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.
Interpretation
Moral certainty often signifies a lack of cultural sophistication, as true progress arises from questioning existing moral values.
In this quote, H. L. Mencken posits that those who are most certain of their moral beliefs are often the least civilized, as unyielding conviction can stem from ignorance. He argues that genuine human progress, particularly in ethics, arises from individuals who question and doubt prevailing moral standards, highlighting the importance of skepticism and tolerance in a truly civilized society.
In practice
In a debate on ethics, one might use this quote to discuss the importance of questioning societal norms.
I know a good many men of great learning-that is, men born with an extraordinary eagerness and capacity to acquire knowledge. One and all, they tell me that they can't recall learning anything of any value in school. All that schoolmasters managed to accomplish with them was to test and determine the amount of knowledge that they had already acquired independently-and not infrequently the determination was made clumsily and inaccurately.
It takes a long while for a naturally trustful person to reconcile himself to the idea that after all God will not help him
It is the theory of all modern civilized governments that they protect and foster the liberty of the citizen; it is the practice of all of them to limit its exercise, and sometimes very narrowly.
The central belief of every moron is that he is the victim of a mysterious conspiracy against his common rights and true deserts.
The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy.
It is my conviction that no normal man ever fell in love, within the ordinary meaning of the term, after the age of thirty.
No man is above the law, and no man is below it.
I wasted time, and now doth time waste me; For now hath time made me his numbering clock: My thoughts are minutes; and with sighs they jar Their watches on unto mine eyes, the outward watch, Whereto my finger, like a dial's point, Is pointing still, in cleansing them from tears. Now sir, the sound that tells what hour it is Are clamorous goans, which strike upon my heart, Which is the bell: so sighs and tears and groans Show minutes, times, and hours.
What we call National-Socialism is the poisonous perversion of ideas which have a long history in German intellectual life.
Through our scientific and technological genius we've made of this world a neighborhood. And now through our moral and ethical commitment we must make of it a brotherhood. We must all learn to live together as brothers-or we will all perish together as fools.
faith without doubt is addiction
Our culture peculiarly honors the act of blaming, which it takes as the sign of virtue and intellect.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.