{ "type": "topic", "site": { "name": "Leafy Quotes", "language": "en", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com" }, "formats": "Every page has two versions with the same data: JSON (the page address + .json) and markdown (the page address + .md). Append .json or .md to any `url` in this document.", "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt", "heading": "Quotes about doubt", "json": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt.json", "markdown": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt.md", "quotes_count": 107, "authors_count": 84, "parent": null, "children": [ { "name": "uncertainty", "slug": "uncertainty", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/uncertainty", "heading": "Quotes about uncertainty" } ], "quotes": [ { "id": "d9c7702f-93e7-4394-866f-59731a22fcc9", "slug": "faust-fulfills-this", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/soren-kierkegaard/fear-and-trembling/faust-fulfills-this", "text": "Faust fulfills this idea. Anyone who has a notion of what it means for a person to live on spirit also knows what the hunger of doubt means and knows that the doubter hungers just as much for the daily bread of life as for the nourishment of spirit.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Sören Kierkegaard", "slug": "soren-kierkegaard", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/soren-kierkegaard" }, "book": { "title": "Fear and Trembling", "slug": "fear-and-trembling", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/soren-kierkegaard/fear-and-trembling" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 109, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Fear_and_Trembling#Problema_III", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-26T07:01:59" }, { "id": "c4c7a4a1-cce4-488f-9eb2-28f962f8347c", "slug": "people-knelt-in-prayer", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-mitchell/cloud-atlas/people-knelt-in-prayer", "text": "People knelt in prayer, some moving their lips. Envy 'em, really I do. I envy God, too, privy to their secrets. Faith, the least exclusive club on Earth, has the craftiest doorman. Every time I've stepped through its wide-open doorway, I find myself stepping out on the street.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "David Mitchell", "slug": "david-mitchell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-mitchell" }, "book": { "title": "Cloud Atlas", "slug": "cloud-atlas", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-mitchell/cloud-atlas" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 75, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "faith", "slug": "faith", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/faith" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cloud_Atlas_(novel)#Letters_from_Zedelghem_(Part_1)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:56" }, { "id": "a812d2aa-de13-4150-9748-eac2eb3f79dd", "slug": "heres-a-heresy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/peter-boghossian/how-to-have-impossible-conversations/heres-a-heresy", "text": "Here's a heresy: \"How do you know that?\" is a powerful question for helping people think, but it's not the best question. The best question is, \"How could that belief be wrong?\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Peter Boghossian", "slug": "peter-boghossian", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/peter-boghossian" }, "book": { "title": "How to Have Impossible Conversations", "slug": "how-to-have-impossible-conversations", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/peter-boghossian/how-to-have-impossible-conversations" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "thinking", "slug": "thinking", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/thinking" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Peter_Boghossian#How_to_Have_Impossible_Conversations_(2019)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:52" }, { "id": "f69c1a59-5f41-4cfa-af48-aa4ac53baff3", "slug": "before-he-had", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/haruki-murakami/1q84/before-he-had", "text": "Before he had realized it, these exercises had given him the talent to be skeptical about his own self, and he had come to the recognition that most of what is generally considered the truth is entirely relative. Subject and object are not as distinct as most people think. If the boundary separating the two isn’t clear-cut to begin with, it is not such a difficult task to intentionally shift back and forth from one to the other.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Haruki Murakami", "slug": "haruki-murakami", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/haruki-murakami" }, "book": { "title": "1Q84", "slug": "1q84", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/haruki-murakami/1q84" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 913, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "truth", "slug": "truth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/truth" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/1Q84#Book_3_(October-December)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:39" }, { "id": "54448e2d-59b0-4b8c-bcf9-849af755b8f5", "slug": "from-ushikawas-perspective", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/haruki-murakami/1q84/from-ushikawas-perspective", "text": "From Ushikawa’s perspective, they were irretrievably shallow. To him, their minds were dull, their vision narrow and devoid of imagination, and all they cared about was what other people thought. More than anything, they were completely lacking in the sort of healthy skepticism needed to attain any degree of wisdom.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Haruki Murakami", "slug": "haruki-murakami", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/haruki-murakami" }, "book": { "title": "1Q84", "slug": "1q84", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/haruki-murakami/1q84" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 912, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "wisdom", "slug": "wisdom", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/wisdom" }, { "name": "conformity", "slug": "conformity", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/conformity" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/1Q84#Book_3_(October-December)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:39" }, { "id": "70b36106-b39c-43e2-8c4d-1c6292377fc2", "slug": "judging-from-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/haruki-murakami/1q84/judging-from-the", "text": "Judging from the spiderwebs clinging to it, the emergency stairway was hardly ever used. To each web clung a small black spider, patiently waiting for its small prey to come along. Not that the spiders had any awareness of being “patient.” A spider had no special skill other than building its web, and no lifestyle choice other than sitting still. It would stay in one place waiting for its prey until, in the natural course of things, it shriveled up and died. This was all genetically predetermined. The spider had no confusion, no despair, no regrets. No metaphysical doubt, no moral complications. Probably. Unlike me.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Haruki Murakami", "slug": "haruki-murakami", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/haruki-murakami" }, "book": { "title": "1Q84", "slug": "1q84", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/haruki-murakami/1q84" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 36, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "animals", "slug": "animals", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/animals" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" }, { "name": "instinct", "slug": "instinct", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/instinct" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/1Q84#Book_1_(April-June)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:38" }, { "id": "5aba605d-ebcc-4640-a4cd-1517da3a89de", "slug": "blackstones-police-operational", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ben-aaronovitch/moon-over-soho/blackstones-police-operational", "text": "Blackstone’s Police Operational Handbook recommends the ABC of serious investigation: Assume nothing, Believe nothing, and Check everything.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ben Aaronovitch", "slug": "ben-aaronovitch", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ben-aaronovitch" }, "book": { "title": "Moon Over Soho", "slug": "moon-over-soho", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ben-aaronovitch/moon-over-soho" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 152, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" }, { "name": "evidence", "slug": "evidence", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/evidence" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ben_Aaronovitch#Moon_Over_Soho_(2011)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:29" }, { "id": "2ab5011b-0c80-4c51-8861-69ab01463b0c", "slug": "the-irony-is-that", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/russell-shorto/descartes-bones/the-irony-is-that", "text": "The irony is that in shifting the focus onto the individual human mind, which everyone agrees can be a pretty flimsy and wayward organ, Descartes had arrived at the closest thing to a certain basis for knowledge. If my own thoughts are the only indubitable ground I can stand on, apparently they aren’t so flimsy after all, at least not all the time. As an earlier follower of Descartes put it, “doubt is the beginning of an undoubtable philosophy.” Therefore the mind and its “good sense”—that is to say, human reason—are the only basis for judging whether a thing is true. With the “cogito,” as philosophers abbreviate it, and with the theory of knowledge that arises from it, which Descartes outlined in the Discourse on the Method and later works, human reason supplanted received wisdom. Once Descartes had established the base, he and others could rebuild the edifice of knowledge. But it would be different from what it had been. Everything would be different.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Russell Shorto", "slug": "russell-shorto", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/russell-shorto" }, "book": { "title": "Descartes' Bones", "slug": "descartes-bones", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/russell-shorto/descartes-bones" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 20, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "reason", "slug": "reason", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/reason" }, { "name": "philosophy", "slug": "philosophy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/philosophy" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Russell_Shorto#Descartes%E2%80%99_Bones:_A_Skeletal_History_of_the_Conflict_Between_Faith_and_Reason_(2008)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:15" }, { "id": "ab3469e0-117c-4c35-9cbd-036454f9d3b8", "slug": "decision-making-is-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/will-gompertz/think-like-an-artist/decision-making-is-the", "text": "Decision-making is the tortuous by-product of the Socratic method. Because at some point skepticism and questioning have to give way to personal judgment in the shape of a decision made. And that is the most daunting part of a forbidding process. As Socrates knew only too well, the more you question the more you realize that there are no concrete answers. Doubt reigns supreme, an inescapable truth he succinctly expressed when he said, “All I know is that I know nothing.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Will Gompertz", "slug": "will-gompertz", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/will-gompertz" }, "book": { "title": "Think Like an Artist", "slug": "think-like-an-artist", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/will-gompertz/think-like-an-artist" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "choices", "slug": "choices", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/choices" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Will_Gompertz#Think_Like_an_Artist_(2015)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:00" }, { "id": "92b6d3ef-9b44-45b0-b412-8cb8afeb210e", "slug": "jesus-was-victorious", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/brennan-manning/the-ragamuffin-gospel/jesus-was-victorious", "text": "Jesus was victorious not because he never flinched, talked back, or questioned, but having flinched, talked back, and questioned, he remained faithful.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Brennan Manning", "slug": "brennan-manning", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/brennan-manning" }, "book": { "title": "The Ragamuffin Gospel", "slug": "the-ragamuffin-gospel", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/brennan-manning/the-ragamuffin-gospel" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 168, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "faith", "slug": "faith", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/faith" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" }, { "name": "fidelity", "slug": "fidelity", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/fidelity" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Brennan_Manning#The_Ragamuffin_Gospel_(1990)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:30" }, { "id": "46caa398-d864-4cf3-82ac-230298541a2f", "slug": "what-is-my-individuality", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/walter-tevis/mockingbird/what-is-my-individuality", "text": "What is my Individuality good for, anyway? And is it truly holy, or was I only taught that because the robots who taught me were programmed by someone, once, to say it?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Walter Tevis", "slug": "walter-tevis", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/walter-tevis" }, "book": { "title": "Mockingbird", "slug": "mockingbird", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/walter-tevis/mockingbird" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 145, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" }, { "name": "individualism", "slug": "individualism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/individualism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walter_Tevis#Mockingbird_(1980)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:26" }, { "id": "82f94e80-6c06-4d58-96f5-c2ac6dc48cb4", "slug": "the-more-significant", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/marilyn-ferguson/the-aquarian-conspiracy/the-more-significant", "text": "The more significant the question, the less likely there will be an unequivocal answer.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Marilyn Ferguson", "slug": "marilyn-ferguson", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/marilyn-ferguson" }, "book": { "title": "The Aquarian Conspiracy", "slug": "the-aquarian-conspiracy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/marilyn-ferguson/the-aquarian-conspiracy" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Marilyn_Ferguson#Chapter_Four,_People_Changing", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:21" }, { "id": "b39c450f-82fc-4548-b135-94948b7f759e", "slug": "ive-grown-out", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emma-newman/after-atlas/ive-grown-out", "text": "I’ve grown out of seeking emotional self-destruction. But even now the doubts are slithering in, making me question whether the hellish foundation my life is built on genuinely equates to coping.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Emma Newman", "slug": "emma-newman", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emma-newman" }, "book": { "title": "After Atlas", "slug": "after-atlas", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emma-newman/after-atlas" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 27, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Emma_Newman#After_Atlas_(2016)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:17" }, { "id": "ba706237-f43e-47ee-b677-3f62811b8dff", "slug": "im-arguing-with", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/keith-laumer/a-trace-of-memory/im-arguing-with", "text": "I’m arguing with myself and I can’t tell who’s winning.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Keith Laumer", "slug": "keith-laumer", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/keith-laumer" }, "book": { "title": "A Trace of Memory", "slug": "a-trace-of-memory", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/keith-laumer/a-trace-of-memory" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 49, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Keith_Laumer#A_Trace_of_Memory_(1963)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:07" }, { "id": "60f7211c-ea42-4c89-bd21-97da714d07d2", "slug": "i-wished-that", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/fredric-brown/the-lights-in-the-sky-are-stars/i-wished-that", "text": "I wished that I could pray. Then I did pray, “God, I don’t believe that you exist, and I believe that if you do exist you’re an impersonal entity and that if you notice the fall of sparrows you don’t do anything about it, on request or otherwise, but if I’m wrong, I’m sorry. And in case I’m wrong I pray to you that...”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Fredric Brown", "slug": "fredric-brown", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/fredric-brown" }, "book": { "title": "The Lights in the Sky are Stars", "slug": "the-lights-in-the-sky-are-stars", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/fredric-brown/the-lights-in-the-sky-are-stars" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 211, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "god", "slug": "god", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/god" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" }, { "name": "prayer", "slug": "prayer", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/prayer" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Fredric_Brown#The_Lights_in_the_Sky_Are_Stars_(1953)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:05" }, { "id": "fc25aa0f-5a9a-482d-86c0-8b4571c357b2", "slug": "having-been-involved", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-allen-paulos/a-mathematician-reads-the-newspaper/having-been-involved", "text": "Having been involved in a couple of lawsuits as an expert probability witness and having observed that a prudent skepticism is often less prized than an indefensible certainty, I turned down preliminary requests from both sides to testify.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Allen Paulos", "slug": "john-allen-paulos", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-allen-paulos" }, "book": { "title": "A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper", "slug": "a-mathematician-reads-the-newspaper", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-allen-paulos/a-mathematician-reads-the-newspaper" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 45, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" }, { "name": "skepticism", "slug": "skepticism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/skepticism" }, { "name": "courts", "slug": "courts", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/courts" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Allen_Paulos#A_Mathematician_Reads_the_Newspaper_(1995)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:01:59" }, { "id": "ca3305bf-9889-4eed-b906-2cd4be8336a2", "slug": "always-be-smart", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-allen-paulos/a-mathematician-reads-the-newspaper/always-be-smart", "text": "Always be smart; seldom be certain.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Allen Paulos", "slug": "john-allen-paulos", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-allen-paulos" }, "book": { "title": "A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper", "slug": "a-mathematician-reads-the-newspaper", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-allen-paulos/a-mathematician-reads-the-newspaper" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 201, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "wisdom", "slug": "wisdom", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/wisdom" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Allen_Paulos#A_Mathematician_Reads_the_Newspaper_(1995)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:01:59" }, { "id": "ee25dcad-14ba-4210-96b7-16b10b645a2d", "slug": "it-is-a-great", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/m-k-hobson/the-hidden-goddess/it-is-a-great", "text": "“It is a great weakness of credomancers, Miss Edwards. They often believe their own press.” ”You’re a credomancer, too,” Emily said. “I’m also a woman. Failure, struggle, and doubt are my constant companions. They are not always pleasant, but they inoculate me against overconfidence. As such, I would not trade them for all the arrogant bravado in the world.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "M. K. Hobson", "slug": "m-k-hobson", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/m-k-hobson" }, "book": { "title": "The Hidden Goddess", "slug": "the-hidden-goddess", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/m-k-hobson/the-hidden-goddess" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 282, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" }, { "name": "self-confidence", "slug": "self-confidence", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-confidence" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/M._K._Hobson#The_Hidden_Goddess_(2011)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:01:21" }, { "id": "2e0a826f-3a1f-4568-9174-368e4558c513", "slug": "ever-wonder-if-youve", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/karen-lord/the-best-of-all-possible-worlds/ever-wonder-if-youve", "text": "“Ever wonder if you’ve done the right thing?” I asked him finally. “Frequently,” he replied. “Legalities notwithstanding, to not wonder indicates a dangerous lack of awareness of the nearly infinite array of choices presented by life.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Karen Lord", "slug": "karen-lord", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/karen-lord" }, "book": { "title": "The Best of All Possible Worlds", "slug": "the-best-of-all-possible-worlds", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/karen-lord/the-best-of-all-possible-worlds" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 176, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "choices", "slug": "choices", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/choices" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Karen_Lord#The_Best_of_All_Possible_Worlds_(2013)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:01:09" }, { "id": "2c8e050d-e99a-417d-b4fd-1abe0ea84527", "slug": "we-dont-have", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/terminal-world/we-dont-have", "text": "“We don’t have enough evidence to decide either way,” Ricasso said, “so for now we may as well keep open minds.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Alastair Reynolds", "slug": "alastair-reynolds", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds" }, "book": { "title": "Terminal World", "slug": "terminal-world", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/terminal-world" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 405, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" }, { "name": "skepticism", "slug": "skepticism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/skepticism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alastair_Reynolds#Terminal_World_(2010)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:00:41" }, { "id": "a3398464-849d-4e94-a4a2-7981b4c79e9e", "slug": "she-would-worry", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/redemption-ark/she-would-worry", "text": "She would worry, just as you worry. It’s the people who don’t worry—those who never have any doubts that what they’re doing is good and right—they’re the ones that cause the problems.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Alastair Reynolds", "slug": "alastair-reynolds", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds" }, "book": { "title": "Redemption Ark", "slug": "redemption-ark", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/redemption-ark" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 628, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "fanaticism", "slug": "fanaticism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/fanaticism" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alastair_Reynolds#Redemption_Ark_(2002)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:00:38" }, { "id": "f62f07ea-c023-4888-a0d9-129b6d5cfacb", "slug": "somewhere-in-me-was", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/tanith-lee/drinking-sapphire-wine/somewhere-in-me-was", "text": "Somewhere in me was a rod of steel to which I clung. I’d had a vision, as good as any vision given to any poet, sage, or prophet in the past. I wasn’t elated, I wasn’t confident even, but somehow, I knew, and with the end of doubt had come the death of despair.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Tanith Lee", "slug": "tanith-lee", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/tanith-lee" }, "book": { "title": "Drinking Sapphire Wine", "slug": "drinking-sapphire-wine", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/tanith-lee/drinking-sapphire-wine" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 57, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "hope", "slug": "hope", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/hope" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tanith_Lee#Drinking_Sapphire_Wine_(1977)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:00:19" }, { "id": "e265f098-c812-4754-bf67-61e44af5dbdc", "slug": "modesty-has-moved", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/g-chesterton/orthodoxy/modesty-has-moved", "text": "Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition. Modesty has settled upon the organ of conviction; where it was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed. Nowadays the part of a man that a man does assert is exactly the part he ought not to assert—himself. The part he doubts is exactly the part he ought not to doubt—the Divine Reason.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "G. Chesterton", "slug": "g-chesterton", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/g-chesterton" }, "book": { "title": "Orthodoxy", "slug": "orthodoxy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/g-chesterton/orthodoxy" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humility", "slug": "humility", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humility" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Orthodoxy_(book)#Chapter_III._%22The_Suicide_of_Thought%22", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:00:12" }, { "id": "f513ffb5-9b27-45c0-b626-8687c074ec0d", "slug": "love-is-also", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/laurie-lee/i-cant-stay-long/love-is-also", "text": "Love is also disquiet, the brooding pleasures of doubt, midnights wasted by speculation, the frantic dance round the significance of the last thing she said, the need to see her to have life confirmed.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Laurie Lee", "slug": "laurie-lee", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/laurie-lee" }, "book": { "title": "I Can't Stay Long", "slug": "i-cant-stay-long", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/laurie-lee/i-cant-stay-long" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 57, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "love", "slug": "love", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/love" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Laurie_Lee#I_Can't_Stay_Long_(1975)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:59:57" }, { "id": "3a0bfa0b-98a7-45eb-9482-915c9c05a719", "slug": "we-have-an-incapacity", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/blaise-pascal/pensees/we-have-an-incapacity", "text": "We have an incapacity of proof, insurmountable by all dogmatism. We have an idea of truth, invincible to all skepticism.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Blaise Pascal", "slug": "blaise-pascal", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/blaise-pascal" }, "book": { "title": "Pensees", "slug": "pensees", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/blaise-pascal/pensees" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "truth", "slug": "truth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/truth" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Pens%C3%A9es#Section_VI:_The_Philosophers_(339-424)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:59:50" }, { "id": "a15bc3d7-e93b-4173-936b-99bde194df2a", "slug": "this-is-what", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/blaise-pascal/pensees/this-is-what", "text": "This is what I see and what troubles me. I look on all sides, and I see only darkness everywhere. Nature presents to me nothing which is not matter of doubt and concern. If I saw nothing there which revealed a Divinity, I would come to a negative conclusion; if I saw everywhere the signs of a Creator, I would remain peacefully in faith. But, seeing too much to deny and too little to be sure, I am in a state to be pitied; wherefore I have a hundred times wished that if a God maintains nature, she should testify to Him unequivocally, and that, if the signs she gives are deceptive, she should suppress them altogether; that she should say everything or nothing, that I might see which cause I ought to follow. Whereas in my present state, ignorant of what I am or of what I ought to do, I know neither my condition nor my duty. My heart inclines wholly to know where is the true good, in order to follow it; nothing would be too dear to me for eternity.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Blaise Pascal", "slug": "blaise-pascal", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/blaise-pascal" }, "book": { "title": "Pensees", "slug": "pensees", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/blaise-pascal/pensees" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "faith", "slug": "faith", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/faith" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Pens%C3%A9es#Section_III:_On_the_Necessity_of_the_Wager_(184-241)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:59:48" }, { "id": "952c8f3e-a0c0-44b9-9401-ec3a6e88d71d", "slug": "it-is-a-great", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/blaise-pascal/pensees/it-is-a-great", "text": "...it is a great evil thus to be in doubt, but it is at least an indispensable duty to seek when we are in such doubt; and thus the doubter who does not seek is altogether completely unhappy and completely wrong. And if besides this he is easy and content, professes to be so, and indeed boasts of it; if it is this state itself which is the subject of his joy and vanity, I have no words to describe so silly a creature.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Blaise Pascal", "slug": "blaise-pascal", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/blaise-pascal" }, "book": { "title": "Pensees", "slug": "pensees", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/blaise-pascal/pensees" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Pens%C3%A9es#Section_III:_On_the_Necessity_of_the_Wager_(184-241)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:59:48" }, { "id": "51f1b21a-be3d-4267-b5dd-f30bdb35b2a6", "slug": "when-were-faced", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/brene-brown/atlas-of-the-heart/when-were-faced", "text": "When we’re faced with information that challenges what we believe, our first instinct is to make the discomfort, irritation, and vulnerability go away by resolving the dissonance. We might do this by rejecting the new information, decreasing its importance, or avoiding it altogether. “The greater the magnitude of the dissonance, the greater is the pressure to reduce dissonance.” In these challenging moments of dissonance, we need to stay curious and resist choosing comfort over courage. It’s brave to invite new information to the table, to sit with it and hear it out.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Brené Brown", "slug": "brene-brown", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/brene-brown" }, "book": { "title": "Atlas of the Heart", "slug": "atlas-of-the-heart", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/brene-brown/atlas-of-the-heart" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bren%C3%A9_Brown#Atlas_of_the_Heart:_Mapping_Meaningful_Connection_and_the_Language_of_Human_Experience_(2021)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:59:00" }, { "id": "f3be580c-396c-4852-b11d-e00fb42efe41", "slug": "jon-snow-had", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-rr-martin/a-dance-with-dragons/jon-snow-had", "text": "Jon Snow had dreamed of leading men to glory just as King Daeron had, of growing up to be a conqueror. Now he was a man grown and the Wall was his, yet all he had were doubts. He could not even seem to conquer those.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George RR Martin", "slug": "george-rr-martin", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-rr-martin" }, "book": { "title": "A Dance with Dragons", "slug": "a-dance-with-dragons", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-rr-martin/a-dance-with-dragons" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "dreams and aspirations", "slug": "dreams-and-aspirations", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/dreams-and-aspirations" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/A_Song_of_Ice_and_Fire#A_Dance_with_Dragons_(2011)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:55" }, { "id": "11bc2846-9756-4472-a7eb-c0529a92c0bc", "slug": "ah-lord-if-i-doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-mcdevitt/the-hercules-text/ah-lord-if-i-doubt", "text": "Ah, Lord, if I doubt You, it is perhaps because You hide Yourself so well.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jack Mcdevitt", "slug": "jack-mcdevitt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-mcdevitt" }, "book": { "title": "The Hercules Text", "slug": "the-hercules-text", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-mcdevitt/the-hercules-text" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 63, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "faith", "slug": "faith", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/faith" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jack_McDevitt#The_Hercules_Text_(1986)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:57" }, { "id": "5d9c3503-a044-43ad-a2ff-b05ff2f17c2f", "slug": "what-about-it-meta", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-harrison/deathworld/what-about-it-meta", "text": "\"What about it, Meta?\" he snapped. \"No doubts? Do you think that destruction is the only way to end this war?\" \"I don't know,\" she said. \"I can't be sure. For the first time in my life I find myself with more than one answer to the same question.\" \"Congratulations,\" he said. \"It's a sign of growing up.\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Harry Harrison", "slug": "harry-harrison", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-harrison" }, "book": { "title": "Deathworld", "slug": "deathworld", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-harrison/deathworld" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 113, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" }, { "name": "growing up", "slug": "growing-up", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/growing-up" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Harrison_(writer)#Deathworld_(1960)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:31" }, { "id": "74b44bcc-f7b0-4302-8df2-11dce992b7d4", "slug": "most-of-all", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-danforth/faith-and-politics/most-of-all", "text": "Most of all, faith brings recognition that our quest never leads us to certainty. We are always uncertain, always in doubt that our way is God's way. That self-doubt makes it possible to be reconciled to one another. It is faith that makes the reconciling work of politics possible.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Danforth", "slug": "john-danforth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-danforth" }, "book": { "title": "Faith and Politics", "slug": "faith-and-politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-danforth/faith-and-politics" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 53, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "faith", "slug": "faith", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/faith" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Danforth#Faith_and_Politics_(2006)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:22" }, { "id": "259ca8d0-a1a9-4d92-8d7d-5223e386f4fa", "slug": "i-always-thought", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/cassandra-clare/city-of-heavenly-fire/i-always-thought", "text": "\"I always thought being a Shadowhunter meant that I had to approve of what the Clave did. I thought otherwise I wasn't loyal. I made excuses for them. I always have. But I feel like whenever we have to fight, we're fighting a war on two fronts. We fight the enemy and we fight the Clave, too. I don't--I just don't know how I feel anymore.\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Cassandra Clare", "slug": "cassandra-clare", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/cassandra-clare" }, "book": { "title": "City of Heavenly Fire", "slug": "city-of-heavenly-fire", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/cassandra-clare/city-of-heavenly-fire" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" }, { "name": "loyalty", "slug": "loyalty", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/loyalty" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cassandra_Clare#City_of_Heavenly_Fire_(2014)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:03" }, { "id": "46bc95f3-8ad3-481c-8541-9ed3c2c680ac", "slug": "does-it-make", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/darrell-huff/how-to-lie-with-statistics/does-it-make", "text": "\"Does it make sense?\" will often cut a statistic down to size when the whole rigmarole is based on an unproven assumption.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Darrell Huff", "slug": "darrell-huff", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/darrell-huff" }, "book": { "title": "How to Lie with Statistics", "slug": "how-to-lie-with-statistics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/darrell-huff/how-to-lie-with-statistics" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/How_to_Lie_with_Statistics#Chapter_10:_How_to_Talk_Back_to_a_Statistic", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:55:59" }, { "id": "f235694b-2be0-46b1-9427-b3ef29ca105f", "slug": "even-if-you", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/darrell-huff/how-to-lie-with-statistics/even-if-you", "text": "Even if you can't find a source of demonstrable bias, allow yourself some degree of skepticism about the results as long as there is a possibility of bias somewhere. There always is.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Darrell Huff", "slug": "darrell-huff", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/darrell-huff" }, "book": { "title": "How to Lie with Statistics", "slug": "how-to-lie-with-statistics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/darrell-huff/how-to-lie-with-statistics" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/How_to_Lie_with_Statistics#Chapter_1:_The_Sample_With_the_Built-in_Bias", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:55:58" }, { "id": "88391b1e-8ff2-4845-bda2-93db3f67604e", "slug": "the-adolescent-years", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hg-wells/in-the-days-of-the-comet/the-adolescent-years", "text": "The adolescent years of any fairly intelligent youth lie open, and will always lie healthily open, to the contagion of philosophical doubts, or scorns and new ideas, and I will confess I had the fever of that phase badly. Doubt, I say, but it was not so much doubt — which is a complex thing — as startled emphatic denial. \"Have I believed this!\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "H.G. Wells", "slug": "hg-wells", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hg-wells" }, "book": { "title": "In the Days of the Comet", "slug": "in-the-days-of-the-comet", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hg-wells/in-the-days-of-the-comet" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "youth", "slug": "youth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/youth" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/In_the_Days_of_the_Comet#Dust_in_the_Shadows", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:55:53" }, { "id": "595adf23-ae05-4475-a72b-c399383aeee9", "slug": "i-dont-know", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/byron-katie/loving-what-is/i-dont-know", "text": "“I don’t know” is my favorite position.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Byron Katie", "slug": "byron-katie", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/byron-katie" }, "book": { "title": "Loving What Is", "slug": "loving-what-is", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/byron-katie/loving-what-is" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Byron_Katie#Loving_What_Is:_Four_Questions_That_Can_Change_Your_Life_(2002)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:55:44" }, { "id": "bd95d696-b8dc-45bc-9690-442ea72b0c90", "slug": "but-id-have", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/neal-stephenson/the-system-of-the-world/but-id-have", "text": "\"But I'd have you know that my Stupidity and my Skepticism are two sides of the same coin, and are of a very particular kind, which is carefully thought out. ... The imbalance between the grand mysteries of the Universe as opposed to our own feeble faculties, leads us to set very modest expectations as to what we shall and shan't be able to understand--and makes us passing suspicious of anyone who propounds dogma or seems to phant'sy he has got it all figured out. \"Pray explain how it is that there may be such a thing as free will, and a spirit that may do as it pleases, unbound by the Mathematick laws of our Mechanical Philosophy.\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Neal Stephenson", "slug": "neal-stephenson", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/neal-stephenson" }, "book": { "title": "The System Of The World", "slug": "the-system-of-the-world", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/neal-stephenson/the-system-of-the-world" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "knowledge", "slug": "knowledge", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/knowledge" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Baroque_Cycle#Book_Eight:_The_System_of_the_World", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:55:31" }, { "id": "3fd36d53-9bdc-496a-abf5-e72e3597e976", "slug": "it-is-not", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/neal-stephenson/quicksilver/it-is-not", "text": "\"It is not skepticism for its own sake, Father. Simply an awareness that we are prone to error, and that it is difficult to view anything impartially.\" \"That is fine when you are talking about comets.\" \"I'll not discuss religion, then. Good-bye, Father.\" \"God be with you, Daniel.\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Neal Stephenson", "slug": "neal-stephenson", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/neal-stephenson" }, "book": { "title": "Quicksilver", "slug": "quicksilver", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/neal-stephenson/quicksilver" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "mistakes", "slug": "mistakes", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/mistakes" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Baroque_Cycle#Book_One:_Quicksilver", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:55:31" }, { "id": "88603833-fe6a-4f73-a7a6-0d52920dd94c", "slug": "religions-do-not", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gregory-benford/timescape/religions-do-not", "text": "Religions do not teach doubt.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Gregory Benford", "slug": "gregory-benford", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gregory-benford" }, "book": { "title": "Timescape", "slug": "timescape", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gregory-benford/timescape" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 322, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "religion", "slug": "religion", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/religion" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gregory_Benford#Timescape_(1980)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:55:22" }, { "id": "9ed94be6-33a4-4766-a263-740f17d09927", "slug": "i-dont-know", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jon-krakauer/under-the-banner-of-heaven/i-dont-know", "text": "I don't know what God is, or what God had in mind when the universe was set in motion. In fact, I don't know if God even exists, although I confess that I sometimes find myself praying in times of great fear, or despair, or astonishment at a display of unexpected beauty. There are some ten thousand religious sects — each with its own cosmology, each with its own answer for the meaning of life and death. Most assert that the other 9,999 not only have it completely wrong but are instruments of evil, besides. None of the ten thousand has yet persuaded me to make the requisite leap of faith. In the absence of conviction, I've come to terms with the fact that uncertainty is an inescapable corollary of life. An abundance of mystery is simply part of the bargain — which doesn't strike me as something to lament. Accepting the essential inscrutability of existence, in any case, is surely preferable to its opposite: capitulating to the tyranny of intransigent belief. And if I remain in the dark about our purpose here, and the meaning of eternity, I have nevertheless arrived at an understanding of a few modest truths: Most of us fear death. Most of us yearn to comprehend how we got here, and why — which is to say, most of us ache to know the love of our creator. And we will no doubt feel that ache, most of us, for as long as we happen to be alive.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jon Krakauer", "slug": "jon-krakauer", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jon-krakauer" }, "book": { "title": "Under the Banner of Heaven", "slug": "under-the-banner-of-heaven", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jon-krakauer/under-the-banner-of-heaven" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "death", "slug": "death", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/death" }, { "name": "god", "slug": "god", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/god" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jon_Krakauer#Under_the_Banner_of_Heaven:_A_Story_of_Violent_Faith_(2003)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:52:28" }, { "id": "69619d51-b68f-4694-8fa0-9b7b970878a3", "slug": "to-choose-doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/yann-martel/life-of-pi/to-choose-doubt", "text": "To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Yann Martel", "slug": "yann-martel", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/yann-martel" }, "book": { "title": "Life Of Pi", "slug": "life-of-pi", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/yann-martel/life-of-pi" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 31, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "faith", "slug": "faith", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/faith" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Yann_Martel#Life_of_Pi_(2001)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:52:03" }, { "id": "19377634-e945-439a-8630-3b50aac52dd9", "slug": "god-done-made", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/american-empire-blood-and-iron/god-done-made", "text": "“God done made this happen. He kin make us come through it, too, so long as He take it in His mind He want to do dat.” “Amen,” Athenaeus said. Scipio made himself nod. He didn’t want to seem out of place—seeming out of place was one of his greatest fears, because it was deadly dangerous. But if God had really wanted to do something about this disaster, couldn’t He have stopped it in the first place?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Harry Turtledove", "slug": "harry-turtledove", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove" }, "book": { "title": "American Empire: Blood and Iron", "slug": "american-empire-blood-and-iron", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/american-empire-blood-and-iron" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 240, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "suffering", "slug": "suffering", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/suffering" }, { "name": "god", "slug": "god", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/god" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Turtledove#American_Empire:_The_Center_Cannot_Hold_(2002)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:51" }, { "id": "c90b9cb1-8ecb-40c2-9d0a-59236749e81b", "slug": "impasse-stuart-hated", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/how-few-remain/impasse-stuart-hated", "text": "Impasse. Stuart hated impasses. He hated ambiguity of any kind. The older he got, the more ambiguity he saw in the world. He hated that, too.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Harry Turtledove", "slug": "harry-turtledove", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove" }, "book": { "title": "How Few Remain", "slug": "how-few-remain", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/how-few-remain" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 446, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "old age", "slug": "old-age", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/old-age" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Turtledove#How_Few_Remain_(1997)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:47" }, { "id": "f11bd36d-dfd4-4d14-8851-ab72bec3792b", "slug": "whatever-the-intellectual", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/richard-hofstadter/anti-intellectualism-in-american-life/whatever-the-intellectual", "text": "Whatever the intellectual is too certain of, if he is healthily playful, he begins to find unsatisfactory. The meaning of his intellectual life lies not in the possession of truth but in the quest for new uncertainties.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Richard Hofstadter", "slug": "richard-hofstadter", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/richard-hofstadter" }, "book": { "title": "Anti-Intellectualism in American Life", "slug": "anti-intellectualism-in-american-life", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/richard-hofstadter/anti-intellectualism-in-american-life" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 30, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "truth", "slug": "truth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/truth" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Hofstadter#Anti-Intellectualism_in_American_Life_(1963)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:34" }, { "id": "eb4995ed-61ec-4e4e-97db-b29cc9115d78", "slug": "only-the-madman", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-shea/the-illuminatus-trilogy/only-the-madman", "text": "Only the madman is ever sure.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Robert Shea", "slug": "robert-shea", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-shea" }, "book": { "title": "The Illuminatus! Trilogy", "slug": "the-illuminatus-trilogy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-shea/the-illuminatus-trilogy" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "madness", "slug": "madness", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/madness" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" }, { "name": "self-confidence", "slug": "self-confidence", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-confidence" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Illuminatus!_Trilogy#Book_Two:_Zweitracht", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:33" }, { "id": "3e9c9cd5-148c-4290-b0a4-da4d51f516a4", "slug": "she-is-not", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/j-m-coetzee/elizabeth-costello/she-is-not", "text": "She is not sure, as she listens to her own voice, whether she believes any longer in what she is saying.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "J. M. Coetzee", "slug": "j-m-coetzee", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/j-m-coetzee" }, "book": { "title": "Elizabeth Costello", "slug": "elizabeth-costello", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/j-m-coetzee/elizabeth-costello" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "faith", "slug": "faith", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/faith" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/J._M._Coetzee#Elizabeth_Costello_(2003)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:32" }, { "id": "dd46ea93-4cc2-4076-988a-201007d2da9e", "slug": "lion-had-few", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper/marianne-the-magus-and-the-manticore/lion-had-few", "text": "Lion had few doubts about his actions. As he had said on more than one occasion, “I may be wrong, but I am never in doubt.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Sheri S. Tepper", "slug": "sheri-s-tepper", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper" }, "book": { "title": "Marianne, the Magus and the Manticore", "slug": "marianne-the-magus-and-the-manticore", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper/marianne-the-magus-and-the-manticore" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 162, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" }, { "name": "self-confidence", "slug": "self-confidence", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-confidence" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sheri_S._Tepper#Marianne,_the_Magus,_and_the_Manticore_(1985)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:20" }, { "id": "7f2b406d-c476-48e6-b70b-ffe696170197", "slug": "youre-right-to-be-skeptical-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-j-sawyer/flashforward/youre-right-to-be-skeptical-the", "text": "You’re right to be skeptical—the world would be a better place if we were all a little less credulous.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Robert J Sawyer", "slug": "robert-j-sawyer", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-j-sawyer" }, "book": { "title": "FlashForward", "slug": "flashforward", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-j-sawyer/flashforward" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 137, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_J._Sawyer#Flashforward_(1999)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:50:58" }, { "id": "7570d41a-58ec-4743-9ba8-36d8e8aac750", "slug": "the-symbol-of-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jacob-bronowski/the-ascent-of-man/the-symbol-of-the", "text": "The symbol of the University is the iron statue outside the Rathskeller of a barefoot goose girl that every student kisses at graduation. The University is a Mecca to which students come with something less than perfect faith. It is important that students bring a certain ragamuffin, barefoot irreverence to their studies; they are not here to worship what is known but to question it.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jacob Bronowski", "slug": "jacob-bronowski", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jacob-bronowski" }, "book": { "title": "The Ascent Of Man", "slug": "the-ascent-of-man", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jacob-bronowski/the-ascent-of-man" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "education", "slug": "education", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/education" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jacob_Bronowski#The_Ascent_of_Man_(1973)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:50:49" }, { "id": "87297eea-b69e-4560-a082-751cad84a8db", "slug": "the-progress-of-human", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/colin-wilson/the-mammoth-encyclopedia-of-the-unsolved/the-progress-of-human", "text": "The progress of human knowledge depends on maintaining that touch of scepticism even about the most \"unquestionable\" truths. A century ago, Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection was regarded as scientifically unshakeable; today, most biologists have their reservations about it. Fifty years ago, Freud's sexual theory of neurosis was accepted by most psychiatrists; today, it is widely recognized that his methods were highly questionable. At the turn of this century, a scientist who questioned Newton's theory of gravity would have been regarded as insane; twenty years later, it had been supplanted by Einstein's theory, although, significantly, few people actually understood it. It seems perfectly conceivable that our descendants of the twenty-second century will wonder how any of us could have been stupid enough to have been taken in by Darwin, Freud or Einstein.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Colin Wilson", "slug": "colin-wilson", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/colin-wilson" }, "book": { "title": "The Mammoth Encyclopedia of the Unsolved", "slug": "the-mammoth-encyclopedia-of-the-unsolved", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/colin-wilson/the-mammoth-encyclopedia-of-the-unsolved" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 4, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "science", "slug": "science", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/science" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Colin_Wilson#The_Mammoth_Encyclopedia_of_the_Unsolved_(2000)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:50:23" }, { "id": "8da89ff8-7979-47b4-bf5d-618c005cf7ca", "slug": "people-are-riddled", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/terry-pratchett/witches-abroad/people-are-riddled", "text": "People are riddled by Doubt. It is the engine that drives them through their lives. It is the elastic band in the little model airplane of their soul, and they spend their time winding it up until it knots. Early morning is the worst time—there's that little moment of panic in case You have drifted away in the night and something else has moved in. This never happened to Granny Weatherwax. She went straight from fast asleep to instant operation on all six cylinders. She never needed to find herself because she always knew who was doing the looking. (p. 93)", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Terry Pratchett", "slug": "terry-pratchett", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/terry-pratchett" }, "book": { "title": "Witches Abroad", "slug": "witches-abroad", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/terry-pratchett/witches-abroad" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" }, { "name": "self-confidence", "slug": "self-confidence", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-confidence" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Witches_Abroad#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:49:57" }, { "id": "51dea051-1ef9-49f5-a43d-e5571ec42229", "slug": "self-doubt-is-part", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/stephen-baxter/raft/self-doubt-is-part", "text": "Self-doubt is part of being human...but the main thing is to get on with the business of survival.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Stephen Baxter", "slug": "stephen-baxter", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/stephen-baxter" }, "book": { "title": "Raft", "slug": "raft", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/stephen-baxter/raft" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 158, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" }, { "name": "survival", "slug": "survival", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/survival" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stephen_Baxter#Raft_(1991)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:49:23" }, { "id": "d4da2d78-a480-4cc1-aff3-0ee2a3cd99d7", "slug": "doubt-lady-is-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/roger-zelazny/lord-of-light/doubt-lady-is-the", "text": "Doubt, Lady, is the chastity of the mind, and I bear its seal upon my own.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Roger Zelazny", "slug": "roger-zelazny", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/roger-zelazny" }, "book": { "title": "Lord of Light", "slug": "lord-of-light", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/roger-zelazny/lord-of-light" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 181, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lord_of_Light#FIVE", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:49:10" }, { "id": "843ec2b1-e5fe-4691-a2e8-57bdef79ce07", "slug": "a-time-is-marked", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/lawrence-lessig/the-future-of-ideas/a-time-is-marked", "text": "A time is marked not so much by ideas that are argued about as by ideas that are taken for granted. The character of an era hangs upon what needs no defense. Power runs with ideas that only the crazy would draw into doubt. The \"taken for granted\" is the test of sanity; \"what everyone knows\" is the line between us and them. This means that sometimes a society gets stuck. Sometimes these unquestioned ideas interfere, as the cost of questioning becomes too great. In these times, the hardest task for social or political activists is to find a way to get people to wonder again about what we all believe is true. The challenge is to sow doubt.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Lawrence Lessig", "slug": "lawrence-lessig", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/lawrence-lessig" }, "book": { "title": "The Future of Ideas", "slug": "the-future-of-ideas", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/lawrence-lessig/the-future-of-ideas" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" }, { "name": "beliefs", "slug": "beliefs", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/beliefs" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lawrence_Lessig#The_Future_of_Ideas_(2001)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:25" }, { "id": "dd911a3f-350d-4f9f-b6ff-60f69619e9e0", "slug": "political-commitment-isnt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/samuel-r-delany/triton/political-commitment-isnt", "text": "Political commitment isn’t a perimeter, Sam; it’s a parameter. Don’t you ever wonder? Don’t you ever doubt?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Samuel R. Delany", "slug": "samuel-r-delany", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/samuel-r-delany" }, "book": { "title": "Triton", "slug": "triton", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/samuel-r-delany/triton" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 140, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "politics", "slug": "politics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/politics" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Samuel_R._Delany#Triton_(1976)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:19" }, { "id": "35f74e94-a227-42e6-9c98-702f96ab52f1", "slug": "i-have-learned", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jane-jacobs/dark-age-ahead/i-have-learned", "text": "I have learned yet again (this has been going on all my life) what folly it is to take any thing for granted without examining it skeptically.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jane Jacobs", "slug": "jane-jacobs", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jane-jacobs" }, "book": { "title": "Dark Age Ahead", "slug": "dark-age-ahead", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jane-jacobs/dark-age-ahead" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jane_Jacobs#Dark_Age_Ahead_(2004)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:47:49" }, { "id": "19f84acd-4052-4110-8117-e7f047517e52", "slug": "when-have-you", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/orson-scott-card/xenocide/when-have-you", "text": "When have you ever seen someone who had no doubts who was also correct about anything?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Orson Scott Card", "slug": "orson-scott-card", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/orson-scott-card" }, "book": { "title": "Xenocide", "slug": "xenocide", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/orson-scott-card/xenocide" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" }, { "name": "self-confidence", "slug": "self-confidence", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-confidence" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Xenocide#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:47:44" }, { "id": "091b5b12-8bf2-46a2-aa52-7f40c5a4a32c", "slug": "this-is-how", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/orson-scott-card/speaker-for-the-dead/this-is-how", "text": "This is how humans are: We question all our beliefs, except for the ones that we really believe in, and those we never think to question.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Orson Scott Card", "slug": "orson-scott-card", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/orson-scott-card" }, "book": { "title": "Speaker for the Dead", "slug": "speaker-for-the-dead", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/orson-scott-card/speaker-for-the-dead" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" }, { "name": "beliefs", "slug": "beliefs", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/beliefs" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Speaker_for_the_Dead#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:47:43" }, { "id": "62ea5c3f-5709-43f0-8433-412495f23617", "slug": "what-do-we-know", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-abbey/the-monkey-wrench-gang/what-do-we-know", "text": "“What do we know? What do we really know? He licks his dried cracked lips. We know this apodictic rock beneath our feet. That dogmatic sun above our heads. The world of dreams, the agony of love and the foreknowledge of death. That is all we know. And all we need to know? Challenge that statement. I challenge that statement. With what? I don't know.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edward Abbey", "slug": "edward-abbey", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-abbey" }, "book": { "title": "The Monkey Wrench Gang", "slug": "the-monkey-wrench-gang", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-abbey/the-monkey-wrench-gang" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 312, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "knowledge", "slug": "knowledge", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/knowledge" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edward_Abbey#The_Monkey_Wrench_Gang_(1975)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:47:31" }, { "id": "a8bd7572-521f-4899-91f6-fcfc9746b1f4", "slug": "only-the-most", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/aldo-leopold/a-sand-county-almanac/only-the-most", "text": "Only the most uncritical minds are free from doubt.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Aldo Leopold", "slug": "aldo-leopold", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/aldo-leopold" }, "book": { "title": "A Sand County Almanac", "slug": "a-sand-county-almanac", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/aldo-leopold/a-sand-county-almanac" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 165, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aldo_Leopold#%22Conservation_Esthetic%22", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:47:21" }, { "id": "addebe04-7822-4ca1-b831-77bdfd8af85a", "slug": "he-preached-to-himself", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sinclair-lewis/arrowsmith/he-preached-to-himself", "text": "He preached to himself, as Max Gottlieb had once preached to him, the loyalty of dissent, the faith of being very doubtful, the gospel of not bawling gospels, the wisdom of admitting the probable ignorance of one's self and of everybody else, and the energetic acceleration of a Movement for going very slow. ~ Ch 21", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Sinclair Lewis", "slug": "sinclair-lewis", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sinclair-lewis" }, "book": { "title": "Arrowsmith", "slug": "arrowsmith", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sinclair-lewis/arrowsmith" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sinclair_Lewis#Arrowsmith_(1925)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:46:01" }, { "id": "cd8b158f-f825-4b77-8f70-5cc326c8053b", "slug": "to-merge-his", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-joyce/a-portrait-of-the-artist-as-a-young-man/to-merge-his", "text": "To merge his life in the common tide of other lives was harder for him than any fasting or prayer, and it was his constant failure to do this to his own satisfaction which caused in his soul at last a sensation of spiritual dryness together with a growth of doubts and scruples.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "James Joyce", "slug": "james-joyce", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-joyce" }, "book": { "title": "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man", "slug": "a-portrait-of-the-artist-as-a-young-man", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-joyce/a-portrait-of-the-artist-as-a-young-man" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/A_Portrait_of_the_Artist_as_a_Young_Man#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:45:54" }, { "id": "31a11f80-f8a2-4a27-9dfc-5d95485ae602", "slug": "there-were-moments", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/pd-james/an-unsuitable-job-for-a-woman/there-were-moments", "text": "There were moments, usually on a sunny Easter morning, when she wished that she could with sincerity call herself a Christian; but for the rest of the year she knew herself to be what she was - incurably agnostic but prone to unpredictable relapses into faith.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "P.D. James", "slug": "pd-james", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/pd-james" }, "book": { "title": "An Unsuitable Job for a Woman", "slug": "an-unsuitable-job-for-a-woman", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/pd-james/an-unsuitable-job-for-a-woman" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 177, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "faith", "slug": "faith", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/faith" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/P._D._James#An_Unsuitable_Job_for_a_Woman_(1972)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:45:41" }, { "id": "90ab1aec-c3a5-422f-82e6-098a7eabd3a6", "slug": "the-role-of-determination", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-von-clausewitz/on-war/the-role-of-determination", "text": "... the role of determination is to limit the agonies of doubt and the perils of hesitation when the motives for action are inadequate.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Carl von Clausewitz", "slug": "carl-von-clausewitz", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-von-clausewitz" }, "book": { "title": "On War", "slug": "on-war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-von-clausewitz/on-war" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "taking action", "slug": "taking-action", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/taking-action" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_von_Clausewitz#(no_chapter_info)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:45:37" }, { "id": "8b4bf4a4-bec9-4868-b576-f094849fc6c5", "slug": "i-frankly-doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/c-j-cherryh/downbelow-station/i-frankly-doubt", "text": "“I frankly doubt that.” “Ah. That is your privilege. But doubt doesn’t alter fact, sir.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "C. J. Cherryh", "slug": "c-j-cherryh", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/c-j-cherryh" }, "book": { "title": "Downbelow Station", "slug": "downbelow-station", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/c-j-cherryh/downbelow-station" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 124, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "truth", "slug": "truth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/truth" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/C._J._Cherryh#Downbelow_Station_(1981)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:06" }, { "id": "0ecbaed4-d973-41a8-88c9-7af32c519807", "slug": "probability-is-a-liberal", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/nassim-nicholas-taleb/the-black-swan/probability-is-a-liberal", "text": "Probability is a liberal art; it is a child of skepticism, not a tool for people with calculators on their belts to satisfy their desire to produce fancy calculations and certainties.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "slug": "nassim-nicholas-taleb", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/nassim-nicholas-taleb" }, "book": { "title": "The Black Swan", "slug": "the-black-swan", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/nassim-nicholas-taleb/the-black-swan" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 128, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nassim_Nicholas_Taleb#The_Black_Swan:_The_Impact_of_the_Highly_Improbable_(2007)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:42:31" }, { "id": "4cb07e98-6763-4b9d-b6a4-6a983698e0c6", "slug": "we-when-we-sow", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thomas-mann/the-magic-mountain/we-when-we-sow", "text": "We, when we sow the seeds of doubt deeper than the most up-to-date and modish free-thought has ever dreamed of doing, we well know what we are about. Only out of radical skepsis, out of moral chaos, can the Absolute spring, the anointed Terror of which the time has need.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Thomas Mann", "slug": "thomas-mann", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thomas-mann" }, "book": { "title": "The Magic Mountain", "slug": "the-magic-mountain", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thomas-mann/the-magic-mountain" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" }, { "name": "chaos", "slug": "chaos", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/chaos" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Mann#The_Magic_Mountain_(1924)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:42:17" }, { "id": "4ff31066-cbe4-4767-9907-7bbdfd0e3ecb", "slug": "is-dogmatic-or-scholastic", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/william-james/the-varieties-of-religious-experience/is-dogmatic-or-scholastic", "text": "Is dogmatic or scholastic theology less doubted in point of fact for claiming, as it does, to be in point of right undoubtable? And if not, what command over truth would this kind of theology really lose if, instead of absolute certainty, she only claimed reasonable probability for her conclusions? If we claim only reasonable probability, it will be as much as men who love the truth can ever at any given moment hope to have within their grasp. Pretty surely it will be more than we could have had, if we were unconscious of our liability to err.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "William James", "slug": "william-james", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/william-james" }, "book": { "title": "The Varieties of Religious Experience", "slug": "the-varieties-of-religious-experience", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/william-james/the-varieties-of-religious-experience" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "religion", "slug": "religion", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/religion" }, { "name": "truth", "slug": "truth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/truth" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_James#The_Varieties_of_Religious_Experience_(1902)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:42:15" }, { "id": "cee171c3-caf6-4532-8270-1733c33920ab", "slug": "i-believe-in-everything", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/orson-scott-card/earthborn/i-believe-in-everything", "text": "I believe in everything that seems true to me right now. I just refuse to be surprised when some of those things I believe in now turn out to be false later.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Orson Scott Card", "slug": "orson-scott-card", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/orson-scott-card" }, "book": { "title": "Earthborn", "slug": "earthborn", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/orson-scott-card/earthborn" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" }, { "name": "beliefs", "slug": "beliefs", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/beliefs" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Orson_Scott_Card#Earthborn_(1995)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:42:10" }, { "id": "c715201f-0da9-473d-876e-487d4319caf6", "slug": "if-i-wanted", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/orson-scott-card/the-call-of-earth/if-i-wanted", "text": "If I wanted to doubt then I could doubt endlessly. But at some point a person has to stop questioning and act, and at that point you have to trust something to be true. You have to act as if something is true, and so you choose the thing you have the most reason to believe in, you have to live in the world that you have the most hope in.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Orson Scott Card", "slug": "orson-scott-card", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/orson-scott-card" }, "book": { "title": "The Call Of Earth", "slug": "the-call-of-earth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/orson-scott-card/the-call-of-earth" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "hope", "slug": "hope", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/hope" }, { "name": "choices", "slug": "choices", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/choices" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Orson_Scott_Card#The_Call_Of_Earth_(1992)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:42:09" }, { "id": "3f4241f1-00eb-407c-92e4-f6a0f8c710f0", "slug": "for-where-is-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-locke/an-essay-concerning-human-understanding/for-where-is-the", "text": "For where is the man that has incontestable evidence of the truth of all that he holds, or of the falsehood of all he condemns; or can say that he has examined to the bottom all his own, or other men's opinions? The necessity of believing without knowledge, nay often upon very slight grounds, in this fleeting state of action and blindness we are in, should make us more busy and careful to inform ourselves than constrain others. At least, those who have not thoroughly examined to the bottom all their own tenets, must confess they are unfit to prescribe to others; and are unreasonable in imposing that as truth on other men's belief, which they themselves have not searched into, nor weighed the arguments of probability, on which they should receive or reject it. Those who have fairly and truly examined, and are thereby got past doubt in all the doctrines they profess and govern themselves by, would have a juster pretence to require others to follow them: but these are so few in number, and find so little reason to be magisterial in their opinions, that nothing insolent and imperious is to be expected from them: and there is reason to think, that, if men were better instructed themselves, they would be less imposing on others.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Locke", "slug": "john-locke", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-locke" }, "book": { "title": "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding", "slug": "an-essay-concerning-human-understanding", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-locke/an-essay-concerning-human-understanding" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" }, { "name": "beliefs", "slug": "beliefs", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/beliefs" }, { "name": "tolerance", "slug": "tolerance", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/tolerance" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Locke#An_Essay_Concerning_Human_Understanding_(1689)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:42:07" }, { "id": "107e91fe-8899-461d-8848-ad72765a4efd", "slug": "any-truth-is-better", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/arthur-conan-doyle/the-memoirs-of-sherlock-holmes/any-truth-is-better", "text": "Any truth is better than indefinite doubt.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Arthur Conan Doyle", "slug": "arthur-conan-doyle", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/arthur-conan-doyle" }, "book": { "title": "The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes", "slug": "the-memoirs-of-sherlock-holmes", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/arthur-conan-doyle/the-memoirs-of-sherlock-holmes" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 360, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "truth", "slug": "truth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/truth" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sherlock_Holmes#The_Yellow_Face", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:41:41" }, { "id": "7ee119ca-2477-4856-bb51-44f8e05371af", "slug": "the-devil-is-not", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/umberto-eco/the-name-of-the-rose/the-devil-is-not", "text": "The Devil is not the Prince of Matter; the Devil is the arrogance of the spirit, faith without smile, truth that is never seized by doubt. The Devil is grim because he knows where he is going, and, in moving, he always returns whence he came.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Umberto Eco", "slug": "umberto-eco", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/umberto-eco" }, "book": { "title": "The Name of the Rose", "slug": "the-name-of-the-rose", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/umberto-eco/the-name-of-the-rose" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "evil", "slug": "evil", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/evil" }, { "name": "fanaticism", "slug": "fanaticism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/fanaticism" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Umberto_Eco#The_Name_of_the_Rose_(1980)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:41:38" }, { "id": "38ec951c-6d42-4da2-87ab-3264e26be06a", "slug": "we-absolutely-must", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/richard-p-feynman/the-pleasure-of-finding-things-out/we-absolutely-must", "text": "We absolutely must leave room for doubt or there is no progress and no learning. There is no learning without having to pose a question. And a question requires doubt. People search for certainty. But there is no certainty. People are terrified — how can you live and not know? It is not odd at all. You only think you know, as a matter of fact. And most of your actions are based on incomplete knowledge and you really don't know what it is all about, or what the purpose of the world is, or know a great deal of other things. It is possible to live and not know.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Richard P. Feynman", "slug": "richard-p-feynman", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/richard-p-feynman" }, "book": { "title": "The Pleasure of Finding Things Out", "slug": "the-pleasure-of-finding-things-out", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/richard-p-feynman/the-pleasure-of-finding-things-out" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "knowledge", "slug": "knowledge", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/knowledge" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" }, { "name": "uncertainty", "slug": "uncertainty", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/uncertainty" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Feynman#The_Pleasure_of_Finding_Things_Out_(1999)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:41:01" }, { "id": "083e5ae3-77f2-4296-9db6-06919c93d891", "slug": "the-three-legs", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/frank-herbert/god-emperor-of-dune/the-three-legs", "text": "The three legs of the agreement-tripod are desire, data and doubt. Accuracy and honesty have nothing to do with it. ... Desire brings the participants together. Data sets the limits of their dialogue. Doubt frames their questions.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Frank Herbert", "slug": "frank-herbert", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/frank-herbert" }, "book": { "title": "God Emperor of Dune", "slug": "god-emperor-of-dune", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/frank-herbert/god-emperor-of-dune" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" }, { "name": "compromise", "slug": "compromise", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/compromise" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dune#God_Emperor_of_Dune_(1981)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:40:53" }, { "id": "b22d3990-087d-470d-999d-57529dbd4ac0", "slug": "oh-grassy-glades", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/herman-melville/moby-dick/oh-grassy-glades", "text": "Oh, grassy glades! oh, ever vernal endless landscapes in the soul; in ye,—though long parched by the dead drought of the earthy life—in ye, men yet may roll, like young horses in new morning clover; and for some few fleeting moments, feel the cool dew of the life immortal on them. Would to God these blessed calms would last. But the mingled, mingling threads of life are woven by warp and woof: calms crossed by storms, a storm for every calm. There is no steady unretracing progress in this life; we do not advance through fixed gradations, and at the last one pause:—through infancy's unconscious spell, boyhood's thoughtless faith, adolescence' doubt (the common doom), then scepticism, then disbelief, resting at last in manhood's pondering repose of If. But once gone through, we trace the round again; and are infants, boys, and men, and Ifs eternally. Where lies the final harbor, whence we unmoor no more? In what rapt ether sails the world, of which the weariest will never weary? Where is the foundling's father hidden? Our souls are like those orphans whose unwedded mothers die in bearing them: the secret of our paternity lies in their grave, and we must there to learn it.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Herman Melville", "slug": "herman-melville", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/herman-melville" }, "book": { "title": "Moby-Dick", "slug": "moby-dick", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/herman-melville/moby-dick" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 545, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "life", "slug": "life", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/life" }, { "name": "soul", "slug": "soul", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/soul" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Moby-Dick#The_Gilder_(114)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:40:42" }, { "id": "fd1de479-ba4e-4050-97ff-1eb9eb774275", "slug": "and-so-through", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/herman-melville/moby-dick/and-so-through", "text": "And so, through all the thick mists of the dim doubts in my mind, divine intuitions now and then shoot, enkindling my fog with a heavenly ray. And for this I thank God; for all have doubts; many deny; but doubts or denials, few along with them, have intuitions. Doubts of all things earthly, and intuitions of some things heavenly; this combination makes neither believer nor infidel, but makes a man who regards them both with equal eye.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Herman Melville", "slug": "herman-melville", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/herman-melville" }, "book": { "title": "Moby-Dick", "slug": "moby-dick", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/herman-melville/moby-dick" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 416, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "faith", "slug": "faith", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/faith" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" }, { "name": "intuition", "slug": "intuition", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/intuition" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Moby-Dick#The_Fountain_(85)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:40:41" }, { "id": "70e83f8b-0d72-4585-9d25-725b232580e7", "slug": "but-faith-like", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/herman-melville/moby-dick/but-faith-like", "text": "But Faith, like a jackal, feeds among the tombs, and even from these dead doubts she gathers her most vital hope.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Herman Melville", "slug": "herman-melville", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/herman-melville" }, "book": { "title": "Moby-Dick", "slug": "moby-dick", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/herman-melville/moby-dick" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 40, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "faith", "slug": "faith", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/faith" }, { "name": "hope", "slug": "hope", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/hope" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Moby-Dick#The_Chapel_(7)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:40:40" }, { "id": "692471b0-c8fc-4a1f-968b-735cd4b5f994", "slug": "you-are-never", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-m-pirsig/zen-and-the-art-of-motorcycle-maintenance/you-are-never", "text": "You are never dedicated to something you have complete confidence in. No one is fanatically shouting that the sun is going to rise tomorrow. They know it's going to rise tomorrow. When people are fanatically dedicated to political or religious faiths or any other kinds of dogmas or goals, it's always because these dogmas or goals are in doubt.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Robert M. Pirsig", "slug": "robert-m-pirsig", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-m-pirsig" }, "book": { "title": "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance", "slug": "zen-and-the-art-of-motorcycle-maintenance", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-m-pirsig/zen-and-the-art-of-motorcycle-maintenance" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "fanaticism", "slug": "fanaticism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/fanaticism" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_M._Pirsig#Zen_and_the_Art_of_Motorcycle_Maintenance_(1974)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:40:33" }, { "id": "b0270322-7ed6-4e59-be3e-71a4041c7615", "slug": "the-mind-that", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emil-cioran/the-trouble-with-being-born/the-mind-that", "text": "The mind that puts everything in question, reaches, after a thousand interrogations, an almost total inertia, a situation which the inert, in fact, knows from the start, by instinct. For what is inertia but a congenital perplexity?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Emil Cioran", "slug": "emil-cioran", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emil-cioran" }, "book": { "title": "The Trouble With Being Born", "slug": "the-trouble-with-being-born", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/emil-cioran/the-trouble-with-being-born" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Emil_Cioran#The_Trouble_With_Being_Born_(1973)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:42" }, { "id": "5e3c145d-f8fc-45c3-a98b-e67afedbdba2", "slug": "i-was-in-that", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-jacques-rousseau/emile-or-on-education/i-was-in-that", "text": "I was in that state of doubt and uncertainty which Descartes considers essential to the search for truth. It is a state which cannot continue, it is disquieting and painful; only vicious tendencies and an idle heart can keep us in that state. My heart was not so corrupt as to delight in it, and there is nothing which so maintains the habit of thinking as being better pleased with oneself than with one's lot. I pondered, therefore, on the sad fate of mortals, adrift upon this sea of human opinions, without compass or rudder, and abandoned to their stormy passions with no guide but an inexperienced pilot who does not know whence he comes or whither he is going. I said to myself, \"I love truth, I seek her, and cannot find her. Show me truth and I will hold her fast; why does she hide her face from the eager heart that would fain worship her?\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jean Jacques Rousseau", "slug": "jean-jacques-rousseau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-jacques-rousseau" }, "book": { "title": "Emile; or On Education", "slug": "emile-or-on-education", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-jacques-rousseau/emile-or-on-education" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "truth", "slug": "truth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/truth" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Emile,_or_On_Education#The_Creed_of_the_Savoyard_Priest", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:36" }, { "id": "731d65db-799d-4ad7-8b6e-ecc32f8db619", "slug": "i-cannot-understand", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-jacques-rousseau/emile-or-on-education/i-cannot-understand", "text": "I cannot understand how any one can be a sceptic sincerely and on principle. Either such philosophers do not exist or they are the most miserable of men. Doubt with regard to what we ought to know is a condition too violent for the human mind; it cannot long be endured; in spite of itself the mind decides one way or another, and it prefers to be deceived rather than to believe nothing.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jean Jacques Rousseau", "slug": "jean-jacques-rousseau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-jacques-rousseau" }, "book": { "title": "Emile; or On Education", "slug": "emile-or-on-education", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-jacques-rousseau/emile-or-on-education" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Emile,_or_On_Education#Book_IV", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:35" }, { "id": "5e0c0255-9307-42f6-bd5e-432118d6b72c", "slug": "i-had-been", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-jacques-rousseau/emile-or-on-education/i-had-been", "text": "I had been brought up in a church which decides everything and permits no doubts, so that having rejected one article of faith I was forced to reject the rest; as I could not accept absurd decisions, I was deprived of those which were not absurd. When I was told to believe everything, I could believe nothing, and I knew not where to stop. I consulted the philosophers, I searched their books and examined their various theories; I found them all alike proud, assertive, dogmatic, professing, even in their so-called scepticism, to know everything, proving nothing, scoffing at each other. This last trait, which was common to all of them, struck me as the only point in which they were right. Braggarts in attack, they are weaklings in defence.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jean Jacques Rousseau", "slug": "jean-jacques-rousseau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-jacques-rousseau" }, "book": { "title": "Emile; or On Education", "slug": "emile-or-on-education", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-jacques-rousseau/emile-or-on-education" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "faith", "slug": "faith", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/faith" }, { "name": "philosophy", "slug": "philosophy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/philosophy" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Emile,_or_On_Education#Book_IV", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:33" }, { "id": "ffd6f078-c20f-4c85-a4dd-188409ca1e24", "slug": "self-doubt-which-is-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/william-somerset-maugham/the-moon-and-sixpence/self-doubt-which-is-the", "text": "Self-doubt, which is the artist's bitterest enemy.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "William Somerset Maugham", "slug": "william-somerset-maugham", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/william-somerset-maugham" }, "book": { "title": "The Moon And Sixpence", "slug": "the-moon-and-sixpence", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/william-somerset-maugham/the-moon-and-sixpence" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 153, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "art", "slug": "art", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/art" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/W._Somerset_Maugham#The_Moon_and_Sixpence_(1919)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:26" }, { "id": "778c0822-70fe-4abb-b8f7-ee9b0885b72d", "slug": "but-the-truth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/miguel-de-unamuno/tragic-sense-of-life/but-the-truth", "text": "But the truth is that my work — I was going to say my mission — is to shatter the faith of men here, there, and everywhere, faith in affirmation, faith in negation, and faith in abstention in faith, and this for the sake of faith in faith itself; it is to war against all those who submit, whether it be to Catholicism, or to rationalism, or to agnosticism; it is to make all men live the life of inquietude and passionate desire.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Miguel de Unamuno", "slug": "miguel-de-unamuno", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/miguel-de-unamuno" }, "book": { "title": "Tragic Sense of Life", "slug": "tragic-sense-of-life", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/miguel-de-unamuno/tragic-sense-of-life" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "faith", "slug": "faith", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/faith" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Miguel_de_Unamuno#Conclusion_:_Don_Quixote_in_the_Contemporary_European_Tragi-Comedy", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:23" }, { "id": "f90c6c78-744d-4cde-965d-2d5bcbe1c6d5", "slug": "in-the-most", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/miguel-de-unamuno/tragic-sense-of-life/in-the-most", "text": "In the most secret chamber of the spirit of him who believes himself convinced that death puts an end to his personal consciousness, his memory, for ever, and all unknown to him perhaps, there lurks a shadow, a vague shadow, a shadow of uncertainty, and while he says within himself, \"Well, let us live this life that passes away, for there is no other!\" the silence of this secret chamber speaks to him and murmurs, \"Who knows!... \" These voices are like the humming of a mosquito when the south-west wind roars through the trees in the wood; we cannot distinguish this faint humming, yet nevertheless, merged in the clamor of the storm, it reaches the ear.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Miguel de Unamuno", "slug": "miguel-de-unamuno", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/miguel-de-unamuno" }, "book": { "title": "Tragic Sense of Life", "slug": "tragic-sense-of-life", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/miguel-de-unamuno/tragic-sense-of-life" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "death", "slug": "death", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/death" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Miguel_de_Unamuno#VI_:_In_the_Depths_of_the_Abyss", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:21" }, { "id": "4ea31a72-3607-4ac2-9035-9e1f04a401f2", "slug": "there-may-be-a-rationalist", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/miguel-de-unamuno/tragic-sense-of-life/there-may-be-a-rationalist", "text": "There may be a rationalist who has never wavered in his conviction of the mortality of the soul, and there may be a vitalist who has never wavered in his faith in immortality; but at the most this would prove that just as there are natural monstrosities, so there are those who are stupid as regards heart and feeling, however great their intelligence, and those who are stupid intellectually, however great their virtue. But, in normal cases, I cannot believe those who assure me that never, not in a fleeting moment, not in the hours of direst loneliness and grief, has this murmur of uncertainty breathed upon their consciousness.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Miguel de Unamuno", "slug": "miguel-de-unamuno", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/miguel-de-unamuno" }, "book": { "title": "Tragic Sense of Life", "slug": "tragic-sense-of-life", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/miguel-de-unamuno/tragic-sense-of-life" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" }, { "name": "immortality", "slug": "immortality", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/immortality" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Miguel_de_Unamuno#VI_:_In_the_Depths_of_the_Abyss", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:21" }, { "id": "3dc0efa9-c793-47b5-90ed-2c3af8c3baa1", "slug": "la-verdadera-ciencia", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/miguel-de-unamuno/tragic-sense-of-life/la-verdadera-ciencia", "text": "La verdadera ciencia enseña, por encima de todo, a dudar y a ser ignorante. (True science teaches, above all, to doubt and be ignorant.)", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Miguel de Unamuno", "slug": "miguel-de-unamuno", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/miguel-de-unamuno" }, "book": { "title": "Tragic Sense of Life", "slug": "tragic-sense-of-life", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/miguel-de-unamuno/tragic-sense-of-life" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "science", "slug": "science", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/science" }, { "name": "ignorance", "slug": "ignorance", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/ignorance" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Miguel_de_Unamuno#V_:_The_Rationalist_Dissolution", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:21" }, { "id": "ac3ae5ed-b024-4900-bfc2-5e07247129ff", "slug": "you-really-only", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/maxims-and-reflections/you-really-only", "text": "You really only know when you know little. Doubt grows with knowledge.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Johann Wolfgang von Goethe", "slug": "johann-wolfgang-von-goethe", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe" }, "book": { "title": "Maxims and Reflections", "slug": "maxims-and-reflections", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/maxims-and-reflections" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "knowledge", "slug": "knowledge", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/knowledge" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Johann_Wolfgang_von_Goethe#Maxims_and_Reflections_(1833)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:18" }, { "id": "15f88120-9a05-4c8b-8e1b-5a4c95ab9b5c", "slug": "that-was-doublethink", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/nineteen-eighty-four/that-was-doublethink", "text": "That was doublethink. He had a feeling of deadly helplessness. If he could have been certain that O'Brien was lying, it would not have seemed to matter. But it was perfectly possible that O'Brien had really forgotten the photograph. And if so, then already he would have forgotten his denial of remembering it, and forgotten the act of forgetting. How could one be sure that it was simple trickery? Perhaps that lunatic dislocation in the mind could really happen: that was the thought that defeated him.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Nineteen Eighty-Four", "slug": "nineteen-eighty-four", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/nineteen-eighty-four" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "thinking", "slug": "thinking", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/thinking" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four#Chapter_2", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:15" }, { "id": "e5c83f6b-e31c-46a8-bdd1-7b6a4850fa8d", "slug": "he-wondered-as-he-had", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/nineteen-eighty-four/he-wondered-as-he-had", "text": "He wondered, as he had many times wondered before, whether he himself was a lunatic. Perhaps a lunatic was simply a minority of one. At one time it had been a sign of madness to believe that the earth goes round the sun; today, to believe that the past is unalterable. He might be ALONE in holding that belief, and if alone, then a lunatic. But the thought of being a lunatic did not greatly trouble him: the horror was that he might also be wrong.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Orwell", "slug": "george-orwell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell" }, "book": { "title": "Nineteen Eighty-Four", "slug": "nineteen-eighty-four", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-orwell/nineteen-eighty-four" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "madness", "slug": "madness", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/madness" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four#Chapter_7", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:13" }, { "id": "3c63a376-1763-42bc-8168-63d7d540176e", "slug": "alas-the-fearful", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thomas-carlyle/sartor-resartus/alas-the-fearful", "text": "Alas! the fearful Unbelief is unbelief in yourself.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Thomas Carlyle", "slug": "thomas-carlyle", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thomas-carlyle" }, "book": { "title": "Sartor Resartus", "slug": "sartor-resartus", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thomas-carlyle/sartor-resartus" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "faith", "slug": "faith", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/faith" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Carlyle#Sartor_Resartus_(1833%E2%80%931834)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:44" }, { "id": "bafb8cfd-888d-45d5-9910-0f0bec2d4b1c", "slug": "scepticism-is-not", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ludwig-wittgenstein/tractatus-logico-philosophicus/scepticism-is-not", "text": "Scepticism is not irrefutable, but obviously nonsensical, when it tries to raise doubts where no questions can be asked. For doubt can exist only where a question exists, a question only where an answer exists, and an answer only where something can be said.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ludwig Wittgenstein", "slug": "ludwig-wittgenstein", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ludwig-wittgenstein" }, "book": { "title": "Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus", "slug": "tractatus-logico-philosophicus", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ludwig-wittgenstein/tractatus-logico-philosophicus" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ludwig_Wittgenstein#Tractatus_Logico-Philosophicus_(1922)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:41" }, { "id": "e4aca7ea-2864-42f7-9a45-d4becc16d89d", "slug": "weve-looked-and", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-frost/new-hampshire/weve-looked-and", "text": "We've looked and looked, but after all where are we? Do we know any better where we are, And how it stands between the night tonight And a man with a smoky lantern chimney? How different from the way it ever stood?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Robert Frost", "slug": "robert-frost", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-frost" }, "book": { "title": "New Hampshire", "slug": "new-hampshire", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-frost/new-hampshire" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Frost#New_Hampshire_(1923)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:37" }, { "id": "cbda3810-6b4e-4c21-9262-339bb98154d5", "slug": "truths-turn-into", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/g-chesterton/heretics/truths-turn-into", "text": "Truths turn into dogmas the instant that they are disputed. Thus every man who utters a doubt defines a religion. And the scepticism of our time does not really destroy the beliefs, rather it creates them; gives them their limits and their plain and defiant shape. We who are Liberals once held Liberalism lightly as a truism. Now it has been disputed, and we hold it fiercely as a faith. We who believe in patriotism once thought patriotism to be reasonable, and thought little more about it. Now we know it to be unreasonable, and know it to be right. We who are Christians never knew the great philosophic common sense which inheres in that mystery until the anti-Christian writers pointed it out to us. The great march of mental destruction will go on. Everything will be denied. Everything will become a creed. It is a reasonable position to deny the stones in the street; it will be a religious dogma to assert them. It is a rational thesis that we are all in a dream; it will be a mystical sanity to say that we are all awake. Fires will be kindled to testify that two and two make four. Swords will be drawn to prove that leaves are green in summer. We shall be left defending, not only the incredible virtues and sanities of human life, but something more incredible still, this huge impossible universe which stares us in the face. We shall fight for visible prodigies as if they were invisible. We shall look on the impossible grass and the skies with a strange courage. We shall be of those who have seen and yet have believed.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "G. Chesterton", "slug": "g-chesterton", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/g-chesterton" }, "book": { "title": "Heretics", "slug": "heretics", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/g-chesterton/heretics" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "truth", "slug": "truth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/truth" }, { "name": "faith", "slug": "faith", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/faith" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Heretics_(book)#Chapter_XX:_%22Concluding_Remarks_on_the_Importance_of_Orthodoxy%22", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:35" }, { "id": "8dc1978f-01c5-4743-9a06-d5d050b09422", "slug": "the-world-would", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-stuart-mill/autobiography/the-world-would", "text": "The world would be astonished if it knew how great a proportion of its brightest ornaments—of those most distinguished even in popular estimation for wisdom and virtue—are complete sceptics in religion...", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Stuart Mill", "slug": "john-stuart-mill", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-stuart-mill" }, "book": { "title": "Autobiography", "slug": "autobiography", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-stuart-mill/autobiography" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 45, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "religion", "slug": "religion", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/religion" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Stuart_Mill#Ch._2:_Moral_Influences_in_Early_Youth._My_Father's_Character_and_Opinions.", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:31" }, { "id": "993e4029-4145-4d0a-a9da-77d8998a4cbf", "slug": "it-was-a-horrible", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/terry-pratchett/equal-rites/it-was-a-horrible", "text": "It was a horrible feeling to find things in your head and not know how they fitted.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Terry Pratchett", "slug": "terry-pratchett", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/terry-pratchett" }, "book": { "title": "Equal Rites", "slug": "equal-rites", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/terry-pratchett/equal-rites" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Equal_Rites#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:27" }, { "id": "1a5b3c03-0166-4898-b300-fde0997bae18", "slug": "now-the-plan", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov/foundation-and-earth/now-the-plan", "text": "Now the plan was threatend by something more serious than the Mule had ever been. It was to be diverted from a renewal of Empire to something utterly different from anything in history - Galaxia. And he himself had agreed to that. But why? Was there a flaw in the plan? a basic flaw? For one flashing moment, it seemed to Trevize that this flaw did indeed exist and that he knew what it was, that he had known what it was when he made his decision - but the knowledge...if that were what it was...vanished as fast as it came, and left him with nothing.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Isaac Asimov", "slug": "isaac-asimov", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov" }, "book": { "title": "Foundation and Earth", "slug": "foundation-and-earth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/isaac-asimov/foundation-and-earth" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 59, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov#Foundation_and_Earth_(1986)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:22" }, { "id": "dceda6c1-deea-4063-9489-cf4713531cce", "slug": "in-order-to-seek", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/rene-descartes/principles-of-philosophy/in-order-to-seek", "text": "In order to seek truth, it is necessary once in the course of our life, to doubt, as far as possible, of all things.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Rene Descartes", "slug": "rene-descartes", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/rene-descartes" }, "book": { "title": "Principles of Philosophy", "slug": "principles-of-philosophy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/rene-descartes/principles-of-philosophy" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "truth", "slug": "truth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/truth" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Descartes#Principles_of_Philosophy_(1644)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:09" }, { "id": "a2d76b40-8cda-4774-a5e8-2170017d6228", "slug": "moral-certainty-is-always", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken/minority-report/moral-certainty-is-always", "text": "Moral certainty is always a sign of cultural inferiority. The more uncivilized the man, the surer he is that he knows precisely what is right and what is wrong. All human progress, even in morals, has been the work of men who have doubted the current moral values, not of men who have whooped them up and tried to enforce them. The truly civilized man is always skeptical and tolerant, in this field as in all others. His culture is based on \"I am not too sure.\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "H.L. Mencken", "slug": "hl-mencken", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken" }, "book": { "title": "Minority Report", "slug": "minority-report", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken/minority-report" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "morality", "slug": "morality", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/morality" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._L._Mencken#Minority_Report_:_H.L._Mencken's_Notebooks_(1956)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:03" }, { "id": "f75916e1-6179-4e19-a59d-dbab2353df05", "slug": "we-are-here", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken/a-mencken-chrestomathy/we-are-here", "text": "We are here and it is now: further than that, all human knowledge is moonshine.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "H.L. Mencken", "slug": "hl-mencken", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken" }, "book": { "title": "A Mencken Chrestomathy", "slug": "a-mencken-chrestomathy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/hl-mencken/a-mencken-chrestomathy" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "knowledge", "slug": "knowledge", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/knowledge" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._L._Mencken#A_Mencken_Chrestomathy_(1949)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:38:01" }, { "id": "e98a1d56-b782-47fc-b92b-28124024ba71", "slug": "in-order-to-cease", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/albert-camus/the-fall/in-order-to-cease", "text": "In order to cease being a doubtful case, one has to cease being, that's all.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Albert Camus", "slug": "albert-camus", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/albert-camus" }, "book": { "title": "The Fall", "slug": "the-fall", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/albert-camus/the-fall" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" }, { "name": "existence", "slug": "existence", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/existence" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Camus#The_Fall_(1956)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:57" }, { "id": "ee3f349e-f37f-43a1-9e0c-dd1c025a763b", "slug": "i-have-always", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/clarence-darrow/the-story-of-my-life/i-have-always", "text": "I have always felt that doubt was the beginning of wisdom, and the fear of God was the end of wisdom.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Clarence Darrow", "slug": "clarence-darrow", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/clarence-darrow" }, "book": { "title": "The Story Of My Life", "slug": "the-story-of-my-life", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/clarence-darrow/the-story-of-my-life" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "wisdom", "slug": "wisdom", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/wisdom" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Clarence_Darrow#The_Story_of_My_Life_(1932)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:50" }, { "id": "46fd564a-8373-45e7-8c18-c60c7570b5c2", "slug": "the-two-ways", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/francis-bacon/the-advancement-of-learning/the-two-ways", "text": "The two ways of contemplation are not unlike the two ways of action commonly spoken of by the ancients: the one plain and smooth in the beginning, and in the end impassable; the other rough and troublesome in the entrance, but after a while fair and even. So it is in contemplation: If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts he shall end in certainties.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Francis Bacon", "slug": "francis-bacon", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/francis-bacon" }, "book": { "title": "The Advancement of Learning", "slug": "the-advancement-of-learning", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/francis-bacon/the-advancement-of-learning" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "knowledge", "slug": "knowledge", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/knowledge" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Francis_Bacon#The_Advancement_of_Learning_(1605)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:37:38" }, { "id": "339c377e-36fe-45e0-b810-da8629ca3556", "slug": "how-can-i-tell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/douglas-adams/the-salmon-of-doubt/how-can-i-tell", "text": "How can I tell,\" said the man, \"that the past isn't a fiction designed to account for the discrepancy between my immediate physical sensations and my state of mind?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Douglas Adams", "slug": "douglas-adams", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/douglas-adams" }, "book": { "title": "The Salmon of Doubt", "slug": "the-salmon-of-doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/douglas-adams/the-salmon-of-doubt" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "the past", "slug": "the-past", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/the-past" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Douglas_Adams#The_Salmon_of_Doubt_(2002)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:39" }, { "id": "0ffe94f9-ca8e-4d87-84a7-69e0cefc481a", "slug": "what-if-nothing", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/woody-allen/without-feathers/what-if-nothing", "text": "What if nothing exists and we're all in somebody's dream? Or what's worse, what if only that fat guy in the third row exists?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Woody Allen", "slug": "woody-allen", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/woody-allen" }, "book": { "title": "Without Feathers", "slug": "without-feathers", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/woody-allen/without-feathers" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "doubt", "slug": "doubt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/doubt" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Woody_Allen#Without_Feathers_(1975)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:32:39" } ] }