“In argument about moral problems, relativism is the first refuge of the scoundrel.”
Roger Scruton (1944–2020) English philosopher
"Some More -isms" (p. 32)
Modern Philosophy (1995)
“Historically, the claim of consensus has been the first refuge of scoundrels; it is a way to avoid debate by claiming that the matter is already settled.”
Aliens Cause Global Warming (2003)
Context: I want to pause here and talk about this notion of consensus, and the rise of what has been called consensus science. I regard consensus science as an extremely pernicious development that ought to be stopped cold in its tracks. Historically, the claim of consensus has been the first refuge of scoundrels; it is a way to avoid debate by claiming that the matter is already settled.
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Michael Crichton121
American author, screenwriter, film producer 1942–2008Related quotes
“That claim cannot be settled cheaply.”
Walter Benjamin book Theses on the Philosophy of History
Source: Theses on the Philosophy of History (1940), II
Context: There is a secret agreement between past generations and the present one. Our coming was expected on earth. Like every generation that preceded us, we have been endowed with a weak Messianic power, a power to which the past has a claim. That claim cannot be settled cheaply.
“My old man claimed that the more complicated the law the more opportunity for scoundrels.”
Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988) American science fiction author
Source: The Door Into Summer (1957), Chapter 5
“One way to avoid what has already been done is to be true to yourself.”
Ramsey Campbell (1946) English author
“Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) English writer
April 7, 1775, p. 253
Boswell's full mention of this statement reads:
:Patriotism having become one of our topicks, Johnson suddenly uttered, in a strong determined tone, an apophthegm, at which many will start: "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel." But let it be considered, that he did not mean a real and generous love of our country, but that pretended patriotism which so many, in all ages and countries, have made a cloak of self-interest.
Life of Samuel Johnson (1791), Vol II
“Jargon is the last refuge of the scoundrel.”
Roger Ebert (1942–2013) American film critic, author, journalist, and TV presenter
" O, Synecdoche, my Synecdoche! http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2008/11/o_synecdoche_my_synecdoche.html," (10 November 2008) <br class="br">Context: I was instructed long ago by a wise editor, "If you understand something you can explain it so that almost anyone can understand it. If you don't, you won't be able to understand your own explanation." That is why 90% of academic film theory is bullshit. Jargon is the last refuge of the scoundrel.
Barbara Ehrenreich (1941) American writer and journalist
"Family Values," The Worst Years of Our Lives: Irreverent Notes from a Decade of Greed (1991)
“My fatherland has always the first claim on me.”
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) Austrian Romantic composer
Letter to Leopold Mozart (24 November 1781), from Mozart: The Man and the Artist, as Revealed in his own Words by Friedrich Kerst, trans. Henry Edward Krehbiel (1906).