Ask a man which way he is going to vote, and he will probably tell you. Ask him, however, why, and vagueness is all.
Bernard LevinRead
No amount of manifest absurdity... could deter those who wanted to believe from believing.
Interpretation
People will cling to their beliefs regardless of contradictory evidence.
This quote reflects on the human tendency to hold onto beliefs even in the face of clear evidence that those beliefs might be irrational or absurd. It highlights the power of conviction and faith, suggesting that the desire to believe can overcome logic and reason.
In practice
In a discussion about the power of faith, this quote can illustrate how beliefs endure despite evidence to the contrary.
Ask a man which way he is going to vote, and he will probably tell you. Ask him, however, why, and vagueness is all.
What has happened to architecture since the second world war that the only passers-by who can contemplate it without pain are those equipped with a white stick and a dog?
If we expected self-reliance of family groups, if we expected hardiness and resilience and initiative on the part of individuals, and if we rewarded initiative instead of dependence on government, we would not only ameliorate many of the family-related social problems we see at present, but we would also reduce our vulnerability to terrorism. People who are hardy, resilient, and self reliant are a lot harder to terrorize.
In this life struggle, here I am among you fully cognizant that a true believer has no fear of what God has ordained for him. Those who are visited by fear live only for their present, under the illusion that the world began with them and will end with their departure.
An eminent reputation is as dangerous as a bad one.
We don't realize how much racism has tainted our self-image as human beings.
The more honest and authentic we are, the more deeply we go into the mystery of our own being.
Killing a man in defense of an idea is not defending an idea; it is killing a man.
I emphasize in it [my Orientalism] accortdingly that neither the term Orient nor the concept of the West has any ontological stability; each is made up of human effort, partly affirmation, partly identification of the Other.
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