--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is no defense of superstition and…" description: "\"It is no defense of superstition and pseudoscience to say that it brings solace and comfort to people. . . . If solace and comfort are how we judge the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db6/isaac-asimov-309_addict_it-is-no-defense-of-superstition-and-pse_425099.jpg" --- # It is no defense of superstition and pseudoscience to say… ![“It is no defense of superstition and pseudoscience to say that it brings solace and comfort to people. . . . If solace and comfort are how we judge the worth of something, then consider that tobacco brings solace and comfort to smokers; alcohol brings it to drinkers; drugs of all kinds bring it to…” quote by Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db6/isaac-asimov-309_addict_it-is-no-defense-of-superstition-and-pse_425099.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db6/isaac-asimov-309_addict_it-is-no-defense-of-superstition-and-pse_425099.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db6/isaac-asimov-309_addict_it-is-no-defense-of-superstition-and-pse_425099.jpg) > “It is no defense of superstition and pseudoscience to say that it brings solace and comfort to people. . . . If solace and comfort are how we judge the worth of something, then consider that tobacco brings solace and comfort to smokers; alcohol brings it to drinkers; drugs of all kinds bring it to addicts; the fall of cards and the run of horses bring it to gamblers; cruelty and violence bring it to sociopaths. Judge by solace and comfort only and there is no behavior we ought to interfere with.” [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that comfort and solace are poor criteria for judging the value of practices, as many harmful behaviors also provide comfort. **In simple terms:** Comfort alone is an insufficient moral measure. Key Takeaway Do not equate comfort with moral good. Themes ethics critical thinking science society health Mood cautious reflective critical Type philosophical ethical analytical When to use this quote - public policy - health education - addiction treatment - legal regulation - personal decision making Key Concepts utilitarianism consequentialism human behavior Questions to Reflect On - What other criteria should guide moral judgments? - How can we balance comfort with harm reduction? A Different Perspective Comfort can be deceptive; harmful actions may also be comforting. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alcohol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alcohol/) [Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) [Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfort/) [Cruelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelty/) [Drinkers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drinkers/) [Drug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drug/) [Horse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horse/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Pseudoscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pseudoscience/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Smokers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smokers/) [Sociopath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sociopath/) [Solace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solace/) [Superstition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superstition/) [Superstitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superstitions/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) ## Related quotes > [I hated tobacco. I could have almost lent my support to any institution that had for its object the putting of tobacco smokers to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/i-hated-tobacco-i-could-have-almost-lent-my-support-to-any/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [In the way that scepticism is sometimes applied to issues of public concern, there is a tendency to belittle, to condescend, to ignore the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-the-way-that-scepticism-is-sometimes-applied-to-issues-of-public/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“deluded or not, supporters of superstition and pseudoscience are human beings with real feelings, who, like the skeptics, are trying to figure out how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/deluded-or-not-supporters-of-superstition-and-pseudoscience-are-human/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ “Superstition \[is\] cowardice in the face of the Divine,’ wrote Theophrastus, who lived during the founding of the Library of Alexandria. We inhabit a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/superstition-is-cowardice-in-the-face-of-the-divine-wrote/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No matter what our decorating style - realized or aspired to the essential spiritual grace our home should possess is the solace of comfort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ban-breathnach/no-matter-what-our-decorating-style-realized-or-aspired-to-the/) [Sarah Ban Breathnach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ban-breathnach/) > [I've definitely taken a lot of consolation from animals in my life. There have been times when I've been really sad, and they gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-orlean/i-ve-definitely-taken-a-lot-of-consolation-from-animals-in-my-life/) [Susan Orlean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-orlean/) > [Religion all the world over offeres God as the solace and comfort for all in agony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/religion-all-the-world-over-offeres-god-as-the-solace-and-comfort-for/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Take solace, take comfort. Your problems, too, will go away one day. They're temporary. The only thing that is permanent in nature is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prem-rawat/take-solace-take-comfort-your-problems-too-will-go-away-one-day-they/) [Prem Rawat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prem-rawat/) > [Inspect every piece of pseudoscience and you will find a security blanket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/inspect-every-piece-of-pseudoscience-and-you-will-find-a-security/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Science arouses a soaring sense of wonder. But so does pseudoscience. Sparse and poor popularizations of science abandon ecological niches that pseudoscience promptly fills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/science-arouses-a-soaring-sense-of-wonder-but-so-does-pseudoscience/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Science thrives on errors, cutting them away one by one. False conclusions are drawn all the time, but they are drawn tentatively. 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Out of danger and restless insecurity comes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-is-in-meeting-the-great-tests-that-mankind-can-most-successfully/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“It might seem to you, Peter, that a truck driver, one step above an ape in your view, can't remember. But truck drivers can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-might-seem-to-you-peter-that-a-truck-driver-one-step-above-an-ape/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [When life is so harsh that a man loses all hope in himself, then he raises his eyes to a shining rock, worshipping it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/when-life-is-so-harsh-that-a-man-loses-all-hope-in-himself-then-he/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“You are a military man and should know better. 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Once they have it, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/addiction-is-a-decision-an-individual-wants-something-whatever-that/) [James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/) Browse all 634 Addict quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is no defense of superstition and pseudoscience to say that it brings solace and comfort to people. . . . If solace and comfort are how we judge the worth of something, then consider that tobacco brings solace and comfort to smokers; alcohol brings it to drinkers; drugs of all kinds bring it to addicts; the fall of cards and the run of horses bring it to gamblers; cruelty and violence bring it to sociopaths. 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