There are many things which we can afford to forget which it is yet well to learn.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.Read
Certitude is not the test of certainty. We have been cocksure of many things that were not so.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Confidence in our beliefs does not guarantee their truth. We must remain open to doubt and questioning.
The quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. emphasizes that just because we are convinced of something does not mean that it is true. Certainty can lead us to become overly confident in our beliefs, sometimes without sufficient evidence. This suggests that true wisdom lies in recognizing the potential for error in our convictions and being willing to question what we think we know.
Themes
CertaintyDoubtWisdomBeliefsConflict
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about critical thinking in a classroom setting.
More from Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
All quotes βOn the whole, I am on the side of the unregenerate who affirms the worth of life as an end in itself, as against the saints who deny it.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.Read
If you don't know what you want, you will probably never get it.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.Read
Why should you row a boat race? Why endure the long months of pain in preparation for a fierce half hour that will leave you all but dead? Does anyone ask the question? Is there anyone who would not go through all the costs, and more, for the moment when anguish breaks into triumph or even for the glory of having nobly lost? Is life less than a boat race? If a man will give the blood in his body to win the one, will he spend all the might of his soul to prevail in the other?
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.Read
The main part of intellectual education is not the acquisition of facts, but learning how to make facts live.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.Read
Beware how you take away hope from another human being.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.Read
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