Appreciative Quote by Julian Baggini
“Once Steve Fuller said that there is this idea that your responsibility as an intellectual is just to speak the truth as you see it. But actually, you should be more appreciative of what needs to be said. I don't think that's ever an excuse to say something you don't believe is true - but sometimes the emphasis has to be different. Well, if I'm talking to an audience of hardline atheists, I'll be trying to unsettle them a bit more, whereas, if I'm speaking to an audience of believers, I'll be giving them more of the pros of atheism. It's about having a sensitivity to context.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: Podcast on Intellectual Responsibility, 2022
Intellectuals must adapt their message to audience values while staying truthful, balancing honesty with strategic emphasis.
In simple terms: Speak truth, tailor message to listeners.
Key Takeaway
Adjust tone without compromising facts.
Themes
ethics
communication
audience awareness
Mood
thoughtful
analytical
Type
philosophical
reflective
When to use this quote
- academic lectures
- public debates
- media interviews
- teaching
- policy advocacy
Key Concepts
contextual rhetoric
responsibility
strategic persuasion
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you balance honesty with audience expectations?
- When is it appropriate to emphasize certain truths?
A Different Perspective
Risk of diluting truth to please audience.
![“It was about that time [415 BCE] that the poet Diagoras of Melos was proscribed for atheism, he having declared that the non-punishment of a certain act of iniquity proved that there were no gods. It has been surmised, with some reason, that the iniquity in question was the slaughter of the…” quote by J. M. Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/21f/j-m-robertson-95682_alcibiades_it-was-about-that-time-415-bce-that-the_812164.jpg)
