---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He thinks he believes only what he sees…"
description: "\"He thinks he believes only what he sees, but he is much better at believing than at seeing.\" — George Santayana"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/george-santayana-478_awe_he-thinks-he-believes-only-what-he-sees_1402656.png"
---

#  He thinks he believes only what he sees, but he is much…

![“He thinks he believes only what he sees, but he is much better at believing than at seeing.” quote by George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/george-santayana-478_awe_he-thinks-he-believes-only-what-he-sees_1402656.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/george-santayana-478_awe_he-thinks-he-believes-only-what-he-sees_1402656.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/george-santayana-478_awe_he-thinks-he-believes-only-what-he-sees_1402656.png)

> “He thinks he believes only what he sees, but he is much better at believing than at seeing.”

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

He claims that belief is easier than perception, suggesting that people often trust ideas without seeing evidence.

**In simple terms:** Belief is easier than seeing truth.

Key Takeaway

Question assumptions before accepting.

Themes

philosophy epistemology psychology

Mood

skeptical inquisitive

Type

philosophical reflective

When to use this quote

- education
- media consumption
- scientific research
- personal relationships

Key Concepts

Cognitive bias perception vs belief

Questions to Reflect On

- Do you trust what you see or what you’re told?
- How can you test beliefs against evidence?

A Different Perspective

Overconfidence can blind one to reality.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Awe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awe/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/)

## Related quotes

> [We say seeing is believing, but actually, we are much better at believing than at seeing. In fact, we are seeing what we believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/we-say-seeing-is-believing-but-actually-we-are-much-better-at/)

[Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/)

> [The poet sees better than other mortals. I do not see things as they are, but according to my own subjective impression, and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-schumann/the-poet-sees-better-than-other-mortals-i-do-not-see-things-as-they/)

[Robert Schumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-schumann/)

> [To get a person's real opinion, ask what she thinks everyone else believes... If people truly hold a particular belief, they are more likely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/to-get-a-person-s-real-opinion-ask-what-she-thinks-everyone-else/)

[Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/)

> [Religion consists in a set of things which the average man thinks he believes and wishes he was certain of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/religion-consists-in-a-set-of-things-which-the-average-man-thinks-he/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [“But who can divine the workings of a single human heart? Who really knows what a person thinks and believes when he or she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-gruley/but-who-can-divine-the-workings-of-a-single-human-heart-who-really/)

Bryan Gruley

> [The stage is not only a world apart, it is a myriad of worlds, and in those worlds a man can have anything he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathe-koja/the-stage-is-not-only-a-world-apart-it-is-a-myriad-of-worlds-and-in/)

[Kathe Koja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathe-koja/)

> [“The mind believes what it sees and does what it believes; that is the secret of fascination. And in his book, St Augustine does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/the-mind-believes-what-it-sees-and-does-what-it-believes-that-is-the/)

[Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/)

> [“The wiseman knows and questions but what the fool believes he sees.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-versey/the-wiseman-knows-and-questions-but-what-the-fool-believes-he-sees/)

[Jason Versey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-versey/)

> [“Sometimes, all we need is just one person who believes in us and who will never give up on us. Someone who sees beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-soriano/sometimes-all-we-need-is-just-one-person-who-believes-in-us-and-who/)

[Jocelyn Soriano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-soriano/)

> [There's a lot I don't understand... but not understanding is better than not believing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/there-s-a-lot-i-don-t-understand-but-not-understanding-is-better-than/)

[Amy Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-harmon/)

> [“You're better off believing in God they'd warn you, just in case. Because you'd hate to arrive at the gates of heaven a nonbeliever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-magary/you-re-better-off-believing-in-god-they-d-warn-you-just-in-case/)

[Drew Magary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-magary/)

> [I always say believe for a bunch, and even if you only get half of it you are better off than believing for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/i-always-say-believe-for-a-bunch-and-even-if-you-only-get-half-of-it/)

[Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/)

> [“False hope is better than believing you're the world's biggest loser.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-ralston/false-hope-is-better-than-believing-you-re-the-world-s-biggest-loser/)

[Duncan Ralston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duncan-ralston/)

> [Christian growth doesn't happen by first behaving better, but by believing better--believi ng in bigger, deeper, brighter ways what Christ has already secured for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/christian-growth-doesn-t-happen-by-first-behaving-better-but-by/)

[Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/)

> [We have to get better at believing the impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/we-have-to-get-better-at-believing-the-impossible/)

[Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/)

## More by George Santayana

> [Perhaps the universe is nothing but an equilibrium of idiocies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/perhaps-the-universe-is-nothing-but-an-equilibrium-of-idiocies/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [The combative instinct is a savage prompting by which one man's good is found in another's evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-combative-instinct-is-a-savage-prompting-by-which-one-man-s-good/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [Sanctity and genius are as rebellious as vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/sanctity-and-genius-are-as-rebellious-as-vice/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [To attempt to be religious without practicing a specific religion is as possible as attempting to speak without a specific language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/to-attempt-to-be-religious-without-practicing-a-specific-religion-is/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [“The contemporary world has turned its back on the attempt and even on the desire to live reasonably.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-contemporary-world-has-turned-its-back-on-the-attempt-and-even-on/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [The pride of the artisan in his art and its uses is pride in himself...It is in his skill and ability to make things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-pride-of-the-artisan-in-his-art-and-its-uses-is-pride-in-himself/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [If pain could have cured us we should long ago have been saved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/if-pain-could-have-cured-us-we-should-long-ago-have-been-saved/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [Towers in a modern town are a frill and a survival; they seem like the raised hands of the various churches, afraid of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/towers-in-a-modern-town-are-a-frill-and-a-survival-they-seem-like-the/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [Wealth, religion, military victory have more rhetorical than efficacious worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/wealth-religion-military-victory-have-more-rhetorical-than/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [Whoever it was who searched the heavens with a telescope and found no God would not have found the human mind if he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/whoever-it-was-who-searched-the-heavens-with-a-telescope-and-found-no/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [It is easier to make a saint out of a libertine than out of a prig.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/it-is-easier-to-make-a-saint-out-of-a-libertine-than-out-of-a-prig/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [Experience is a mere whiff or rumble, produced by enormously complex and ill-deciphered causes of experience; and in the other direction, experience is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/experience-is-a-mere-whiff-or-rumble-produced-by-enormously-complex/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [Miracles are propitious accidents, the natural causes of which are too complicated to be readily understood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/miracles-are-propitious-accidents-the-natural-causes-of-which-are-too/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [Memory itself is an internal rumour; and when to this hearsay within the mind we add the falsified echoes that reach us from others,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/memory-itself-is-an-internal-rumour-and-when-to-this-hearsay-within/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [Familiarity breeds contempt only when it breeds inattention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/familiarity-breeds-contempt-only-when-it-breeds-inattention/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

[Explore all 530 George Santayana quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

## More Awe quotes

> [Because I've never had any higher education of any sort, I've never held in awe those who have had it or have a sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-corbyn/because-i-ve-never-had-any-higher-education-of-any-sort-i-ve-never/)

[Jeremy Corbyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-corbyn/)

> [Of course the Dharma-body of the Buddha was the hedge at the bottom of the garden. At the same time, and no less obviously,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/of-course-the-dharma-body-of-the-buddha-was-the-hedge-at-the-bottom/)

[Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/)

> [When I look at the human brain I'm still in awe of it. Every single time you lift off the bone and open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/when-i-look-at-the-human-brain-i-m-still-in-awe-of-it-every-single/)

[Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/)

> [“I know you deserve better than me. You think I don’t know that? But if there was any woman made for me … it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-mcguire/i-know-you-deserve-better-than-me-you-think-i-don-t-know-that-but-if/)

[Jamie McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-mcguire/)

> [There are certain scenes that would awe an atheist into belief without the help of any other argument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gray/there-are-certain-scenes-that-would-awe-an-atheist-into-belief/)

[Thomas Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gray/)

> [As we contemplate with reverence and awe how our Savior embraces us, comforts us, and heals us, let us commit to become His hands,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/as-we-contemplate-with-reverence-and-awe-how-our-savior-embraces-us/)

[Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/)

> [My journey deep into coma, outside this lowly physical realm and into the loftiest dwelling place of the almighty Creator, revealed the indescribably immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eben-alexander/my-journey-deep-into-coma-outside-this-lowly-physical-realm-and-into/)

[Eben Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eben-alexander/)

> [Awe combined with intimacy is the essence of Christian worship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/awe-combined-with-intimacy-is-the-essence-of-christian-worship/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/)

[Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/)

> [“Oftentimes we call Life bitter names, but only when we ourselves are bitter and dark. And we deem her empty and unprofitable, but only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/oftentimes-we-call-life-bitter-names-but-only-when-we-ourselves-are/)

[Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/)

> [The laws of nature are the skeleton of the universe. They support it, give it shape, tie it together. Taken as a whole, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-trefil/the-laws-of-nature-are-the-skeleton-of-the-universe-they-support-it/)

James Trefil

> [When you look at yourself and feel dissatisfaction about any part of you, you will continue to attract feelings of dissatisfaction, because the law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-byrne/when-you-look-at-yourself-and-feel-dissatisfaction-about-any-part-of/)

[Rhonda Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-byrne/)

> [“What can we make of the inexpressible joy of children? It is a kind of gratitude, I think—the gratitude of the ten-year-old who wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/what-can-we-make-of-the-inexpressible-joy-of-children-it-is-a-kind-of/)

[Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/)

> [Sometimes not seeing things can be a blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/sometimes-not-seeing-things-can-be-a-blessing/)

[August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/)

> [I'm always in awe at how fast television is and how quickly you're called upon to be 100 percent invested in a character with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/latanya-richardson/i-m-always-in-awe-at-how-fast-television-is-and-how-quickly-you-re/)

[LaTanya Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/latanya-richardson/)

[Browse all 1,119 Awe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awe/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "He thinks he believes only what he sees, but he is much better at believing than at seeing.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "George Santayana"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/he-thinks-he-believes-only-what-he-sees-but-he-is-much-better-at/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Awe"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/he-thinks-he-believes-only-what-he-sees-but-he-is-much-better-at/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/george-santayana-478_awe_he-thinks-he-believes-only-what-he-sees_1402656.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/george-santayana-478_awe_he-thinks-he-believes-only-what-he-sees_1402656.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/george-santayana-478_awe_he-thinks-he-believes-only-what-he-sees_1402656.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“He thinks he believes only what he sees, but he is much better at believing than at seeing.” — George Santayana",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "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": "George Santayana",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "He thinks he believes only what...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/he-thinks-he-believes-only-what-he-sees-but-he-is-much-better-at/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/he-thinks-he-believes-only-what-he-sees-but-he-is-much-better-at/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
