Quotes About Opinions

Truth gains more even by the errors of one who, with due study and preparation, thinks for himself, than by the true opinions of those who only hold them because they do not suffer themselves to think…

Of all difficulties which impede the progress of thought, and the formation of well-grounded opinions on life and social arrangements, the greatest is now the unspeakable ignorance and inattention of mankind in respect to the influences which form human character.

No one can be a great thinker who does not recognize, that as a thinker his first duty is to follow his intellect wherever it may lead. Truth gains more even by the errors of one who, with due study and preparation, thinks for himself, than by the true opinions if those who only hold them because they do not suffer themselves to think.

The assumption that we are infallible can we justify the suppression of opinions we think false. Ages are as fallible as individuals, every age having held many opinions which subsequent ages have deemed not only false but absurd.

In general, opinions contrary to those commonly received can only obtain a hearing by studied moderation of language, and the most cautious avoidance of unnecessary offence, from which they hardly ever deviate even in a slight degree without losing ground: while unmeasured vituperation employed on the side of the prevailing opinion, really does deter people from professing contrary opinions, and from listening to those who profess them.

All silencing of discussion is an assumption of infallibility.

No one can be a great thinker who does not recognise, that as a thinker it is his first duty to follow his intellect to whatever conclusions it may lead. Truth gains more even by the errors of one who, with due study and preparation, thinks for himself, than by the true opinions of those who only hold them because they do not suffer themselves to think.

I did not mean to say that the Conservatives are generally stupid. I meant to say that stupid people are generally Conservative. I believe that is so obviously and universally admitted a principle that I hardly think any gentleman will deny it.

toda época ha sostenido opiniones que las épocas posteriores han demostrado ser, no sólo falsas, sino absurdas;

Why then should tolerance, as far as the public sentiment is concerned, extend only to tastes and modes of life which extort acquiescence by the multitude of their adherents?

The time, it is to be hoped, is gone by, when any defence would be necessary of the "liberty of the press" as one of the securities against corrupt or tyrannical government. No argument, we may suppose, can now be needed, against permitting a legislature or an executive, not identified in interest with the people, to prescribe opinions to them, and determine what doctrines or what arguments they shall be allowed to hear.

In the present age—which has been described as "destitute of faith, but terrified at skepticism"—in which people feel sure, not so much that their opinions are true, as that they should not know what to do without them—the claims of an opinion to be protected from public attack are rested not so much on its truth, as on its importance to society.

in an imperfect state of the human mind, the interests of truth require a diversity of opinions.

Yet it is as evident in itself as any amount of argument can make it, that ages are no more infallible than individuals; every age having held many opinions which subsequent ages have deemed not only false but absurd; and it is as certain that many opinions, now general, will be rejected by future ages, as it is that many, once general, are rejected by the present.

Aquellos que tienen asegurado el sustento y que no desean favores de los hombres que están en el Poder, ni de ninguna corporación o del público, nada tienen que temer de la franca profesión de todas las opiniones, a no ser que se piense o se hable mal de ellos

And what is a still greater novelty, the mass do not now take their opinions from dignitaries in Church or State, from ostensible leaders, or from books. Their thinking is done for them by men much like themselves, addressing them or speaking in their name, on the spur of the moment, through the newspapers.

One can, to an almost laughable degree, infer what a man's wife is like from his opinions about women in general.

Todo partidario de castigar la emisión de opiniones, a menos que se crea un hombre más prudente y mejor que Marco Aurelio, más versado que él en la sabiduría de su tiempo, de mayor elevación intelectual, más ardiente en la investigación de la verdad o más devotamente consagrado a ella una vez hallada, debe abstenerse de declarar su propia infalibilidad con la de la multitud, como lo hizo con tan desdichado resultado el gran Antonino.

Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives.

Listen, you don't knock my reading habits and I won't knock your old black and white flat films.

Even good opinions are worth very little unless we hold them in the broad, intelligent, and spacious way.

Buzz Aldrin, the lunar module pilot, was another sort of man altogether. A lot of the guys didn't care much for Buzz personally. He got on people's nerves and seemed to have an inordinate fascination with his own ideas and abilities. Frank Borman had made it clear to pretty much everyone that he didn't want Buzz on any of his crews. No doubt Buzz was a smart guy, with a doctorate in space rendezvous from MIT, but he thought he was smarter than he really was.

Very few of the so-called liberals are open-minded.... They shout you down and won't let you speak if you disagree with them.

I'm not going to say I was opposed to the Vietnam War. I'm going to say I'm opposed to war. But I'm also opposed to protests that deny other people their rights.