# Quote — Steve Toltz, A Fraction Of The Whole

> In truth, his speech made an impression on my mind so deep, a surgeon could probably still make out the grooves. And not just because it planted a seed that would eventually make me distrust any feelings or ideas of my own that might be viewed as spiritual, but because there's nothing more distressing or uncomfortable to look at than a philosopher who's thought himself into a corner. And that was the night I first got a good, clear look at his corner, his terrible corner, his sad dead end, where Dad had inoculated himself against having anything mystical or religious ever happen to him, so that if God came down and boogied right in his face, he'd never allow himself to believe it. That was the night I understood he was not just a skeptic who doesn't believe in a sixth sense, but he was the über-skeptic, who wouldn't trust or believe in the other five either.

- Author: [Steve Toltz](https://www.leafyquotes.com/steve-toltz.md)
- Book: [A Fraction Of The Whole](https://www.leafyquotes.com/steve-toltz/a-fraction-of-the-whole.md)
- Source: [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Steve_Toltz#Four) ([CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/))
- Quote page: https://www.leafyquotes.com/steve-toltz/a-fraction-of-the-whole/in-truth-his

## More from this book

> It's hard enough to go through life disappointing yourself every second day, but disappointing others takes it out of you too. That's why you should never answer the phone or the door. So you don't have to say no to whoever's on the other side.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/steve-toltz/a-fraction-of-the-whole/its-hard-enough.md)

> People always say, "It's good to be a part of a something bigger than yourself," but you already are. You're part of a huge thing. The whole of humanity. That's enormous. But you can't see it, so you pick, what? An organization? A culture? A religion? That's not bigger than you. It's much, much smaller!

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/steve-toltz/a-fraction-of-the-whole/people-always-say.md)

> I think all people on their deathbeds should not forgive themselves for not committing suicide, even one day earlier. To let yourself be murdered by Nature's hand is the only real apathy there is.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/steve-toltz/a-fraction-of-the-whole/i-think-all.md)