“There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.”

—  Sören Kierkegaard

Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true." by Sören Kierkegaard?
Sören Kierkegaard photo
Sören Kierkegaard 309
Danish philosopher and theologian, founder of Existentialism 1813–1855

Related quotes

Ron English photo

“What you believe is without a clue. What I believe is always true.”

Ron English (1959) American artist

Ron English's Fauxlosophy (2016)

Edward Snowden photo

“The true measurement of a person's worth isn't what they say they believe in, but what they do in defense of those beliefs. If you're not acting on your beliefs, then they probably aren't real.”

Edward Snowden (1983) American whistleblower and former National Security Agency contractor

Penguin Books 2015 edition ISBN 978-0-241-97289-2, page 45.
No Place to Hide (2014)

Ralph Waldo Emerson photo

“To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, — that is genius.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American philosopher, essayist, and poet

1840s, Essays: First Series (1841), Self-Reliance
Context: I read the other day some verses written by an eminent painter which were original and not conventional. The soul always hears an admonition in such lines, let the subject be what it may. The sentiment they instil is of more value than any thought they may contain. To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, — that is genius. Speak your latent conviction, and it shall be the universal sense; for the inmost in due time becomes the outmost, — and our first thought is rendered back to us by the trumpets of the Last Judgment.

“As humans, we tend to believe what we think is true, even though what we believe is not necessarily true. It's difficult for us to escape the spark of subjectivity.”

Titon Rahmawan
John Lilly photo

“In the province of the mind, what one believes to be true is true or becomes true, within certain limits to be found experientially and experimentally. These limits are further beliefs to be transcended.”

John Lilly (1915–2001) American physician

The Human Biocomputer (1974) <!-- London: Abacus -->
Context: In the province of the mind, what one believes to be true is true or becomes true, within certain limits to be found experientially and experimentally. These limits are further beliefs to be transcended. In the mind, there are no limits... In the province of connected minds, what the network believes to be true, either is true or becomes true within certain limits to be found experientially and experimentally. These limits are further beliefs to be transcended. In the network's mind there are no limits.

Francis Bacon photo

“Man prefers to believe what he prefers to be true.”

Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English philosopher, statesman, scientist, jurist, and author
Charles Stross photo

“What if he is a true believer, have you thought about that?”

Charles Stross The Laundry Files

“A true believer in what? The prosperity gospel? New Republican Jesus who rewards his faithful flock for their faith with the ability to make money fast? That’s self-serving cant, and you know it. Wish-fulfillment as religion.” A twitch of the cheek: Persephone unamused. “Don’t get me started on the gap between the Vatican and their flock.”
Source: The Laundry Files, The Apocalypse Codex (2012), Chapter 7, “Communion” (p. 125)

Robert LeFevre photo

“The nature of man is such that he tends to believe what he wants to believe. Whether it is true or not usually provides only a brief hesitation. Men believe on the basis of their likes and dislikes. Unfortunately, much of what we believe to be true may be partially true. Absolute truth or absolute falsehood is rare. A total falsehood is easier to detect than a partial falsehood. Even a total truth is totally true only in context.”

Robert LeFevre (1911–1986) American libertarian businessman

Source: A Way to Be Free: The Autobiography of Robert LeFevre, Volume I, (1999), p. 19

Related topics