New York American (1906-03-16) and the "Cynic's Dictionary" column in the San Francisco Examiner (1906-03-21).

Feynman, Richard -- What Do You Care What Other People Think? (1988)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Scientists take it for granted that it is perfectly consistent to be unsure — that it is possible to live and not know. But I don’t know whether everyone realizes that this is true.

Richard Feynman (1918-1988) American physicist
What Do You Care What Other People Think? (1988)

Halifax, George Savile, Marquis of -- “Of Caution and Suspicion,” Political, Moral, and Miscellaneous Thoughts and Reflections (1750)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 19:00:00 +0000

And, to conclude, he that leaveth nothing to Chance will do few things ill, but he will do very few things.

George Savile, Marquis of Halifax (1633-1695) English politician and essayist
“Of Caution and Suspicion,” Political, Moral, and Miscellaneous Thoughts and Reflections (1750)
(Source)

Sometimes incorrectly attributed to Edward Wood, Earl of Halifax (1881-1959).