Dallas Willard Quotes

It is not good to settle into a set of opinions. It is a mistake to put forth effort and obtain some understanding and then stop at that…. Do not rely on following the degree of understanding that you have discovered, but simply think, "This is not enough.

I've learned to keep my mind open to ideas from any source.

The wisest mind has something yet to learn.

My brain is open.

I just try to try to keep an attitude that I don't know what I'm doing. Not to the point where I'm beating myself up, but I just go in thinking that I have a lot to learn. And I hope I still have that attitude 30 years from now.

As for my own views, they've of course evolved over the years. This conception of 'renouncing beliefs' is very odd, as if we're in some kind of religious cult. I 'renounce beliefs' practically every time I think about the topics or find out what someone else is thinking.

When I spend a lot of time reading, discussing, or thinking about an area, I'll often really appreciate why a strong viewpoint is true and come to very firm conclusions. But if I am later exposed to a strong opposing view, I frequently find this countervailing view persuasive as well.

I know friends of mine who have never changed their mind about anything in their lives, despite evidence from all directions. And I think if you can keep an open mind and some understanding, that helps you stay young.

You have to listen a lot, and you have to be open and ready to adjust to anything. It kind of provides a framework that you use all the time. You never really shut off that part of your brain when you're doing something. It's invaluable to have.

One special advantage of the skeptical attitude of mind is that a man is never vexed to find that after all he has been in the wrong.

Stay curious, keep learning and keep growing. And always strive to be more interested than interesting.

Shri Ramakrishna use to say, "As Long as I Live, so long do I learn". That man or that society which has nothing to learn is already in the jaws of death.

No one ever died from an open mind.

Hold tight to the mentality of being a student, meaning hold on to curiosity and approach life as a student.

You know, interesting minds usually do hold more than one idea at a time.

A liberal mind is a mind that is able to imagine itself believing anything.

The rare person is still interested in new advances when they are adults. There is possibly a correlation with intelligence. In any case, you have to be fairly bright to keep learning and changing attitudes as you get older.

You can learn new things at any time in your life if you're willing to be a beginner. If you actually learn to like being a beginner, the whole world opens up to you.

You never stop learning. If you have a teacher, you never stop being a student.

We know that once we stop learning and call ourselves learned, we become useless members of the scientific society.

Contrary to current cynicism about past golden ages, the abstraction known as 'the intelligent layperson' does exist - in the form of millions of folks with a passionate commitment to continuous learning.

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.

You are always learning; there is a lot of grey; don't take things for granted.

Research has been called good business, a necessity, a gamble, a game. It is none of these - it's a state of mind.

The ability to perceive or think differently is more important than the knowledge gained.