“If I were to suggest that between the Earth and Mars there is a china teapot revolving about the sun in an elliptical orbit, nobody would be able to disprove my assertion provided I were careful to add that the teapot is too small to be revealed even by our most powerful telescopes. But if I were to go on to say that, since my assertion cannot be disproved, it is an intolerable presumption on the part of human reason to doubt it, I should rightly be thought to be talking nonsense. If, however, the existence of such a teapot were affirmed in ancient books, taught as the sacred truth every Sunday, and instilled into the minds of children at school, hesitation to believe in its existence would become a mark of eccentricity and entitle the doubter to the attentions of the psychiatrist in an enlightened age or of the Inquisitor in an earlier time.”
―
―
“It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk and remove all doubt of it.”
― Mrs. Goose, Her Book
― Mrs. Goose, Her Book
“To teach how to live without certainty, and yet without being paralyzed by hesitation, is perhaps the chief thing that philosophy, in our age, can still do for those who study it.”
― A History of Western Philosophy
― A History of Western Philosophy
Book Club
— 2 members
— last activity Aug 15, 2008 08:41PM
Just us, reading, getting together to discuss the books. In French or English.
Matthew’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Matthew’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
Polls voted on by Matthew
Lists liked by Matthew
















