Montesquieu Quotes

Bigotry is the disease of ignorance, of morbid minds; enthusiasm of the free and buoyant. Education and free discussion are the antidotes of both.

Ignorance is the source of hatred, and the way to get rid of ignorance is realization.

What we do not understand we have no right to judge

Note too that a faithful study of the liberal arts humanizes character and permits it not to be cruel.

With science and reason throughout history, what people believed turned out to be false. So I like to keep an open mind to all perspectives and learn and become more fully realised as a person. I just feel we're never going to know what the full picture is.

I was bold in the pursuit of knowledge, never fearing to follow truth and reason to whatever results they led, and bearding every authority which stood in their way.

There are two things which cannot be attacked in front: ignorance and narrow-mindedness. They can only be shaken by the simple development of the contrary qualities. They will not bear discussion.

I'm still a firm believer that we were definitely put here to use our minds, and that is what makes us different. And that that's the key. If there is anything that is going to stop mankind from being such a beastly, destructive creature, it is reason.

Men need knowledge in order to overpower their passions and master their prejudices.

Knowledge of other people's beliefs and ways of thinking must be used to build bridges, not to create conflicts.

The calling of the humanities is to make us truly human in the best sense of the word.

Knowledge which ... transcends the bounds, the prejudices and pre-judgments of any one society and culture is not an illusion but, on the contrary, a glorious and luminous reality. Just how it was achieved remains subject to debate.

Education helps one acquires a higher grade of prejudices.

If we learn from those only, of whose lives and opinions we altogether approve, we shall have to turn from many of the highest and profoundest minds.

It is the business of culture to make us able to consider with intelligent interest all real opinions, even those we do not and can not accept.

He who is master of all opinions can never be the bigot of any.

Ignorance and prejudice are the handmaidens of propaganda. Our mission, therefore, is to confront ignorance with knowledge, bigotry with tolerance, and isolation with the outstretched hand of generosity. Racism can, will, and must be defeated.

I subscribe to the school that there are no dumb questions.

We must not fall into the trap of thinking speech that offends is speech that must be forbidden. A healthy culture demands that much of us, to equip the next generation of Americans with the knowledge and reason they will need to confront an uncertain future.

That process of exposure to diverse opinions isn't 'brainwashing' - it's education.

My education has allowed me to be more open to ideas which I would not have been had I not been as educated.

I don't judge anyone of any stripe by what they read. Reading is always good for you. It's a positive act.

We've taught you that the earth is round, That red and white make pink, And something else that matters more - We've taught you how to think.

Don't shut down the feedback loop with judgment, rigid beliefs, and prejudices.