It is wrong for a man to say that he is certain of the objective truth of any proposition unless he can produce evidence which logically justifies that certainty.
Thomas HuxleyRead
There is no sadder sight in the world than to see a beautiful theory killed by a brutal fact.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the conflict between idealized ideas and harsh realities.
Thomas Huxley's quote reflects the unfortunate reality that theoretical concepts, which can be beautiful and promising, often collide with unforgiving facts, leading to their demise. This serves as a reminder of the importance of grounding theories in reality and recognizing that not all ideals can withstand the scrutiny of practical truths.
Themes
TheoryFactRealityPhilosophyTruth
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about innovation, one might say this quote to emphasize the importance of supporting ideas with factual data.
More from Thomas Huxley
All quotes →The child who has been taught to make an accurate elevation, plan, and section of a pint pot has had an admirable training in accuracy of eye and hand.
Thomas HuxleyRead
Let us have "sweet girl graduates" by all means. They will be none the less sweet for a little wisdom; and the "golden hair" will not curl less gracefully outside the head by reason of there being brains within.
Thomas HuxleyRead
The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of childhood into maturity.
Thomas HuxleyRead
It is the first duty of a hypothesis to be intelligible.
Thomas HuxleyRead
Of the few innocent pleasures left to men past middle life, the jamming of common sense down the throats of fools is perhaps the keenest.
Thomas HuxleyRead
Similar quotes
Foreigners have a complex set of associations in their minds when they think of America - from Iraq to 9/11, certainly, but also from Coke to jeans. It is entirely possible for people around the world to love American products, American books, American movies, American music, and dislike the policies of the government of America.
Shashi TharoorRead
I want to be important. By being different. And these girls are all the same.
Sylvia PlathRead
For, of course, being a girl, one’s whole dignity and meaning in life consisted in the achievement of an absolute, a perfect, a pure and noble freedom. What else did a girl’s life mean?
D. H. LawrenceRead
Vanity destroys your work. That's the one thing you have to let go of as an actor. I don't care how sexy or beautiful any woman is. At the end of the day, she has to take her makeup off. At the end of the day, she's more than just pretty.
Viola DavisRead
The flexibility we gain in asana is the living symbol of the suppleness we gain in relation to life’s problems and challenges.
B.K.S. IyengarRead
Every man to whom salvation is offered has an inalienable natural right to say 'No, thank you: I prefer to retain my full moral responsibility: it is not good for me to be able to load a scapegoat with my sins: I should be less careful how I committed them if I knew they would cost me nothing.
George Bernard ShawRead