I will follow my logic, no matter where it goes, after it has consulted with my heart. If you ever come to a conclusion without calling the heart in, you will come to a bad conclusion.
Robert Green IngersollRead
Where is the soul? . . . I refuse to believe anything of that kind without proof. The idea that, as soon as a man's breath leaves his body, the soul flops out like a chicken's head and flies off into space to find a lodgment where there [are] harps and haloes. Too much for me.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote questions the existence of the soul, emphasizing the need for evidence in such beliefs.
Robert Green Ingersoll challenges the traditional notion of the soul's existence and its afterlife based on faith alone. He expresses skepticism towards the idea that the soul has a distinct and separate journey after death, suggesting that beliefs regarding the soul should be rooted in tangible proof rather than blind acceptance of metaphysical claims.
Themes
SoulSkepticismProofExistenceAfterlife
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about religion and science, you could use this quote to emphasize the importance of empirical evidence.
More from Robert Green Ingersoll
All quotes βIf the guardians of society, the protectors of 'young persons,' could have had their way, we should have known nothing of Byron or Shelley. The voices that thrill the world would now be silent.
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The religion that has to be supported by law is without value, not only, but a fraud and a curse. The religious argument that has to be supported by a musket is hardly worth making.
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There is no slavery but ignorance.
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In all ages the people have honored those who dishonored them. They have worshiped their destroyers; they have canonized the most gigantic liars, and buried the great thieves in marble and gold. Under the loftiest monuments sleeps the dust of murder.
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I believe that there is something far nobler than loyalty to any particular man. Loyalty to the truth as we perceive it - loyalty to our duty as we know it - loyalty to the ideals of our brain and heart - is, to my mind, far greater and far nobler than loyalty to the life of any particular man or God. . . .
Robert Green IngersollRead
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