It is right that we should stand by and act on our principles; but not right to hold them in obstinate blindness, or retain them when proved to be erroneous.
Interpretation
We should adhere to our principles, but we must also be open to change when we find them to be wrong.
In this quote, Michael Faraday emphasizes the importance of standing firm on one's beliefs and principles while simultaneously advocating for the necessity of adaptability. It suggests that being principled does not mean stubbornness; rather, it encourages the practice of critical thinking and the willingness to revise one's views in the light of new evidence or understanding.
In practice
In a speech about ethical leadership, one could use this quote to highlight the need for leaders to adapt their principles based on new information.
I think chemistry is being frittered away by the hairsplitting of the organic chemists; we have new compounds discovered, which scarcely differ from the known ones and when discovered are valueless-very illustrations perhaps of their refinements in analysis, but very little aiding the progress of true science.
I am no poet, but if you think for yourselves, as I proceed, the facts will form a poem in your minds.
It is on record that when a young aspirant asked Faraday the secret of his success as a scientific investigator, he replied, 'The secret is comprised in three words- Work, Finish, Publish.'
When I consider the multitude of associated forces which are diffused through nature - when I think of that calm balancing of their energies which enables those most powerful in themselves, most destructive to the world's creatures and economy, to dwell associated together and be made subservient to the wants of creation, I rise from the contemplation more than ever impressed with the wisdom, the beneficence, and grandeur, beyond our language to express, of the Great Disposer of us all.
Water is to me, I confess, a phenomenon which continually awakens new feelings of wonder as often as I view it.
Chemistry is necessarily an experimental science: its conclusions are drawn from data, and its principles supported by evidence from facts.
Surrender comes when you no longer ask, 'Why is this happening to me?'
I had a great teacher in India who said to me, 'If you think you're spiritual and evolved and enlightened, go home for Christmas.'
Words should be used as tools of communication and not as a substitute for action
The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive. The great opportunity is where you are.
Blessed is he whose fame does not outshine his truth.
If we are not able to ask skeptical questions, to interrogate those who tell us that something is true, to be skeptical of those in authority, then, we are up for grabs for the next charlatan (political or religious) who comes rambling along.
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