Peter Abelard Quotes

Constant and frequent questioning is the first key to wisdom … For through doubting we are led to inquire, and by inquiry we perceive the truth.

The power to question is the basis of all human progress.

The first duty of man is the seeking after and the investigation of truth.

Our understanding of the world around us is constantly being redefined and expanded, and so therefore, it is wiser to be passionate about seeking for truth than knowing it.

It is error only, and not truth, that shrinks from inquiry.

By doubting we are led to question, by questioning we arrive at the truth.

The scientist is not a person who gives the right answers, he is one who asks the right questions.

We live in an age of universal investigation, and of exploration of the sources of all movements.

Doubt is the origin of wisdom.

You want to question what is important and why is it important. I don't have all the answers, but I'm very curious to know and learn.

The beginning of wisdom is found in doubting; by doubting we come to the question, and by seeking we may come upon the truth.

It is by doubting that we come to investigate, and by investigating that we recognize the truth.

Uncertainty is a very good thing: it's the beginning of an investigation, and the investigation should never end.

The truth is found when men are free to pursue it.

I think that probably the most important thing about our education was that it taught us to question even those things we thought we knew. To say you've got to inquire, you've got to be testing your knowledge all the time in order to be more effective in what you're doing.

Large skepticism leads to large understanding. Small skepticism leads to small understanding. No skepticism leads to no understanding.

I always say I have a Socratic approach to most things that I do. I pummel people with questions, because I need to know what they're thinking, what they're trying to achieve, what they believe the final outcome is going to be.

Question everything. Learn something. Answer nothing.

A subtle thought that is in error may yet give rise to fruitful inquiry that can establish truths of great value.

The scientific mind does not so much provide the right answers as ask the right questions.

The wise man doesn't give the right answers, he poses the right questions.

Skepticism is the first step towards truth.

If you would be a real seeker after truth, you must at least once in your life doubt, as far as possible, all things.

My only weapon is the question.

I never stop reading. I read everything, and I read every day. If you never read anything, be curious. Curiosity is the true foundation of education, reading things that we've factually already agreed on, and I love reading books. With that said, it's more important that you ask the question 'why.'