All Michael Shermer Quotes
- Smart people believe weird things because they are skilled at defending beliefs they arrived at for non-smart reasons. Arrived
- I care what is actually true, even more than what I hope is true. Actually True
- 'Are science and religion compatible?' It's like [asking]: 'Are science and plumbing compatible?' They're just two different things. Asking
- Creationists have also changed their name ... to intelligent design theorists who study 'irreducible complexity' and the 'abrupt appearance' of life-yet more jargon for 'God… Abrupt
- Skeptics question the validity of a particular claim by calling for evidence to prove or disprove it. Calling
- Science operates in the natural, not the supernatural. In fact, I go so far as to state that there is no such thing as the… Fact
- Mysteries once thought to be supernatural or paranormal happenings - such as astronomical or meteorological events - are incorporated into science once their causes are… Astronomical
- When religious believers invoke miracles and acts of creation ex nihilo, that is the end of the search for them, whereas for scientists, the identification… Acts
- In order to displace a prevailing theory or paradigm in science, it is not enough to merely point out what it cannot explain; you have… Cannot Explain
- The case for exploiting animals for food, clothing and entertainment often relies on our superior intelligence, language and self-awareness: the rights of the superior being… Animals
- One of the features of a democracy is the disentanglement of the sacred from the secular because in religiously pluralistic countries, no one can legitimately… Claim
- My libertarian beliefs have not always served me well. Like most people who hold strong ideological convictions, I find that, too often, my beliefs trump… Always Served
- Ever since college, I have been a libertarian - socially liberal and fiscally conservative. I believe in individual liberty and personal responsibility. Been
- I always accepted the libertarian position of minimum regulation in the sale and use of firearms because I placed guns under the beneficial rubric of… Accepted
- The reason people turn to supernatural explanations is that the mind abhors a vacuum of explanation. Because we do not yet have a fully natural… Abhors
- As a social primate species, we modulate our morals with signals from family, friends and social groups with whom we identify because in our evolutionary… Attributes
- A Hubble Space Telescope photograph of the universe evokes far more awe for creation than light streaming through a stained glass window in a cathedral. Awe
- The natural inclination in all humans is to posit a force, a spirit, outside of us. That tendency toward superstitious magical thinking is just built… All
- In my experience, people are usually fired for reasons having to do with budgetary constraints, incompetence or not fulfilling the terms of a contract. Budgetary
- Tenure in any department is serious business, because it means, essentially, employment for life. Any
- We should be exploring consciousness at the neural level and higher, where the arrow of causal analysis points up toward such principles as emergence and… Analysis
- The principal barrier to a general acceptance of the monist position is that it is counterintuitive. Acceptance