Preface.
A History of Science Vol.2 Hellenistic Science and Culture in the Last Three Centuries B.C. (1959)
Context: Superstitions... are nothing but persistent errors, foolish beliefs, and irrational fears. Superstitions are infinite in number and scope... It would not do to ignore them altogether, only if we should never forget the weakness and fragility of our minds. The consciousness that superstitions are rife in our own society is a healthy shock to our self-conceit and a warning.... it lets us judge ancient superstitions with more indulgence and with a sense of humor. We could not overlook them without falsifying the general picture nor judge them too severely without hypocrisy.
“It’s amazing what superstitions survive in fearful minds.”
Source: Blue Mars (1996), Chapter 10, “Werteswandel” (p. 462)
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
Kim Stanley Robinson 98
American science fiction writer 1952Related quotes
“People will do amazing things to ensure their survival.”
Source: The Hob's Bargain
“Fear and superstition always follow the unseen, the unknown, the whispered of.”
Source: The Margarets (2007), Chapter 34, “I Am M’urgi/On B’Yurngrad” (p. 312)
Source: Unpopular Essays
Skeptical of Von Helsing's story of vampires
Dracula's Daughter (1936)
“In a fast German car
I'm amazed that I survived
An airbag saved my life”
"Airbag"
Lyrics, OK Computer (1997)
“What the mind doesn't understand, it worships or fears.”
C'est une des superstitions de l'esprit humain d'avoir imaginé que la virginité pouvait être une vertu.
Notebooks (c.1735-c.1750)
This quotation and the three that follow directly below are from the so-called Leningrad Notebook, also known as Le Sottisier; it is one of several posthumously published notebooks of Voltaire.
Citas