Rollo May Quotes

I May Be Wrong but I Doubt It.

A man who has humility will have acquired in the last reaches of his beliefs the saving doubt of his own certainty.

The spirit of liberty is the spirit that is not too sure that it is right

I doubt about myself. I think doubts are good in life. The people who don't have doubts I think only two things-arrogance or not intelligence.

Only the fools are certain and assured.

The more readily we admit the possibility of our own cherished convictions being mixed with error, the more vital and helpful whatever is right in them will become; and no error is so conclusively fatal as the idea that God will not allow us to err, though He has allowed all other men to do so.

The worst thing is not being wrong, but being sure one is not wrong.

Belief is tricky because left to its own devices, it can court a kind of surety, an unquestioning allegiance that fears doubt and destroys difference.

It is not bigotry to be certain we are right; but it is bigotry to be unable to imagine how we might possibly have gone wrong.

Things that I felt absolutely sure of but a few years ago, I do not believe now. This thought makes me see more clearly how foolish it would be to expect all men to agree with me.

If I am fool, it is, at least, a doubting one; and I envy no one the certainty of his self-approved wisdom.

I have written too much history to have faith in it; and if anyone thinks I'm wrong, I am inclined to agree with him.

The main battle is to make people realise that doubt is important. Doubt is good. The 'don't know' answer sometimes is the box you should tick, and it's about not being scared about that fact. Even the greatest minds don't know everything.

Better to trust the man who is frequently in error than the one who is never in doubt.

The relationship between commitment and doubt is by no means an antagonistic one. Commitment is healthiest when it's not without doubt but in spite of doubt.

I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong.

What is important is that one utilizes one's intellect and not to be 100 percent sure about one's convictions. One should always leave room for doubt.

The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt. Even those of the intelligent who believe that they have a nostrum are too individualistic to combine with other intelligent men from whom they differ on minor points.

I think it's very important to keep in the back of your mind: 'What if I'm wrong?'

I'd ask people to keep in mind the idea that if you really understand something, it's even more important for you to consider the possibility of your wrongness. Even if it takes someone dumber than you to point that out.

Intellectual modesty is humility as to what I know; intellectual humility is modesty as to what I do not know

I wish I were dumber so I could be more certain about my opinions. It looks fun.

Grown people know that they do not always know the way of things, and even if they think they know, they do not know where and how they got the proof.

One of the painful things about our time is that those who feel certainty are stupid, and those with any imagination and understanding are filled with doubt and indecision.

I believe that the starting point of faith is some doubt, not bein' so full of yourself and so confident that you are right and that God speaks only to us and doesn't speak to others, that God only cares about us and doesn't care about others.