Lincoln Steffens Quotes

But what if...what if you sincerely believed something was true, but you were dead wrong? What if you were so stubbornly sure that you were right, that you wouldn’t even consider the truth? Would the truth be silenced, or would it try to break through?

The more you think you know, the more closed-minded you'll be.

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.

The greatest obstacle to discovering the truth is being convinced that you already know it.

They that never peeped beyond the common belief in which their easy understandings were at first indoctrinated are strongly assured of the truth of their receptions.

The moment we want to believe something, we suddenly see all the arguments for it, and become blind to the arguments against it. The moment we want to disbelieve anything we have previously believed we suddenly discover not only that there is a mass of evidence against it but that this evidence was starting us in the face all the time.

Beware of current truths.

If we take something to be the truth, we may cling to it so much that when the truth comes and knocks on our door, we won't want to let it in.

There is no man so blind as one who has made up his mind.

The ignorant are to be found as much among the educated as among the uneducated.

The easiest thing in the world is to convince yourself that you're right. As one grows old, it is easier still.

Belief gets in the way of learning.

We are least open to precise knowledge concerning the things we are most vehement about.

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

It's hard for the majority of people to accept what they don't understand.

Preconceived notions are the locks on the door to wisdom.

It is what we know already that often prevents us from learning.

To prejudge other men's notions before we have looked into them is not to show the darkness but to put out our own eyes.

The human understanding when it has once adopted an opinion (either as being the received opinion or as being agreeable to itself) draws all things else to support and agree with it.

False beliefs can be every bit as consoling as true ones, right up until the moment of disillusionment.

No evidence against a firmly-held belief, no matter how good or abundant it may be, will sway the true believer.

Understanding means throwing away your knowledge.

Don't hold strong opinions about things you don't truly understand.

Too many theorists have a tendency to ignore facts that contradict their convictions.