Christopher Hitchens Quotes

Is New Ageism inherently fascist? Of course not, though I'm happy to pronounce its babble about chakras and cosmic energy errant quackery.

The New Age movement looks like a mixed bag. I see much in it that seems good: It's optimistic; it's enthusiastic; it has the capacity for belief. On the debit side, I think one needs to distinguish between belief and credulity.

The practice of physic [Medicine] is jostled by quacks on the one side, and by science on the other.

I don't think you get a lot of comedians who are homeopaths. Comedy is essentially about not being hoodwinked.

Popular psychology is a mass of cant, of slush and of superstition worthy of the most flourishing days of the medicine man.

Economics make homeopath and alternative healers look empirical and scientific.

Congratulations to Prince Charles for banning foie gras from all his functions.

I'm not a big believer in vitamins and all that stuff.

Homeopathy - an invention of the Father of Lies! I have tried it and found it wanting. I would swallow their whole doles' medicine chest for sixpence, and be sure of finding myself neither better nor worse for it.

I do not expect that homeopathy will ever be established as a legitimate form of treatment, but I do expect that it will continue to be popular.

Nature can do more than physicians.

Most people are sceptical about the wrong things and gullible about the wrong things.

The trend of psychology, education, anthropology, and social science is toward environmentalism in the explanation of group differences, which means that the racial beliefs which defended caste are being torn away. It also means, by implication, that the white majority group in power is accused of being the cause of the Negro's deficiencies and unhappiness.

The global warming hysterics don't just offer opinions and beliefs about greenhouse gases and the like. These are people who speak as if they belong to a cult.

The fact is, Charles and Diana's marriage was a train smash in many ways, and, as Camilla will one day be Queen, it's important for the public to understand she's not some terrible woman.

The impenetrable stupidity of Prince George (son-in-law of James II) served his turn. It was his habit, when any news was told him, to exclaim, "Est il possible?"-"Is it possible?"

People are stupid; given proper motivation, almost anyone will believe almost anything. Because people are stupid, they will believe a lie because they want to believe it's true, or because they are afraid it might be true. People’s heads are full of knowledge, facts, and beliefs, and most of it is false, yet they think it all true. People are stupid; they can only rarely tell the difference between a lie and the truth, and yet they are confident they can, and so are all the easier to fool.

Only desperation can account for what the Chinese do in the name of 'medicine.' That's something you might remind your New Age friends who've gone gaga over 'holistic medicine' and 'alternative Chinese cures.

The new age self-help phenomenon is pretty mushy, but it's also very American. Our history is filled with traveling preachers and quack medicine and searches for the soul. I don't see this as a new thing. I think the new age is part of a phenomenon that's been there all along.

Homeopathy is a progressive and aggressive step in medicine.

But however mysterious is nature , however ignorant the doctor, however imperfect the present state of physical science , the patronage and the success of quacks and quackeries are infinitely more wonderful than those of honest and laborious men of science and their careful experiments.

A friend of mine is into Voodoo Acupuncture. You don't have to go. You'll just be walking down the street and . . . ooooohhhhhh, that's much better.

People are stupid... They will believe a lie because they want to believe it's true, or because they're afraid it might be true.

In medicine, it has long been recognized that even a quack remedy that is harmless in itself can be fatal when it substitutes for an effective medication or treatment. The time is overdue for that same recognition to apply to politics.

Treat persons who profess to be able to cure disease as you treat fortune tellers.