Quotes About Doubt

Some years ago I was struck by the large number of falsehoods that I had accepted as true in my childhood, and by the highly doubtful nature of the whole edifice that I had subsequently based on them. I realized that it was necessary, once in the course of my life, to demolish everything completely and start again right from the foundations if I wanted to establish anything at all in the sciences that was stable and likely to last.

But I cannot forget that, at other times I have been deceived in sleep by similar illusions; and, attentively considering those cases, I perceive so clearly that there exist no certain marks by which the state of waking can ever be distinguished from sleep, that I feel greatly astonished; and in amazement I almost persuade myself that I am now dreaming.

Whatever I have up till now accepted as most true and assured I have gotten either from the senses or through the senses. But from time to time I have found that the senses deceive, and it is prudent never to trust completely those who have deceived us even once.

I suppose therefore that all things I see are illusions; I believe that nothing has ever existed of everything my lying memory tells me. I think I have no senses. I believe that body, shape, extension, motion, location are functions. What is there then that can be taken as true? Perhaps only this one thing, that nothing at all is certain.

For I found myself embarrassed with so many doubts and errors that it seemed to me that the effort to instruct myself had no effect other than the increasing discovery of my own ignorance

Dubium sapientiae initium. ( Doubt is the origin of wisdom .)

At last I will devote myself sincerely and without reservation to the general demolition of my opinions.

Yes, I pray and go to church and read my Bible. But sometimes I shake my fist at God. It's not the picture of peace I realize, and I certainly make no claims of wearing the armor of God. I'm lucky if I can get the underwear of decency on, all right?

Few survivors experience spontaneous recall especially if they have no awareness of the abuse ever happening. Most are forced to endure months or years of fear, confusion, and doubt as their memories surface. Dreams, imagery, feelings, and physical symptoms must be painstakingly faced and pieced together into a meaningful whole that the survivor struggles to accept as reality.

Sometimes I feel like I don't deserve happiness, especially now. Maybe I'm destined for an unhappy outcome.

I have a basic rule of thumb that about 2 percent of any large group will believe literally anything, no matter how preposterous it seems to the rest of us.

You know what my boss says? He says that skepticism is a good watchdog if you know when to take the leash off.

They say it works sometimes, but even if it does, how could you depend on anything you got that way? Not to mention that after you did it a few times any decent garbage can would be ashamed to have you found in it.

Helmar took his time replying. Finally he said, "I'll reserve my answer to that." "I doubt if aging will help it," Wolfe said dryly. "Now that you know that Miss Eads had not gone to Venezuela, and I assure you she had no intention of going, how do you explain her backing out from her appointment with you, her departure, her asking you not to try to find her?" "I don't have to explain it.

A scared man is only half a man.

skepticism is a good watchdog if you know when to take the leash off.

Manifestly, sir, either your mental processes are badly constipated or you think mine are.

The inquiring mind is rarely blessed with certainty; it must make shift with assumptions;

Faith is a choice; anyone who says otherwise is trying to convert you.

There are two kinds of people: Those who say, "I will believe it when I see it." And those who say, "To see it, I know I must believe

Take that doubt and shift it. Recognize that feeling and replace it with a feeling of unwavering faith.

through him. She asked him if he would ever have faith again. He looked into her dark blue eyes, eyes the color of the bluebonnets that dotted the pastures in the spring. He said that with her help, he would try anything. Then he was walking home. Something wasn't right. Something was following him. Whatever it was, it was strong and had no mercy.

And this was someone who only yesterday had proposed marriage to me. Like everything else at the moment, it didn't add up.

Sorry, Roy, I just don't trust you enough to believe that you lied.