Philosophy consists very largely of one philosopher arguing that all others are jackasses. He usually proves it, and I should add that he also usually proves that he is one himself.
Interpretation
Philosophy often involves critical arguments against other philosophers, demonstrating self-reflection and irony.
In this quote, H. L. Mencken humorously critiques the nature of philosophical debate, suggesting that philosophers frequently engage in disputes where they label their peers as foolish while simultaneously revealing their own flaws. This self-deprecating observation highlights the contentious and sometimes contradictory nature of philosophical discourse, where the pursuit of truth often involves recognizing one's own biases and shortcomings.
In practice
In a lecture about critical thinking, you could use this quote to illustrate the importance of questioning both others' ideas and your own.
I know a good many men of great learning-that is, men born with an extraordinary eagerness and capacity to acquire knowledge. One and all, they tell me that they can't recall learning anything of any value in school. All that schoolmasters managed to accomplish with them was to test and determine the amount of knowledge that they had already acquired independently-and not infrequently the determination was made clumsily and inaccurately.
It takes a long while for a naturally trustful person to reconcile himself to the idea that after all God will not help him
It is the theory of all modern civilized governments that they protect and foster the liberty of the citizen; it is the practice of all of them to limit its exercise, and sometimes very narrowly.
The central belief of every moron is that he is the victim of a mysterious conspiracy against his common rights and true deserts.
The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy.
It is my conviction that no normal man ever fell in love, within the ordinary meaning of the term, after the age of thirty.
I myself feel that our country, for whose Constitution I fought in a just war, might as well have been invaded by Martians and body snatchers. Sometimes I wish it had been. What has happened, though, is that it has been taken over by means of the sleaziest, low-comedy, Keystone Cops-style coup d'etat imaginable.
Solitude is for me a fount of healing which makes my life worth living. Talking is often a torment for me, and I need many days of silence to recover from the futility of words.
It is good for us to think that no grace or blessing is truly ours till we are aware that God has blessed some one else with it through us.
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.
The victimization of children is nowhere forbidden; what is forbidden is to write about it.
Sanctification is not a work of nature, but a work of grace. It is a transformation of character effected not by moral influences, but supernaturally by the Holy Spirit.
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