Galileo Galilei Quotes

The scientific imagination always restrains itself within the limits of probability.

Facts are not science - as the dictionary is not literature.

The word 'belief' is a difficult thing for me. I don't believe. I must have a reason for a certain hypothesis. Either I know a thing, and then I know it - I don't need to believe it.

My background is basically scientific math. My Dad was a physicist, so I have it in my blood somewhere. Scientific method is very important to me. I think anything that contradicts it is probably not true.

In science, a healthy skepticism is a professional necessity, whereas in religion, having belief without evidence is regarded as a virtue.

Science has proof without any certainty. Creationists have certainty without any proof.

Science stands for rational thought, faith for superstition and unreason.

Faith is a cop-out. If the only way you can accept an assertion is by faith, then you are conceding that it can’t be taken on its own merits.

In my opinion, it helps enormously to know why something is true, rather than being told it is true, for why should you believe me? Never believe anything on the authority of a single person but seek confirmation — and reason is the best confirmation

Those who cavalierly reject the Theory of Evolution, as not adequately supported by facts, seem quite to forget that their own theory is supported by no facts at all. Like the majority of men who are born to a given belief, they demand the most rigorous proof of any adverse belief, but assume that their own needs none.

Facts are placed before reasonings and before ideals, even though the reasonings and the ideals be more beautiful, be seemingly more lofty, be seemingly better, be seemingly truer. The seemingly absurd and the seemingly impossible are sometimes true. The scientific disposition is to accept facts upon evidence, however absurd they may appear to our pre-conceptions.

The scientist insists on verification; the religious theologian does not; the philosopher sometimes does and sometimes does not

Science is a quest for understanding.

If someone doesn’t value evidence, what evidence are you going to provide that proves they should value evidence. If someone doesn’t value logic, what logical argument would you invoke to prove they should value logic?

Science is the great antidote to the poison of enthusiasm and superstition.

The same principles which at first view lead to skepticism, pursued to a certain point, bring men back to common sense.

Reason, observation, and experience; the holy trinity of science.

The deductive method is the mode of using knowledge, and the inductive method the mode of acquiring it.

I really do think that science has an internal structure, and it makes sense, and we can test it.

Religion asks you to believe things without questioning, and technology and science always encourage you to ask hard questions and why it is important in science and technology. So I was always interested in science and technology.

But it is no good using the tongs of reason to pull the Fundamentalists' chestnuts out of the fire of contradiction. Their real troubles lie elsewhere.

If children understand that beliefs should be substantiated with evidence, as opposed to tradition, authority, revelation or faith, they will automatically work out for themselves that they are atheists.

I hate facts. I always say the chief end of man is to form general propositions - adding that no general proposition is worth a damn.

I think that there's a strain in journalism that believes that anyone who surrenders him- or herself to faith and to belief necessarily checks reason and rationality at the door.

Generally speaking, the errors in religion are dangerous; those in philosophy only ridiculous.