“The scientist believes in proof without certainty, the bigot in certainty without proof.”
The second sentence is often misquoted as “Science has proof without any certainty. Creationists have certainty without any proof.” or “Religion gives us certainty without proof; science gives us proof without certainty.”
Context: Bigotry and science can have no communication with each other, for science begins where bigotry and absolute certainty end. The scientist believes in proof without certainty, the bigot in certainty without proof. Let us never forget that tyranny most often springs from a fanatical faith in the absoluteness of one’s beliefs.
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Ashley Montagu 8
British-American anthropologist 1905–1999Related quotes
Source: Reflections and Maxims (1746), p. 184.
“Religious = absolute belief without proof.”
Source: Friday (1982), Chapter 18 (p. 181)
Twitter, November 25, 2013 ( archive http://archive.is/khKVm)
Other
“If we have not found heaven within, it is a certainty we will not find it without.”
The Books in My Life (1952) Chapter 11: The Story of My Heart (2nd edition. New York: New Directions Publishing, 1969, p. 192)
“The highest proof of virtue is to possess boundless power without abusing it.”
Review of Aiken’s Life of Addison (1843)
Bk. 1, ch. 4. Translated by Robert B. Burke, in: Edward Grant (1974) Source Book in Medieval Science. Harvard University Press. p. 93
Opus Majus, c. 1267
“The final proof of greatness lies in being able to endure criticism without resentment.”
Introduction à l'Étude de la Médecine Expérimentale (1865)