Belief like any other moving body follows the path of least resistance.
Samuel ButlerRead
If you follow reason far enough it always leads to conclusions that are contrary to reason.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Reason can sometimes lead us to illogical conclusions.
Samuel Butler's quote suggests that while reason is a powerful tool for understanding and decision-making, it can paradoxically bring us to conclusions that contradict our original rationale. This highlights the limitations of rational thought and encourages us to remain aware of the complexities and nuances of human understanding.
Themes
ReasonContradictionLogicPhilosophyUnderstanding
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about ethics, I quoted Butler to illustrate the limits of rational arguments.
More from Samuel Butler
All quotes βTo know God better is only to realize how impossible it is that we should ever know him at all. I know not which is more childish to deny him, or define him.
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Academic and aristocratic people live in such an uncommon atmosphere that common sense can rarely reach them.
Samuel ButlerRead
An apology for the devil: it must be remembered that we have heard one side of the case. God has written all the books.
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Young people have a marvelous faculty of either dying or adapting themselves to circumstances.
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People care more about being thought to have taste than about being thought either good, clever or amiable.
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I love America more than any other country in the world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually. I think all theories are suspect, that the finest principles may have to be modified, or may even be pulverized by the demands of life, and that one must find, therefore, one's own moral center and move through the world hoping that this center will guide one aright.
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The fundamental law of the militia is, that it be created, directed and commanded by the laws, and ever for the support of the laws.
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To enter by reason means to realize the essence through instruction and to believe that all living things share the same true nature, which isn't apparent because it's shrouded by sensation and delusion.
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To see was terrifying, and to stop seeing tore me apart from my forehead to my throat.
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There are no more thorough prudes than those who have some little secret to hide.
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