Who never doubted, never half believed. Where doubt is, there truth is - it is her shadow.
Interpretation
Doubt is essential for discovering truth, as it signifies a deeper contemplation of beliefs.
This quote by Ambrose Bierce suggests that the presence of doubt is a critical component of belief and understanding. It emphasizes that certainty without doubt can lead to superficial belief, implying that true knowledge and insight require questioning and grappling with uncertainty. In this sense, doubt is portrayed as a necessary companion to truth, as it prompts a deeper exploration of the concepts we hold to be true.
In practice
In a philosophical discussion on the nature of truth, one might quote this to emphasize the importance of doubt.
PALM, n. A species of tree . . . of which the familiar "itching palm" ("Palma hominis") is most widely distributed . . . . This noble vegetable exudes a kind of invisible gum, which may be detected by applying to the bark a piece of gold or silver.
Human nature is pretty well balanced; for every lacking virtue there is a rough substitute that will serve at a pinch--as cunning is the wisdom of the unwise, and ferocity the courage of the coward.
Indigestion: A disease which the patient and his friends frequently mistake for deep religious conviction and concern for the salvation of mankind. As the simple Red Man of the Western Wild put it, with, it must be confessed, a certain force: 'Plenty well, no pray; big belly ache, heap God.'
Disobey n:To celebrate with an appropriate ceremony the maturity of a command
NOUMENON, n. That which exists, as distinguished from that which merely seems to exist, the latter being a phenomenon. The noumenon is a bit difficult to locate; it can be apprehended only by a process of reasoning - which is a phenomenon.
PARDON, v. To remit a penalty and restore to the life of crime. To add to the lure of crime the temptation of ingratitude.
I always say that people should not rush to change religions. There is real value in finding the spiritual resources you need in your home religion.
There is no real evil in life, except great pain; all the rest is imaginary, and depends on the light in which we view things
The main motive for nonattachment is a desire to escape from the pain of living, and above all from love, which, sexual or non-sexual, is hard work.
Luxury is the opposite of the naturally necessary.
Rather than feeling lost and unimportant and meaningless, set against galaxies which go beyond the reach of the furthest telescopes, I feel that my life has meaning. Perhaps I should feel insignificant, but instead I feel a soaring in my heart that the God who could create all this β and out of nothing β can still count the hairs of my head.
Why is it that when we talk to God we're said to be praying but when God talks to us we're schizophrenic?
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