John Stuart Mill Quotes

I regard belief as a form of brain damage.

Men first make up their minds (and the smaller the mind the sooner made up), and then seek for the reasons; and if they chance to stumble upon a good reason, of course they do not reject it. But though they are right, they are only right by chance.

It's very hard for all of us, when we've committed ourselves to a particular interpretation, to change our minds.

As Daniel Levitin writes, our brain is a "giant pattern detector." If we read something that coincides with what we already believe we're more likely to give it credence, while the opposite is not true.

The biggest problem we have as human beings is that we confuse our beliefs with reality.

They say seeing is believing, but the opposite is true. Believing is seeing.

When you develop your opinions on the basis of weak evidence, you will have difficulty interpreting subsequent information that contradicts these opinions, even if this new information is obviously more accurate.

We all have a tendency to think that the world must conform to our prejudices. The opposite view involves some effort of thought, and most people would die sooner than think in fact they do so.

The need for certainty is the greatest disease the Mind faces

The fact is that people would rather cling when they're afraid of something to a priori beliefs than rather open their minds about it.

Most of us are only willing to call 5% of our present information into question any one point.

Most often people seek in life occasions for persisting in their opinions rather than for educating themselves.

The more we justify our beliefs, the more narrow-minded we become.

Now, you'll hear people call here on my show claiming they used to be lib and they've changed their minds. That happens, but it happens naturally. It's not because I've focused on trying to persuade people. I think while it's a noble objective to try to help people to see things the right way, this is a different psychological collection of human beings, and they are walled off from anything that's not them.

The belief of our Reason is an Exercise of Faith, and Faith is an Act of Reason.

As soon as by one's own propaganda even a glimpse of right on the other side is admitted, the cause for doubting one's own right is laid.

I don't question things that go against what I believe very much. But boy, the stuff that I really want to believe, I really question a lot.

Our capacity for belief is so plastic, we can convince ourselves of anything. Believing is seeing.

Men can reason themselves into almost any sort of opinion if they are so inclined.

You can convince yourself of just about anything when you want to believe a conspiracy theory.

People wrap themselves in their beliefs. And they do it in such a way that you can't set them free. Not even the truth will set them free.

When did ignorance become a point of view?

In the long run my observations have convinced me that some men, reasoning preposterously, first establish some conclusion in their minds which, either because of its being their own or because of their having received it from some person who has their entire confidence, impresses them so deeply that one finds it impossible ever to get it out of their heads.

If an opinion contrary to your own makes you angry, that is a sign that you are subconsciously aware of having no good reason for thinking as you do.

It's not because my mind is made up that I don't want you to confuse me with any more facts. It's because my mind isn't made up. I already have more facts than I can cope with.