Nigel Warburton Quotes & Sayings
Enjoy the top 17 famous quotes, sayings and quotations by Nigel Warburton.
Famous Quotes By Nigel Warburton
Central to Mill's approach throughout On Liberty is his 'Harm Principle', the idea that individual adults should be free to do whatever they wish up to the point where they harm another person in the process. Mill's principle is apparently straightforward: the only justification for interference with someone's freedom to live their life as they choose is if they risk harming other people. — Nigel Warburton
Mill sets out several related arguments for protecting freedom of speech, not just from oppressive government intervention, but also from social pressures. Underlying them all are the assumptions that (a) truth is valuable, and (b) no matter how certain someone is that they know the truth, their judgement is still fallible: they might still be wrong. — Nigel Warburton
In 1755 one of the worst natural disasters of the eighteenth century occurred: the Lisbon earthquake that killed more than 20,000 people. This Portuguese city was devastated not just by the earthquake, but also by the tsunami that followed, and then by fires that raged for days. — Nigel Warburton
Preserving freedom of speech maximizes the chance of truth emerging from its collision with error and half-truth. — Nigel Warburton
The best way to eliminate all suffering in the world would be to eliminate all sentient life. If there were no living things capable of feeling pain, then there would be no pain. — Nigel Warburton
The best way to live, then, was this: have a very simple lifestyle, be kind to those around you, and surround yourself with friends. — Nigel Warburton
Anyone who silences someone else because they believe the other person's opinion is false assumes infallibility. They must be absolutely certain that they are correct on the matter. — Nigel Warburton
Philosophy is not a spectator sport. — Nigel Warburton
Kierkegaard was a Christian, though he hated the Danish Church and couldn't accept the way complacent Christians around him behaved. For him, religion was a heart-wrenching option, not a cosy excuse for a song in church. — Nigel Warburton
If we silence those who utter falsehoods, we run the risk of becoming dogmatic, of believing without understanding, or feeling passionate about the evidence supporting our beliefs. We also run the risk that such false beliefs will be given greater credence by the very fact that they are suppressed rather than openly refuted. — Nigel Warburton
Even if I believe my opinion to be true, and am highly confident about its truth, unless it is 'fully, frequently and fearlessly' discussed, I will end up holding it as a dead dogma, a formulaic and unthinking response. — Nigel Warburton
Marx's main interest was in economic relationships since in his view they shape everything that we are and can become. — Nigel Warburton
If the view is correct, then humanity misses the opportunity to exchange truth for error. If, however, the view is misguided, then we forfeit an opportunity to reinforce truth through its collision with error. Every opinion has value for us either because it is true, or else because, though false, it reinforces the truth and contributes to its emergence. — Nigel Warburton
Human knowledge progresses when people recognize that they may be wrong even on issues that seem certain to them. Wisdom involves openness to those who disagree with us. It is only when our ideas have been subjected to criticism and all objections considered - if necessary seeking these objections out - that we have any right to think of our judgement as better than another's. — Nigel Warburton
Users of slippery slope arguments should take skiing lessons - you really can choose to stop. — Nigel Warburton
If you only know your own side of a case, then your belief is likely to be inadequate. You need to be able to refute counter-arguments to your position otherwise you aren't justified in your belief even if it happens to be true. — Nigel Warburton