“ The danger to society is not merely that it should believe wrong things, though that is great enough; but that it should become credulous, and lose the habit of testing things and inquiring into them;… William Kingdon Clifford
“ Every time we let ourselves believe for unworthy reasons, we weaken our powers of self-control, of doubting, of judicially and fairly weighing evidence. We all suffer severely enough from the maintena… William Kingdon Clifford
“ A little reflection will show us that every belief, even the simplest and most fundamental, goes beyond experience when regarded as a guide to our actions. William Kingdon Clifford
“ If I steal money from any person, there may be no harm done from the mere transfer of possession; he may not feel the loss, or it may prevent him from using the money badly. But I cannot help doing th… William Kingdon Clifford
“ When an action is once done, it is right or wrong for ever no accidental failure of its good or evil fruits can possibly alter that. William Kingdon Clifford
“ In like manner, if I let myself believe anything on insufficient evidence, there may be no great harm done by the mere belief; it may be true after all, or I may never have occasion to exhibit it in o… William Kingdon Clifford
“ … scientific thought does not mean thought about scientific subjects with long names. There are no scientific subjects. The subject of science is the human universe; that is to say, everything that is… William Kingdon Clifford
“ Remember that [scientific thought] is the guide of action; that the truth which it arrives at is not that which we can ideally contemplate without error, but that which we may act upon without fear; a… William Kingdon Clifford
“ The aim of scientific thought, then, is to apply past experience to new circumstances; the instrument is an observed uniformity in the course of events. By the use of this instrument it gives us infor… William Kingdon Clifford
“ It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence. William Kingdon Clifford
