I will follow my logic, no matter where it goes, after it has consulted with my heart. If you ever come to a conclusion without calling the heart in, you will come to a bad conclusion.
Robert Green IngersollRead
We can be as honest as we are ignorant. If we are, when asked what is beyond the horizon of the known, we must say that we do not know.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of acknowledging our own ignorance regarding the unknown.
Robert Green Ingersoll's quote highlights the idea that honesty is directly linked to our awareness of our own limitations in knowledge. When it comes to matters beyond what we currently understand, it is essential to admit our lack of information rather than pretend to possess certainty, which fosters a truthful discourse in the pursuit of knowledge.
Themes
HonestyIgnoranceKnowledgeTruthUnderstanding
In practice
Example use cases
In a philosophical debate about the limits of human understanding.
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The religion that has to be supported by law is without value, not only, but a fraud and a curse. The religious argument that has to be supported by a musket is hardly worth making.
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There is no slavery but ignorance.
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In all ages the people have honored those who dishonored them. They have worshiped their destroyers; they have canonized the most gigantic liars, and buried the great thieves in marble and gold. Under the loftiest monuments sleeps the dust of murder.
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I believe that there is something far nobler than loyalty to any particular man. Loyalty to the truth as we perceive it - loyalty to our duty as we know it - loyalty to the ideals of our brain and heart - is, to my mind, far greater and far nobler than loyalty to the life of any particular man or God. . . .
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