--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At any given moment, there is an…" description: "\"“At any given moment, there is an orthodoxy, a body of ideas, which it is assumed that all right-thinking people will accept without question. It is no..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/235/anonymous-1_orthodoxy_at-any-given-moment-there-is-an-orthodox_3062938.jpg" --- # At any given moment, there is an orthodoxy, a body of… ![“At any given moment, there is an orthodoxy, a body of ideas, which it is assumed that all right-thinking people will accept without question. It is not exactly forbidden to say this, that, or the other, but it is ‘not done’ to say it . . . [And] anyone who challenges the prevailing orthodoxy finds…” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/235/anonymous-1_orthodoxy_at-any-given-moment-there-is-an-orthodox_3062938.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/235/anonymous-1_orthodoxy_at-any-given-moment-there-is-an-orthodox_3062938.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/235/anonymous-1_orthodoxy_at-any-given-moment-there-is-an-orthodox_3062938.jpg) > ““At any given moment, there is an orthodoxy, a body of ideas, which it is assumed that all right-thinking people will accept without question. It is not exactly forbidden to say this, that, or the other, but it is ‘not done’ to say it . . . \[And\] anyone who challenges the prevailing orthodoxy finds himself silenced with surprising effectiveness. A genuinely unfashionable opinion is almost never given a fair hearing, whether in the popular press or in the highbrow periodicals.”” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Dominant ideas suppress dissent, making unconventional opinions rarely heard or accepted in mainstream discourse. **In simple terms:** Dominant ideas silence dissenting opinions. Key Takeaway Encourage open dialogue and challenge prevailing views. Themes society speech conformity power dynamics Mood critical thoughtful Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - public debate - academic research - political activism - cultural critique - education Key Concepts critical thinking free expression media analysis Questions to Reflect On - How can you safely voice unpopular opinions? - What platforms support genuine discourse? A Different Perspective Challenging orthodoxy can lead to social backlash. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Moment Orthodoxy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moment-orthodoxy-1617241/) [Opinion Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion-given-4076867/) [Orthodoxy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orthodoxy/) [Orthodoxy Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orthodoxy-body-1617240/) [Prevailing Orthodoxy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prevailing-orthodoxy-1617239/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Truth Seeking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-seeking/) ## Related quotes > [“At any given moment there is an orthodoxy, a body of ideas which it is assumed that all right-thinking people will accept without question.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lucas/at-any-given-moment-there-is-an-orthodoxy-a-body-of-ideas-which-it-is-2/) [Peter Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lucas/) > [At any given moment there is an orthodoxy, a body of ideas of which it is assumed that all right-thinking people will accept without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/at-any-given-moment-there-is-an-orthodoxy-a-body-of-ideas-of-which-it/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [At any given moment there is an orthodoxy, a body of ideas which it is assumed that all right-thinking people will accept without question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/at-any-given-moment-there-is-an-orthodoxy-a-body-of-ideas-which-it-is/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We continually say things to support an opinion, which we have given, that in reality we don't above half mean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-continually-say-things-to-support-an-opinion-which-we-have-given/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anyone who challenges the prevailing orthodoxy finds himself silenced with surprising effectiveness. A genuinely unfashionable opinion is almost never given a fair hearing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/anyone-who-challenges-the-prevailing-orthodoxy-finds-himself-silenced/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [The goal of intellectual life should be to see and understand what is true, not merely to adhere to a prevailing orthodoxy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-tucker/the-goal-of-intellectual-life-should-be-to-see-and-understand-what-is/) [Jeffrey Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-tucker/) > [“Unpopular ideas can be silenced, and inconvenient facts kept dark, without the need for any official ban... Anyone who challenges the prevailing orthodoxy finds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/unpopular-ideas-can-be-silenced-and-inconvenient-facts-kept-dark-2/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because they are generally the same people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-bible-tells-us-to-love-our-neighbors-and-also-to-love-our-enemies-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is not what we believe, but why we believe it. Moral responsibility lies in diligently weighing the evidence. We must actively doubt; we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-not-what-we-believe-but-why-we-believe-it-moral-responsibility/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fundamentalism has stood aloof from the liberal in self-conscious superiority and has on its own part fallen into error, the error of textualism, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fundamentalism-has-stood-aloof-from-the-liberal-in-self-conscious/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We must always remember that the Lord sees us wrestling with the Enemy, and so we must never be afraid. Even should all hell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-must-always-remember-that-the-lord-sees-us-wrestling-with-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I did try to found a little heresy of my own; and when I had put the last touches to it, I discovered that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-did-try-to-found-a-little-heresy-of-my-own-and-when-i-had-put-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Orthodoxy, or right opinion, is, at best, a very slender part of religion. Though right tempers cannot subsist without right opinions, yet right opinions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/orthodoxy-or-right-opinion-is-at-best-a-very-slender-part-of-religion/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The word 'heresy' not only means no longer being wrong; it practically means being clear-headed and courageous. The word 'orthodoxy' not only no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-word-heresy-not-only-means-no-longer-being-wrong-it-practically/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Heresy is usually quite sophisticated, actually has a meaning, and is to be taken very seriously. It is therefore to be carefully distinguished from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/heresy-is-usually-quite-sophisticated-actually-has-a-meaning-and-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Orthodoxy quotes > [“And we cannot keep our balance. Myth gives way to Reason. Revelation to Orthodoxy. We must dance or go mad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-cheetham/and-we-cannot-keep-our-balance-myth-gives-way-to-reason-revelation-to/) [Tom Cheetham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-cheetham/) > [Heresy is only another word for freedom of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/heresy-is-only-another-word-for-freedom-of-thought/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“He realized how easy it was to present an appearance of orthodoxy while having no grasp whatever of what orthodoxy meant. In a way,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/he-realized-how-easy-it-was-to-present-an-appearance-of-orthodoxy/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“If, for you, orthodox means finally “getting it right” or “getting it straight,” mine is a pretty disappointing, curvy orthodoxy. But if, for you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-d-mclaren/if-for-you-orthodox-means-finally-getting-it-right-or-getting-it/) [Brian D. McLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-d-mclaren/) > [The greatest danger to Christianity is, I contend, not heresies, not heterodoxies, not atheists, not profane secularism - no, but the kind of orthodoxy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-greatest-danger-to-christianity-is-i-contend-not-heresies-not/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [“The huge modern heresy is to alter the human soul to fit modern social conditions, instead of altering modern social conditions to fit the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/the-huge-modern-heresy-is-to-alter-the-human-soul-to-fit-modern/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [Orthodoxy is the grave of intelligence, no matter what orthodoxy it may be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/orthodoxy-is-the-grave-of-intelligence-no-matter-what-orthodoxy-it/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“Heresy is usually quite sophisticated, actually has a meaning, and is to be taken very seriously. It is therefore to be carefully distinguished from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/heresy-is-usually-quite-sophisticated-actually-has-a-meaning-and-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“As I ponder my pilgrim’s progress to Orthodoxy, however, I realize that I didn’t make the trip alone, but in a two-seater. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederica-mathewes-green/as-i-ponder-my-pilgrim-s-progress-to-orthodoxy-however-i-realize-that/) [Frederica Mathewes-Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederica-mathewes-green/) > [Harvard and Yale concentrated with venture capitalists that got the best calls and brainpower. Very few firms made most of the money, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/harvard-and-yale-concentrated-with-venture-capitalists-that-got-the/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [“If I do not feel a sense of joy in God's creation, if I forget to offer the world back to God with thankfulness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kallistos-ware/if-i-do-not-feel-a-sense-of-joy-in-god-s-creation-if-i-forget-to/) [Kallistos Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kallistos-ware/) > [Contradictions if well understood and managed can spark off the fires of invention. Orthodoxy whether of the right or of the left is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/contradictions-if-well-understood-and-managed-can-spark-off-the-fires/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [I am no disbeliever in spiritual purpose and no vague believer. I see from the standpoint of Christian orthodoxy. This means that for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/i-am-no-disbeliever-in-spiritual-purpose-and-no-vague-believer-i-see/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“Orthodoxy is the wide open field within which successful breeding can take place. If one maintains that Jesus was an eater of magic mushrooms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-radcliffe/orthodoxy-is-the-wide-open-field-within-which-successful-breeding-can/) [Timothy Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-radcliffe/) > [Let's start with some of the reasons that the press holds its tongue and some of the things that you don't know because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneva-overholser/let-s-start-with-some-of-the-reasons-that-the-press-holds-its-tongue/) [Geneva Overholser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneva-overholser/) [Browse all 326 Orthodoxy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orthodoxy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“At any given moment, there is an orthodoxy, a body of ideas, which it is assumed that all right-thinking people will accept without question. It is not exactly forbidden to say this, that, or the other, but it is ‘not done’ to say it . . . 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