--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [For people] to refuse a hearing to an…" description: "\"“[For people] to refuse a hearing to an opinion, because they are sure that it is false, is to assume that their certainty is the same thing as absolut..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c53/john-stuart-mill-477_doubt_for-people-to-refuse-a-hearing-to-an-opi_63929.jpg" --- # \[For people\] to refuse a hearing to an opinion, because… ![“[For people] to refuse a hearing to an opinion, because they are sure that it is false, is to assume that their certainty is the same thing as absolute certainty. All silencing of discussion is an assumption of infallibility.” quote by John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c53/john-stuart-mill-477_doubt_for-people-to-refuse-a-hearing-to-an-opi_63929.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c53/john-stuart-mill-477_doubt_for-people-to-refuse-a-hearing-to-an-opi_63929.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c53/john-stuart-mill-477_doubt_for-people-to-refuse-a-hearing-to-an-opi_63929.jpg) > ““\[For people\] to refuse a hearing to an opinion, because they are sure that it is false, is to assume that their certainty is the same thing as absolute certainty. All silencing of discussion is an assumption of infallibility.”” [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mistaking personal conviction for universal truth leads to suppressing dissent, which falsely presumes infallibility. **In simple terms:** Confidence ≠ certainty Key Takeaway Silencing assumes infallibility Themes epistemic humility freedom of speech critical thinking dialogue intellectual tolerance Mood thoughtful cautious inquisitive Type philosophical political ethical When to use this quote - academic debates - political forums - media commentary - online discussions - courtrooms Key Concepts certainty truth discourse authority Practical Applications - Encouraging open debate - Designing policies that protect dissent Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports your certainty? - How might silencing affect collective knowledge? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Certainty Silencing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty-silencing-859228/) [Discussion Assumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discussion-assumption-859229/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Infallibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infallibility/) [Refuse Hearing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refuse-hearing-859227/) [Silencing Discussion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silencing-discussion-859230/) ## Related quotes > [To refuse a hearing to an opinion, because they are sure that it is false, is to assume that their certainty is the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/to-refuse-a-hearing-to-an-opinion-because-they-are-sure-that-it-is/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [All silencing of discussion is an assumption of infallibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/all-silencing-of-discussion-is-an-assumption-of-infallibility/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [if any opinion is compelled to silence, that opinion may, for aught we can certainly know, be true. To deny this is to assume…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/if-any-opinion-is-compelled-to-silence-that-opinion-may-for-aught-we/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [It is not the feeling sure of a doctrine (be it what it may) which I call an assumption of infallibility. It is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/it-is-not-the-feeling-sure-of-a-doctrine-be-it-what-it-may-which-i/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [“Those who would argue for the infallibility or the inerrancy of scripture logically should also claim the same infallibility for the churches in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-m-mcdonald/those-who-would-argue-for-the-infallibility-or-the-inerrancy-of/) [Lee M. McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-m-mcdonald/) > [Errors of knowledge are not breaches of morality; no proper moral code can demand infallibility or omniscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/errors-of-knowledge-are-not-breaches-of-morality-no-proper-moral-code/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [The failure of the Reformation to capture France had left for Frenchmen no half-way house between infallibility and infidelity; and while the intellect of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/the-failure-of-the-reformation-to-capture-france-had-left-for/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [You're only infallible about your own nervous system. You know what's going on in your own nervous system, whatever realities you're creating out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/you-re-only-infallible-about-your-own-nervous-system-you-know-what-s/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [Science makes no claim to infallibility; it leaves that claim to be made by theologians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/science-makes-no-claim-to-infallibility-it-leaves-that-claim-to-be/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [Science alone of all the subjects contains within itself the lesson of the danger of belief in the infallibility of the greatest teachers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/science-alone-of-all-the-subjects-contains-within-itself-the-lesson/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [The persecution of the innovator and protestant has always been inspired by fear on the part of constituted authority of having its infallibility questioned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/the-persecution-of-the-innovator-and-protestant-has-always-been/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [An infallible Remedy for the Tooth-ach, viz Wash the Root of an aching Tooth, in Elder Vinegar, and let it dry half an hour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/an-infallible-remedy-for-the-tooth-ach-viz-wash-the-root-of-an-aching/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“I have had too much experience of life to believe in the infallibility of doctors. Some of them are clever men and some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/i-have-had-too-much-experience-of-life-to-believe-in-the/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [knowledge, absolutely sure of its infallibility, is faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/knowledge-absolutely-sure-of-its-infallibility-is-faith/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) ## More by John Stuart Mill > [The average condition of the people improving or deteriorating, depends upon whether population is advancing faster than improvement, or improvement than population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/the-average-condition-of-the-people-improving-or-deteriorating/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [Liberty lies in the rights of that person whose views you find most odious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/liberty-lies-in-the-rights-of-that-person-whose-views-you-find-most/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [Truth emerges from the clash of adverse ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/truth-emerges-from-the-clash-of-adverse-ideas/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [“No longer enslaved or made dependent by force of law, the great majority are so by force of poverty; they are still chained to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/no-longer-enslaved-or-made-dependent-by-force-of-law-the-great/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [All acts suppose certain dispositions, and habits of mind and heart, which may be in themselves states of enjoyment or of wretchedness, and which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/all-acts-suppose-certain-dispositions-and-habits-of-mind-and-heart/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [Unfortunately for the good sense of mankind, the fact of their fallibility is far from carrying the weight in their practical judgement, which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/unfortunately-for-the-good-sense-of-mankind-the-fact-of-their/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [“In history, as in traveling, men usually see only what they already had in their own minds; and few learn much from history, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/in-history-as-in-traveling-men-usually-see-only-what-they-already-had/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [All errors which a man is likely to commit against advice are far outweighed by the evil of allowing others to constrain him for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/all-errors-which-a-man-is-likely-to-commit-against-advice-are-far/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [Every great movement must experience three stages: ridicule, discussion, adoption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/every-great-movement-must-experience-three-stages-ridicule-discussion/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [The successful conduct of an industrial enterprise requires two quite distinct qualifications: fidelity and zeal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/the-successful-conduct-of-an-industrial-enterprise-requires-two-quite/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [This is what writers mean when they say that the notion of cause involves the idea of necessity. If there be any meaning which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/this-is-what-writers-mean-when-they-say-that-the-notion-of-cause/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [“Protection, therefore, against tyranny of the magistrate is not enough: there needs protection also against the tyranny of the prevailing opinion and feeling; against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/protection-therefore-against-tyranny-of-the-magistrate-is-not-enough/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [Landlords grow rich in their sleep without working, risking or economizing. The increase in the value of land, arising as it does from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/landlords-grow-rich-in-their-sleep-without-working-risking-or/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [There is one characteristic of the present direction of public opinion, peculiarly calculated to make it intolerant of any marked demonstration of individuality. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/there-is-one-characteristic-of-the-present-direction-of-public/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [Mechanizing man's work had changed but not lighted his toil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/mechanizing-man-s-work-had-changed-but-not-lighted-his-toil/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) [Explore all 524 John Stuart Mill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) ## More Doubt quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) [Ted Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I don't doubt that straight white men have identity issues and identity complexes and struggle with defining themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-simien/i-don-t-doubt-that-straight-white-men-have-identity-issues-and/) [Justin Simien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-simien/) > [“Where there is doubt (shanka), there is misery. The moment one begins to doubt the knowledge that, 'I am Chandubhai,' misery arises. Once one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-is-doubt-shanka-there-is-misery-the-moment-one-begins-to/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [We know accurately only when we know little, with knowledge doubt increases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-know-accurately-only-when-we-know-little-with-knowledge-doubt/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [There is no doubt in my mind and I know in my time, there will be a Canadian basketball player playing for Toronto Raptors, 100%](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masai-ujiri/there-is-no-doubt-in-my-mind-and-i-know-in-my-time-there-will-be-a/) [Masai Ujiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masai-ujiri/) > [How could you feel worthless when God has honoured you by creating you and choosing you to be with Him, in this life and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/how-could-you-feel-worthless-when-god-has-honoured-you-by-creating/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [“Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. On the contrary, the deep, inexpressible certitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/let-no-one-hope-to-find-in-contemplation-an-escape-from-conflict-from/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [“Two powerful, little words I've learned to use when facing challenges, fears, and doubts— so what? ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/two-powerful-little-words-i-ve-learned-to-use-when-facing-challenges/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [For diplomacy to be effective, words must be credible - and no one can now doubt the word of America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/for-diplomacy-to-be-effective-words-must-be-credible-and-no-one-can/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Vision motivates, sustains and dispels doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-young/vision-motivates-sustains-and-dispels-doubt/) [Thomas Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-young/) > [One may not doubt that, somehow Good Shall come of Water and of Mud; And sure, the reverent eye must see A purpose in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-brooke/one-may-not-doubt-that-somehow-good-shall-come-of-water-and-of-mud/) [Rupert Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-brooke/) > [Let smiles overshadow sadness. Let faith make you believe. Let confidence wash away doubts. Let love complete your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/let-smiles-overshadow-sadness-let-faith-make-you-believe-let/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [When in doubt, suggest that a subcommittee be appointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapman/when-in-doubt-suggest-that-a-subcommittee-be-appointed/) [Harry Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapman/) > [“Those who contemplate never escape the doubt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/those-who-contemplate-never-escape-the-doubt/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) [Browse all 9,582 Doubt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“[For people] to refuse a hearing to an opinion, because they are sure that it is false, is to assume that their certainty is the same thing as absolute certainty. 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