Thomas Jefferson Quotes

The truth is, man is hereunto led by reason which is his nature.

I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with senses, reason and intellect has intended us to forego their use and by some other means to give us knowledge which we can attain by them.

I hold it certain that to open the doors of truth and to fortify the habit of testing everything by reason are the most effectual manacles we can rivet on the hands of our successors to prevent their manacling the people with their own consent.

If faith is a valid tool of knowledge, then anything can be true 'by faith,' and therefore nothing is true. If the only reason you can accept a claim is by faith, then you are admitting that the claim does not stand on its own merits.

I have one request: may I never use my reason against truth.

We need a world where the values of science are celebrated: free inquiry, free speech and a healthy skepticism, all coupled with a sense of wonder, a respect for truth and an ability to reason.

I believe that the future of humanity is in the progress of reason through science. I believe that the pursuit of truth, through science, is the divine ideal which man should propose to himself.

I cannot live on myths; somehow, science convinces me more easily. I am prone to lean towards science, ethics, and philosophy rather than myth, religion, and rituals.

School has no task more important than to teach strict thought, cautious judgment, and logical conclusions, hence it must pay no attention to what hinders these operations, such as religion, for instance.

Reason must be the universal rule and guide; all things must be done according to reason without allowing oneself to be swayed by emotion.

Reason shows itself in all occurrences of life; whereas the brute makes no discovery of such a talent, but in what immediately regards his own preservation or the continuance of his species.

There is a fundamental difference between religion, which is based on authority, [and] science, which is based on observation and reason. Science will win because it works.

The beauty of science hugely outranks the charms of superstition.

As the king governs by his executive, so Reason in man must rule the mere appetites by means of the 'spirited element.'

Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth- in a word, to know himself- so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves.

I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.

Science can give us knowledge, but it cannot give us wisdom. Nor can religion, until it puts aside nonsense and distraction and becomes itself again.

Reason is the shepherd trying to corral life's vast flock of wild irrationalities.

To avoid being drawn into error, keep a firm grip on the truth.

if reason ruled the world would history even exist?

In the long run, nothing can withstand reason and experience, and the contradiction religion offers to both is palpable.

We are not here concerned with hopes or fears, only with truth as far as our reason permits us to discover it.

Every worldview has to bring together reason and faith.

Logic is the art of making truth prevail.

I want to discover a truth for myself that is really true. Whether it's a piece of scientific knowledge, or a philosophical truth.