The one who is filled by virtue is like a newborn baby.
LaoziRead
The prejudices of ignorance are more easily removed than the prejudices of interest; the first are blindly adopted; the second wilfully preferred.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Ignorance leads to unintentional biases, while interests create conscious preferences that are harder to change.
This quote highlights the distinction between two types of prejudices: those born of ignorance, which are often adopted without understanding, and those driven by self-interest, which are chosen deliberately. The former can be corrected with education and awareness, but the latter are rooted in personal gain, making them much more resistant to change. Thus, it suggests that overcoming bias linked to personal interests requires more effort and self-reflection than addressing biases stemming from a lack of knowledge.
Themes
PrejudiceIgnoranceInterestBiasChange
In practice
Example use cases
Discussing the importance of critical thinking in a classroom setting.
Similar quotes
It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?
Henry David ThoreauRead
It can be easy and tempting, especially during a presidential campaign, to listen only to opinions that mirror and fortify one's own. That's not ideal, because it eliminates learning and makes it impossible for people to understand what they dismiss as 'the other side.'
Cass SunsteinRead
Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens.
EpictetusRead
Stop all this weeping, swallow your pride/ You will not die, its not poison -Tombstone Blues
Bob DylanRead
Dare to be true. Nothing can need a lie: a fault which needs it most, grows two thereby.
George HerbertRead