“He who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them. But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side; if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion.”
Source: On Liberty (1859), Ch. II: Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion
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John Stuart Mill179
British philosopher and political economist 1806–1873Related quotes
William Kingdon Clifford (1845–1879) English mathematician and philosopher
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Context: How do they answer all this? They say that God “permits” it. What would you say to me if I stood by and saw a ruffian beat out the brains of a child, when I had full and perfect power to prevent it? You would say truthfully that I was as bad as the murderer. Is it possible for this God to prevent it? Then, if he does not he is a fiend; he is no god. But they say he “permits” it. What for? So that we may have freedom of choice. What for? So that God may find, I suppose, who are good and who are bad. Did he not know that when he made us? Did he not know exactly just what he was making?
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He that knows not what the world is, knows not where he is himself. He that knows not for what he was made, knows not what he is nor what the world is.
VIII, 52
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“The person who knows only his side of the argument knows little of that.”
Karl Barth (1886–1968) Swiss Protestant theologian