Top 385 Skepticism Quotes & Sayings

I'm beginning to be skeptical of my own skepticism.

Skepticism is history's bedfellow.

Creationists argue that natural selection is only a negative process, and therefore cannot create anything. Chopra argues that skepticism is only a negative process, and therefore does not lead to knowledge. Both are wrong for the same reasons. They ignore the generation of diversity and new ideas upon which natural selection and skepticism acts. Weeding out the unfit is critical to both - natural selection allows evolution to proceed, and skepticism allows science to advance.

To believe in luck ... is skepticism.

People confuse the word cynicism with the word skepticism. One is “you’re not gonna pay attention to anything, think everything’s screwed up, nothing’s ever gonna work out right”, that’s cynicism. But skepticism is, “you’re presented with evidence and you do your best to draw conclusions based on that”. So, as the saying goes, Bill Nye, do you believe in ghosts? No. However, I would love to see one. Bring it on. I’m open minded to the idea, but the more I look into it in a skeptical frame of thinking, the less likely it seems.

Skepticism is not a position; skepticism is an approach to claims, in the same way that science is not a subject but a method.

My skepticism is strong, but my curiosity is stronger.

Cynicism and skepticism are the crudest form of quasi-intellectualism... Let the cynic become cynical of his cynicism and the skeptic skeptical of his skepticism and join the battle.

Realism is punishing. Probabilistic skepticism is worse.

Skepticism is a virtue in history as well as in philosophy.

My humor is my creativity, and my skepticism is a gift.

The purpose of the Federalist Society was to bring together young people who had this skepticism about what they were being taught and to let them know that there were others who shared this skepticism.

It is at the cross-roads that skepticism is born, not in a hermitage.

Skepticism is not an end in itself; it is a tool for the discovery of truths.

Skepticism does not preserve us from foolhardy deeds.

If you are going to go to a medium, go to a medium as a skeptic... and this is a medium telling you this! Because if someone is a medium and they are legit, they're not going to be shocked by skepticism, they're not going to be taken aback or intimidated by skepticism.

The virtues of science are skepticism and independence of thought.

There is no better soporific and sedative than skepticism.

All scientific progress requires a climate of strong skepticism.

There's a very healthy tradition in America of skepticism of centralized power. If we ever lose the skepticism of centralized power, we'll lose the essence of the country.

Skepticism is the sadism of embittered souls.

There is no harm in doubt and skepticism, for it is through these that new discoveries are made.

True courage is mixed with circumspection, the kind of healthy skepticism that asks, 'Is this the best way to do this?' True cowardice is marked by chronic skepticism, which always says, 'It can't be done.'

Skepticism, not cleanliness, is next to godliness. Skepticism is the father of freedom. It is like the pry that holds open the door for truth to slip in.

Skepticism is essential to the quest for knowledge, for it is in the seedbed of puzzlement that genuine inquiry takes root. Without skepticism, we may remain mired in unexamined belief systems that are accepted as sacrosanct yet have no factual basis in reality.

Everywhere, except in theology, there has been a vigorous growth of skepticism about skepticism itself.

I think I have an inbuilt British skepticism.

This feeling African-Americans have, this skepticism towards the police and the skepticism that the police show towards African-Americans is actually quite old. And it may be one of the most durable aspects of the relationship between black people and their country really in our history.

When I was a boy, I read with great interest but skepticism about as magic lamp which was used with success by a certain Aladdin. Today I have no skepticism whatsoever about the magic of the xenon flash lamp which we use so effectively for many purposes. (1970)

The path of sound credence is through the thick forest of skepticism.

When one admits that nothing is certain one must, I think, also admit that some things are much more nearly certain than others. It is much more nearly certain that we are assembled here tonight than it is that this or that political party is in the right. Certainly there are degrees of certainty, and one should be very careful to emphasize that fact, because otherwise one is landed in an utter skepticism, and complete skepticism would, of course, be totally barren and completely useless.

Skepticism is slow suicide.

We must be skeptical even of our skepticism.

Skepticism is the elegance of anxiety.

Skepticism is not a position; it's a process.

We all approached doing a sequel with great trepidation and skepticism.

Do not let yourself be tainted with a barren skepticism.

Skepticism is unbelief in cause and effect.

If a man have a strong faith he can indulge in the luxury of skepticism.

Skepticism is the first step on the road to philosophy.

Skepticism: the mark and even the pose of the educated mind.

I think my father's skepticism fueled me to work harder.

A wise skepticism is the first attribute of a good critic.

Its attitude, which it has preached and practiced, is skepticism. Now, it finds, the public is applying that skepticism to the press.

Because of the complexity of the problem, environmental skepticism was once tenable. No longer. It is time to flip from skepticism to activism.

Indifference in religion is more fatal than skepticism. There is no pulse in indifference; skepticism may have warm blood.

Skepticism doesn't help you hear.

Skepticism is provisional, even if it lasts a lifetime.

The capacity to combine commitment with skepticism is essential to democracy.

The idea that the State is capable of solving social problems is now viewed with great skepticism - which foretells a coming change. As soon as skepticism is applied to the State, the State falls, since it fails at everything except increasing its power, and so can only survive on propaganda, which relies on unquestioning faith.

Radical skepticism is no more critical than is credulity.

I have a lot of skepticism about marriage and monogamy.

My skepticism doesn't come from no one. There's a root to it, and it's my family.

Skepticism is the chastity of the intellect...

Skepticism may undermine beliefs, but never belief.

The implication was that if you had any skepticism whatsoever, you were anti-science. I think there's a difference between having skepticism about science and having skepticism about the pharmaceutical industry.

I think the appropriate kind of skepticism is this: you've got to be asking questions all the time, you've also got to make sure that you're doing so in the spirit of genuinely wanting to find the answers - and that also means being open. I battle with this: I know I tend to be very skeptical and as a result, I veer towards the dismissive. But being aware of the tendency, I like to challenge my own skepticism and make sure it's not just knee-jerk. You need to be skeptical towards yourself as well. When you're only skeptical outwards you've got an unbalanced skepticism.

Science is the organized skepticism in the reliability of expert opinion

Large skepticism leads to large understanding. Small skepticism leads to small understanding. No skepticism leads to no understanding.

I just witnessed an event so mysterious that it shook my skepticism.