John Locke Quotes

I know too much to be a sceptic and too little to be a dogmatist.

Dogmatism and skepticism are both, in a sense, absolute philosophies; one is certain of knowing, the other of not knowing. What philosophy should dissipate is certainty, whether of knowledge or ignorance.

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

If ... it is not in my power to arrive at the knowledge of any truth, I may at least do what is in my power, namely, suspend judgement.

What is important is that one utilizes one's intellect and not to be 100 percent sure about one's convictions. One should always leave room for doubt.

Doubt is not below knowledge, but above it.

In philosophy you're never 100% sure. You're always undermining what you think you know. That's always been my philosophy and my intellectual ethos.

Skepticism is provisional, even if it lasts a lifetime.

I also doubt a man can give really clear reasons for anything.

A mind that questions everything, unless strong enough to bear the weight of its ignorance, risks questioning itself and being engulfed in doubt.

My intention is not to replace one set of general rules by another such set: my intention is, rather, to convince the reader that all methodologies, even the most obvious ones, have their limits.

He that in the ordinary affairs of life would admit of nothing but direct plain demonstration would be sure of nothing in this world but of perishing quickly.

The worship of reason is arrogance and betrays a lack of intelligence. The rejection of reason is cowardice and betrays a lack of faith.

No one has ever understood anything better by assuming that there is no reason for why it is the way it is.

All that belongs to human understanding, in this deep ignorance and obscurity, is to be sceptical, or at least cautious, and not to admit of any hypothesis whatever, much less of any which is supported by no appearance of probability.

Intellectual modesty is humility as to what I know; intellectual humility is modesty as to what I do not know

I've gone through most of my life not believing anything. Either I know or I don't know, or I think.

I think maybe it is better to believe than not to believe. But I couldn't tell you why.

Finding bad reasons for what one believes for other bad reasons - that's philosophy.

I know too well that these arguments from probabilities are imposters, and unless great caution is observed in the use of them, they are apt to be deceptive.

On the one hand, philosophy is to keep us thinking about things that we may come to know, and on the other hand to keep us modestly aware of how much that seems like knowledge isn't knowledge

Of course, I don't know everything. Considering the infinite amount of knowledge that one could acquire in a virtually innumerable array of intellectual disciplines, it's probably more accurate to say that I don't know anything.

I hope you become comfortable with the use of logic without being deceived into concluding that logic will inevitably lead you to the correct conclusion.

Confusion is better than stupid conclusions. In confusion, there is still a possibility. In stupid conclusion, there is no possibility.

As a rule we disbelieve all the facts and theories for which we have no use.