How is it possible to expect that mankind will take advice when they will not so much as take warning.
Jonathan SwiftRead
I remember it was with extreme difficulty that I could bring my master to understand the meaning of the word opinion, or how a point could be disputable; because reason taught us to affirm or deny only where we are certain; and beyond our knowledge we cannot do either.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the challenge of understanding differing opinions and the nature of certainty in knowledge.
Jonathan Swift reflects on the difficulty of conveying the concept of opinion and disputability to his master, emphasizing that reason dictates that we can only affirm or deny things we are certain of. This insight brings to light the limitations of knowledge and suggests that claims made without certainty can lead to conflicts in understanding and belief.
Themes
OpinionKnowledgeCertaintyReasonDisputability
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about differing perspectives, this quote can be used to highlight the importance of acknowledging the limits of our own understanding.
More from Jonathan Swift
All quotes →What vexes me most is, that my female friends, who could bear me very well a dozen years ago, have now forsaken me, although I am not so old in proportion to them as I formerly was: which I can prove by arithmetic, for then I was double their age, which now I am not. Letter to Alexander Pope. 7 Feb. 1736.
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Jonathan SwiftRead
I'm as old as my tongue and a little older than my teeth.
Jonathan SwiftRead
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