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Why do you keep maintaining your ideas are right if you can't prove them?
Jean-Paul Sartre
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote questions the validity of holding onto beliefs without evidence.

Jean-Paul Sartre challenges the notion of dogma, suggesting that one should not cling to their ideas as truths if there is no proof to substantiate them. It emphasizes the importance of critical thinking and the necessity of evidence in forming beliefs and opinions.

Themes

BeliefsEvidenceCritical ThinkingTruthPhilosophy

In practice

Example use cases

In a debate about climate change, one might use this quote to emphasize the need for scientific proof in discussions.

More from Jean-Paul Sartre

If a victory is told in detail, one can no longer distinguish it from a defeat.
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A kiss without a moustache, they said then, is like an egg without salt; I will add to it: and it is like Good without Evil.
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I wanted pure love: foolishness; to love one another is to hate a common enemy: I will thus espouse your hatred. I wanted Good: nonsense; on this earth and in these times, Good and Bad are inseparable: I accept to be evil in order to become good.
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Night is falling: at dusk, you must have good eyesight to be able to tell the Good Lord from the Devil.
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