--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No one is infallible, and no one can…" description: "\"No one is infallible, and no one can claim a monopoly on truth or virtue. It would be contradictory for skepticism to seek to translate itself into a n..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ac/paul-kurtz-19129_claims_no-one-is-infallible-and-no-one-can-clai_1773105.png" --- # No one is infallible, and no one can claim a monopoly on… ![“No one is infallible, and no one can claim a monopoly on truth or virtue. It would be contradictory for skepticism to seek to translate itself into a new faith.” quote by Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ac/paul-kurtz-19129_claims_no-one-is-infallible-and-no-one-can-clai_1773105.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ac/paul-kurtz-19129_claims_no-one-is-infallible-and-no-one-can-clai_1773105.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ac/paul-kurtz-19129_claims_no-one-is-infallible-and-no-one-can-clai_1773105.png) > “No one is infallible, and no one can claim a monopoly on truth or virtue. It would be contradictory for skepticism to seek to translate itself into a new faith.” [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Skepticism cannot become a dogma; it must remain open to questioning. **In simple terms:** Skepticism stays questioning, not dogmatic. Key Takeaway Keep questioning assumptions. Themes skepticism philosophy truth Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - academic debate - scientific research - public discourse - education Key Concepts critical thinking intellectual humility Questions to Reflect On - How to balance skepticism with belief? - When does doubt hinder progress? A Different Perspective Risk of endless doubt without action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Monopoly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monopoly/) [Skepticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skepticism/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [Truth, naked, unblushing truth, the first virtue of all serious history, must be the sole recommendation of this personal narrative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/truth-naked-unblushing-truth-the-first-virtue-of-all-serious-history/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [Without courage there cannot be truth, and without truth there can be no other virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/without-courage-there-cannot-be-truth-and-without-truth-there-can-be/) [Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/) > [Would it be better if religions were to disappear? I have no idea. Since I do not have any confidence in the association of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-crane/would-it-be-better-if-religions-were-to-disappear-i-have-no-idea/) [Tim Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-crane/) > [There is a place within each of us where we cannot hide from the truth, where virtue sits as judge. To admit the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-a-place-within-each-of-us-where-we-cannot-hide-from-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What is man's ultimate direction in life? It is to look for love, truth, virtue, and beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinichi-suzuki/what-is-man-s-ultimate-direction-in-life-it-is-to-look-for-love-truth/) [Shinichi Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shinichi-suzuki/) > [“After all, truth is not always a virtue when it is pursued for its own sake or, worse, simply to make its teller feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-sundquist/after-all-truth-is-not-always-a-virtue-when-it-is-pursued-for-its-own/) [Josh Sundquist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-sundquist/) > [What is the good life? What is the good man? The good woman? What is the good society and what is my relation to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/what-is-the-good-life-what-is-the-good-man-the-good-woman-what-is-the/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [Justice is rather the activity of truth, than a virtue in itself. Truth tells us what is due to others, and justice renders that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-walpole/justice-is-rather-the-activity-of-truth-than-a-virtue-in-itself-truth/) [Horace Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-walpole/) > [God deliver us all from prejudice and unkindness, and fill us with the love of truth and virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/god-deliver-us-all-from-prejudice-and-unkindness-and-fill-us-with-the/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [Anyone entrusted with power will abuse it if not also animated with the love of truth and virtue, no matter whether he be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-fontaine/anyone-entrusted-with-power-will-abuse-it-if-not-also-animated-with/) [Jean de La Fontaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-fontaine/) > [Truth is not a virtue, but a passion. It is never charitable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/truth-is-not-a-virtue-but-a-passion-it-is-never-charitable/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“It would also require a conscious effort to look at the world from unfamiliar standpoints and admit that the West has no monopoly on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/it-would-also-require-a-conscious-effort-to-look-at-the-world-from/) [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) > [“Sincerity Sincerity is the first of the virtues. The lie is the weapon of the weak. Respect for truth is the virtue of adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-jelbert/sincerity-sincerity-is-the-first-of-the-virtues-the-lie-is-the-weapon/) [Will Jelbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-jelbert/) > [A life in harmony with nature, the love of truth and virtue, will purge the eyes to understanding her text.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-life-in-harmony-with-nature-the-love-of-truth-and-virtue-will-purge/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The love of truth, virtue, and the happiness of mankind are specious pretexts, but not the inward principles that set divines at work; else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/the-love-of-truth-virtue-and-the-happiness-of-mankind-are-specious/) [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) ## More by Paul Kurtz > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [The government doesn't have to solve everyone's problem here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/the-government-doesn-t-have-to-solve-everyone-s-problem-here/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [The skeptic has no illusions about life, nor a vain belief in the promise of immortality. Since this life here and now is all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/the-skeptic-has-no-illusions-about-life-nor-a-vain-belief-in-the/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [We need to be skeptical of utopianists who offer unreliable totalistic visions of other worlds and strive to take us there. We need some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/we-need-to-be-skeptical-of-utopianists-who-offer-unreliable/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [We cannot remain silent when someone of the Pope's stature and credibility confuses religious principles for science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/we-cannot-remain-silent-when-someone-of-the-pope-s-stature-and/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [UFO mythology is similar to the message of the classical religions where God sends his Angels as emissaries who offer salvation to those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/ufo-mythology-is-similar-to-the-message-of-the-classical-religions/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [I believe that a person should take an affirmative outlook. There are always problems in life, old and new, uncertainties, and unexpected contingencies. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/i-believe-that-a-person-should-take-an-affirmative-outlook-there-are/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [Only a fool of a scientist would dismiss the evidence and reports in front of him and substitute his own beliefs in their place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/only-a-fool-of-a-scientist-would-dismiss-the-evidence-and-reports-in/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [Secular humanism does not have the essential attributes of a religion: belief in a deity, the wish for some sort of afterlife, sacred dogma…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/secular-humanism-does-not-have-the-essential-attributes-of-a-religion/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [It is not the courage to be that we must develop as much as the courage to become. We are responsible for our destiny.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/it-is-not-the-courage-to-be-that-we-must-develop-as-much-as-the/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [As I see it, creative achievement is the very heart of the human enterprise... The destiny of man, of all men and of each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/as-i-see-it-creative-achievement-is-the-very-heart-of-the-human/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [Secular humanism proposes ... the complete implementation of the agenda of modernism ... what is necessary for it to occur is a ... New Enlightenment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/secular-humanism-proposes-the-complete-implementation-of-the-agenda/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [Three key humanist virtues are courage, cognition, and caring - not dependence, ignorance, or insensitivity to the needs of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/three-key-humanist-virtues-are-courage-cognition-and-caring-not/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [We are not simply intellectual creatures. We wish to make love, to enjoy a gourmet dinner, to jog in the park, to cheer lustily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/we-are-not-simply-intellectual-creatures-we-wish-to-make-love-to/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [Humanists hold that ethical values are relative to human experience and need not be derived from theological or metaphysical foundations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/humanists-hold-that-ethical-values-are-relative-to-human-experience/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) [Explore all 33 Paul Kurtz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) ## More Claims quotes > [One of the worst things to come out of the Consumer Protection Board's misleading claims is the impression that government resources are to hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-lesko/one-of-the-worst-things-to-come-out-of-the-consumer-protection-board/) [Matthew Lesko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-lesko/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [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/) > [We do not claim that punning is legitimate wit. Wit consists in combination of ideas, punning in combination of words only. We wonder at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-hosmer/we-do-not-claim-that-punning-is-legitimate-wit-wit-consists-in/) [Harriet Hosmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-hosmer/) > [It is popular to call it a crisis of the Western world. It is in fact a crisis of the whole world. Communism, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/it-is-popular-to-call-it-a-crisis-of-the-western-world-it-is-in-fact/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [One argument goes that recessions are good for female artists because when money flies out the window, women are allowed in the house. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/one-argument-goes-that-recessions-are-good-for-female-artists-because/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [Atheist’s denial of God’s existence needs just as much substantiation as does the theist’s claim; the atheist must give plausible reasons for rejecting God’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-copan/atheist-s-denial-of-god-s-existence-needs-just-as-much-substantiation/) [Paul Copan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-copan/) > [In luggage claim at the Minneapolis airport, the guy came up to me and said, "Maybe you're wrong, maybe stories do matter." I wrote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/in-luggage-claim-at-the-minneapolis-airport-the-guy-came-up-to-me-and/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) > [The rights essential to happiness. . . . We claim them from a higher source - from the King of kings and Lord of all the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dickinson/the-rights-essential-to-happiness-we-claim-them-from-a-higher-source/) [John Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dickinson/) > [Those who do not know what love is likens it to beauty Those who claim to know what love is likens it to ugliness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tite-kubo/those-who-do-not-know-what-love-is-likens-it-to-beauty-those-who/) [Tite Kubo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tite-kubo/) > [If ever my life can be of any use to you, come and claim it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/if-ever-my-life-can-be-of-any-use-to-you-come-and-claim-it/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [Religions do make claims about the universe--the same kinds of claims that scientists make, except they're usually false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/religions-do-make-claims-about-the-universe-the-same-kinds-of-claims/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [How can I set free anyone who doesn't have the guts to stand up alone and declare his own freedom? I think it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/how-can-i-set-free-anyone-who-doesn-t-have-the-guts-to-stand-up-alone/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) > [The Chinese describe themselves as political refugees. Many base that claim on China's strict population laws, which allow them to have only one child.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-koch/the-chinese-describe-themselves-as-political-refugees-many-base-that/) [Ed Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-koch/) > [Life is so full of meaning and of purpose, so full of beauty - beneath its covering - that you will find that earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-giocondo/life-is-so-full-of-meaning-and-of-purpose-so-full-of-beauty-beneath/) [Giovanni Giocondo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-giocondo/) Browse all 2,762 Claims quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "No one is infallible, and no one can claim a monopoly on truth or virtue. It would be contradictory for skepticism to seek to translate itself into a new faith.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Kurtz" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/no-one-is-infallible-and-no-one-can-claim-a-monopoly-on-truth-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Claims" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/no-one-is-infallible-and-no-one-can-claim-a-monopoly-on-truth-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ac/paul-kurtz-19129_claims_no-one-is-infallible-and-no-one-can-clai_1773105.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ac/paul-kurtz-19129_claims_no-one-is-infallible-and-no-one-can-clai_1773105.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ac/paul-kurtz-19129_claims_no-one-is-infallible-and-no-one-can-clai_1773105.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“No one is infallible, and no one can claim a monopoly on truth or virtue. It would be contradictory for…” — Paul Kurtz", "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": "Paul Kurtz", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "No one is infallible, and no...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/no-one-is-infallible-and-no-one-can-claim-a-monopoly-on-truth-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/no-one-is-infallible-and-no-one-can-claim-a-monopoly-on-truth-or/#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 } } ] } ```