Jack McDevitt Quotes

It is not possible to unknow what you do know - the result of that is fanaticism.

The belief that there is only one truth, and that oneself is in possession of it, is the root of all evil in the world.

One of the most constant characteristics of beliefs is their intolerance. The stronger the belief, the greater its intolerance. Men dominated by a certitude cannot tolerate those who do not accept it.

Dislike of another’s opinions and beliefs neither justifies our own nor makes us more certain of them: and to transfer the repugnance to the person himself is a mark of a vulgar mind.

Extremists think "communication" means agreeing with them.

Faith was intended precisely for the simple, but the quest for certainty and simplicity becomes dangerous when it leads to fanaticism and narrow-mindedness. When reason as such becomes suspect, then faith itself becomes falsified.

The fanatic has the courage of his conviction and the intolerance of his courage. He is opposed to the death penalty for murder, but he would willingly have anyone electrocuted who disagreed with him on the subject.

Belief is tricky because left to its own devices, it can court a kind of surety, an unquestioning allegiance that fears doubt and destroys difference.

A mistake made by many people with great convictions is that they will let nothing stand in the way of their views, not even kindness.

The persecuting spirit has its origin... in the assumption that one's own opinions are infallibly correct.

Intolerance betrays want of faith in one's cause.

When we believe ourselves in possession of the only truth, we are likely to be indifferent to common everyday truths.

There is such a thing as fanaticism, it is always wrong, and if you disagree, you're wrong too.

Opposition always inflames the enthusiast, never converts him.

The greater the ignorance the greater the dogmatism.

What is objectionable, what is dangerous about extremists, is not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents.

The sin of certainty leaves no room for the rest of us.

Nothing is so sure of itself as fanaticism.

Looking back at the worst times, it always seems that they were times in which there were people who believed with absolute faith and absolute dogmatism in something. And they were so serious in this matter that they insisted that the rest of the world agree with them. And then they would do things that were directly inconsistent with their own beliefs in order to maintain that what they said was true.

The spirit of sect and bigotry has planted its hoof amid the stars. You have only to discuss the problem, whether the stars are inhabited or not, in order to discover it.

If somebody else thinks something that you don't believe in, just think they're wrong and you're right and keep going. That's pretty much the way I always think.

I am very cautious of people who are absolutely right, especially when they are vehemently so.

It is the certainty that they possess the truth that makes men cruel.

No one is more dangerous than someone who thinks he has "The Truth". To be an atheist is almost as arrogant as to be a fundamentalist. But then again, I can get pretty arrogant.

Bigotry is chronic dogmatism.