William Bennett Quotes

Facts matter, especially when they conflict with dogma and preconceived notions. Pretending otherwise has consequences.

Realists do not fear the results of their study.

Only science and the spirit of seeking truth from facts can save China. I firmly believe in this.

When you practice reporting for as long as I have, you keep yourself at a distance from True Believers. Either conservatives or liberals or Democrats or Republicans.

My colleagues have learned to respect nothing but evidence, and to believe that their highest duty lies in submitting to it, however it may jar against their inclinations.

You will never succeed in getting at the truth if you know, ahead of time, what the truth ought to be

You're entitled your own opinions, but you're not entitled to your own facts.

You can have your own opinion, but not your own facts.

There is a tendency to seek an objective account of everything before admitting its reality.

I don't mind anybody coming after me as long as they're coming with facts.

A philosopher goes where the truth leads and has no patience with mere emotion.

If the facts change, I’ll change my opinion. What do you do, Sir?

Found your opinions on facts, not prejudices. We know too many things that are not true

If you want someone to accept new evidence, make sure to present it to them in a context that doesn’t trigger a defensive, emotional reaction.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.

President Trump, when challenged on facts, says that many people feel the way he does. But feelings should not take the place of reason in matters of public policy.

Whether you are a Democrat, Republican, or Independent, facts matter.

I’m a skeptic not because I do not want to believe, but because I want to know. How can we tell the difference between what we would like to be true and what is actually true? The answer is science.

What is called "objectivity," scientific for instance (in which I firmly believe, in a given situation) imposes itself only within a context which is extremely vast, old, firmly established, or rooted in a network of conventions ... and yet which still remains a context.

When you are studying any matter or considering any philosophy, ask yourself only: what are the facts, and what is the truth that the facts bear out. Never let yourself be diverted by what you wish to believe, but look only and surely at what are the facts.

We have the right to our own opinions, but not our own facts.

Opinions don't affect facts. But facts should affect opinions, and do, if you're rational

A true conservative is on the side of science.

More frightening than any particular beliefs or policies is an utter lack of any sense of a need to test those beliefs and policies against hard evidence. Mistakes can be corrected by those who pay attention to facts, but dogmatism will not be corrected by those who are wedded to a vision.