“Profound skepticism is favorable to conventions, because it doubts that the criticism of conventions is any truer than they are.”

— George Santayana

"On My Friendly Critics"
Soliloquies in England and Later Soliloquies (1922)

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George Santayana 109

20th-century Spanish-American philosopher associated with P… 1863–1952

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“Sweet exists by convention, bitter by convention, colour by convention; atoms and Void [alone] exist in reality. (trans. Freeman 1948), p. 92.”

Democritus Ancient Greek philosopher, pupil of Leucippus, founder of the atomic theory

By convention sweet is sweet, bitter is bitter, hot is hot, cold is cold, color is color; but in truth there are only atoms and the void. (trans. Durant 1939), Ch. XVI, §II, p. 353; citing C. Bakewell, Sourcebook in Ancient Philosophy, New York, 1909, "Fragment O" (Diels), p. 60