---
title: "1 Attempts Justify Quotes By Thomas Henry Huxley"
description: "1 Attempts Justify quotes by Thomas Henry Huxley. Plus more from Thomas Henry Huxley and more Attempts Justify sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47b/thomas-henry-huxley-14414_belief_what-we-call-rational-grounds-for-our-be_1841155.jpg"
---

> [“What we call rational grounds for our beliefs are often extremely irrational attempts to justify our instincts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-henry-huxley/what-we-call-rational-grounds-for-our-beliefs-are-often-extremely/)

[Thomas Henry Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-henry-huxley/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47b/thomas-henry-huxley-14414_belief_what-we-call-rational-grounds-for-our-be_1841155.jpg)

## More by Thomas Henry Huxley

> [“In Paley's famous illustration, the adaptation of all the parts of the watch to the function, or purpose, of showing the time, is held…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-henry-huxley/in-paley-s-famous-illustration-the-adaptation-of-all-the-parts-of-the/)

[Thomas Henry Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-henry-huxley/)

> [“It is my conviction that, with the spread of true scientific culture, whatever may be the medium, historical, philological, philosophical, or physical, through which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-henry-huxley/it-is-my-conviction-that-with-the-spread-of-true-scientific-culture/)

[Thomas Henry Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-henry-huxley/)

> [“Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, whether you like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-henry-huxley/perhaps-the-most-valuable-result-of-all-education-is-the-ability-to/)

[Thomas Henry Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-henry-huxley/)

> [It is because the body is a machine that education is possible. Education is the formation of habits, a super inducing of an artificial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-henry-huxley/it-is-because-the-body-is-a-machine-that-education-is-possible/)

[Thomas Henry Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-henry-huxley/)

> [“There can be no doubt that the existing Fauna and Flora is but the last term of a long series of equally numerous contemporary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-henry-huxley/there-can-be-no-doubt-that-the-existing-fauna-and-flora-is-but-the/)

[Thomas Henry Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-henry-huxley/)

> [“When I reached intellectual maturity, and began to ask myself whether I was an atheist, a theist, or a pantheist; a materialist or an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-henry-huxley/when-i-reached-intellectual-maturity-and-began-to-ask-myself-whether/)

[Thomas Henry Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-henry-huxley/)

> [“For these two years I have been gravitating towards your doctrines, and since the publication of your primula paper with accelerated velocity. By about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-henry-huxley/for-these-two-years-i-have-been-gravitating-towards-your-doctrines-2/)

[Thomas Henry Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-henry-huxley/)

> [“The publication of the Darwin and Wallace papers in 1858, and still more that of the 'Origin' in 1859, had the effect upon them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-henry-huxley/the-publication-of-the-darwin-and-wallace-papers-in-1858-and-still/)

[Thomas Henry Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-henry-huxley/)

> [“Agnosticism, in fact, is not a creed, but a method, the essence of which lies in the rigorous application of a single principle. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-henry-huxley/agnosticism-in-fact-is-not-a-creed-but-a-method-the-essence-of-which-2/)

[Thomas Henry Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-henry-huxley/)

> [“Those who are ignorant of Geology, find no difficulty in believing that the world was made as it is; and the shepherd, untutored in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-henry-huxley/those-who-are-ignorant-of-geology-find-no-difficulty-in-believing/)

[Thomas Henry Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-henry-huxley/)

> [Logical consequences are the scare-crows of fools and the beacons of wise men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-henry-huxley/logical-consequences-are-the-scare-crows-of-fools-and-the-beacons-of/)

[Thomas Henry Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-henry-huxley/)

> [“The question of the position of man, as an animal, has given rise to much disputation, with the result of proving that there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-henry-huxley/the-question-of-the-position-of-man-as-an-animal-has-given-rise-to/)

[Thomas Henry Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-henry-huxley/)

> [“Very few, even among those who have taken the keenest interest in the progress of the revolution in natural knowledge set afoot by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-henry-huxley/very-few-even-among-those-who-have-taken-the-keenest-interest-in-the/)

[Thomas Henry Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-henry-huxley/)

> [“All organisms vary. It is in the highest degree improbable that any given variety should have exactly the same relations to surrounding conditions as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-henry-huxley/all-organisms-vary-it-is-in-the-highest-degree-improbable-that-any/)

[Thomas Henry Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-henry-huxley/)

> [“And those who will carefully study the so-called 'Mosaic code' contained in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, will see that, though Jahveh's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-henry-huxley/and-those-who-will-carefully-study-the-so-called-mosaic-code/)

[Thomas Henry Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-henry-huxley/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attempts-justify/thomas-henry-huxley/#itemlist",
            "name": "1 Attempts Justify Quotes By Thomas Henry Huxley",
            "numberOfItems": 1,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“What we call rational grounds for our beliefs are often extremely irrational attempts to justify our instincts.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Henry Huxley"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-henry-huxley/what-we-call-rational-grounds-for-our-beliefs-are-often-extremely/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47b/thomas-henry-huxley-14414_belief_what-we-call-rational-grounds-for-our-be_1841155.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47b/thomas-henry-huxley-14414_belief_what-we-call-rational-grounds-for-our-be_1841155.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47b/thomas-henry-huxley-14414_belief_what-we-call-rational-grounds-for-our-be_1841155.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“What we call rational grounds for our beliefs are often extremely irrational attempts to justify our…” — Thomas Henry Huxley",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attempts-justify/thomas-henry-huxley/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attempts-justify/thomas-henry-huxley/",
            "name": "Attempts Justify Quotes by Thomas Henry Huxley",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attempts-justify/thomas-henry-huxley/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47b/thomas-henry-huxley-14414_belief_what-we-call-rational-grounds-for-our-be_1841155.jpg"
            },
            "description": "1 Attempts Justify quotes by Thomas Henry Huxley. Plus more from Thomas Henry Huxley and more Attempts Justify sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attempts-justify/thomas-henry-huxley/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attempts-justify/thomas-henry-huxley/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Attempts Justify",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attempts-justify/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "Thomas Henry Huxley",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attempts-justify/thomas-henry-huxley/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
