Prejudices are what fools use for reason.
VoltaireRead
We are intelligent beings: intelligent beings cannot have been formed by a crude, blind, insensible being: there is certainly some difference between the ideas of Newton and the dung of a mule. Newton's intelligence, therefore, came from another intelligence
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the belief that intelligent beings cannot originate from a mindless or chaotic force, highlighting the superiority of human intellect compared to simpler forms of existence.
In this quote, Voltaire argues that the complexity and brilliance of human intelligence, exemplified by figures like Newton, cannot be explained by mere chance or the actions of a mindless entity. He suggests that there is a distinct level of intelligence that arises from a higher form of intelligence, indicating that true understanding and creativity must come from a source that possesses similar qualities. This line of reasoning underlines a philosophical stance on the origins of intelligence and the nature of existence.
Themes
IntelligenceCreationPhilosophyReasonNewton
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about the origins of intelligence, this quote could serve to argue against random chance.
More from Voltaire
All quotes →He was a great patriot, a humanitarian, a loyal friend; provided, of course, he really is dead.
VoltaireRead
It is dangerous to be right in matters where established men are wrong.
VoltaireRead
It is not sufficient to see and to know the beauty of a work. We must feel and be affected by it.
VoltaireRead
We are all full of weakness and errors; let us mutually pardon each other our follies - it is the first law of nature.
VoltaireRead
It is better to risk saving a guilty man than to condemn an innocent one.
VoltaireRead
Similar quotes
I think the relationship between memory and time is a very deep and tricky one, to tell you the truth. I don't consider memory another sense. I do consider memory that which allows us to think that time flows.
Brian GreeneRead
Sweet Memory! wafted by thy gentle gale, Oft up the stream of Time I turn my sail.
Samuel RogersRead
I do not want to father a flock, to be the fetish of fools and fanatics or the founder of a faith whose followers are content to echo my opinions. I want each man to cut his own way through the jungle.
Aleister CrowleyRead
The historical sense involves a perception, not only of the pastness of the past, but of its presence
T. S. EliotRead
One word is too often profaned For me to profane it, One feeling too falsely disdained For thee to disdain it.
Percy Bysshe ShelleyRead
Unless man is committed to the belief that all mankind are his brothers, then he labors in vain and hypocritically in the vineyards of equality.
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.Read