--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was while I was studying philosophy…" description: "\"It was while I was studying philosophy that I came to understand. . . that it is no sign of moral or spiritual strength to believe that for which one h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/057/rebecca-goldstein-4026_believe_it-was-while-i-was-studying-philosophy-t_2124690.jpg" --- # It was while I was studying philosophy that I came to… ![“It was while I was studying philosophy that I came to understand. . . that it is no sign of moral or spiritual strength to believe that for which one has no evidence, neither a priori evidence as in math, nor a posteriori evidence as in science. . . . It's a violation almost immoral in its…” quote by Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/057/rebecca-goldstein-4026_believe_it-was-while-i-was-studying-philosophy-t_2124690.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/057/rebecca-goldstein-4026_believe_it-was-while-i-was-studying-philosophy-t_2124690.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/057/rebecca-goldstein-4026_believe_it-was-while-i-was-studying-philosophy-t_2124690.jpg) > “It was while I was studying philosophy that I came to understand. . . that it is no sign of moral or spiritual strength to believe that for which one has no evidence, neither a priori evidence as in math, nor a posteriori evidence as in science. . . . It's a violation almost immoral in its transgressiveness to shirk the responsibilities of rationality.” [Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Rationality demands evidence; believing without proof is a moral failing and shirks responsibility. **In simple terms:** Believe only with evidence. Key Takeaway Uphold rational standards. Themes philosophy ethics rationality epistemology Mood analytical thoughtful Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - academic debate - personal belief formation - public discourse Key Concepts critical thinking scientific method moral responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle beliefs without evidence? - Can rationality coexist with spiritual practice? A Different Perspective The stance may overlook the role of faith or intuition in human experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Math](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/math/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Rationality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rationality/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) [Spiritual strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual-strength/) [Studying philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/studying-philosophy/) [Violation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violation/) ## Related quotes > [I think we are trying to run the space age with horse and buggy moral and spiritual equipment. Technology you see has no morals;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/i-think-we-are-trying-to-run-the-space-age-with-horse-and-buggy-moral/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [“I study philosophy after my dinner, but the dinner is not the cause o my studying philosophy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/i-study-philosophy-after-my-dinner-but-the-dinner-is-not-the-cause-o/) [Fulton J. 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One either ceases to be or ceases to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/youth-is-not-an-essential-but-rather-an-accidental-property-nobody-is/) [Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) > [Plato dramatically puts the detachment of the philosopher from his time this way: to philosophize is to prepare to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/plato-dramatically-puts-the-detachment-of-the-philosopher-from-his/) [Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) > [When you ask why did some particular question occur to a scientist or philosopher for the first time, or why did this particular approach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/when-you-ask-why-did-some-particular-question-occur-to-a-scientist-or/) [Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) > [“Freedom for me is a pain in the Buridan's ass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/freedom-for-me-is-a-pain-in-the-buridan-s-ass/) [Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) > [Those who share my heroes are, in the deepest sense, of my own kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/those-who-share-my-heroes-are-in-the-deepest-sense-of-my-own-kind/) [Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) > [“one evangelical scientist who had felt his doubts falling away from him when he was hiking in the mountains and came upon a frozen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/one-evangelical-scientist-who-had-felt-his-doubts-falling-away-from/) [Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) > [Because of the failure of religion to offer satisfying answers to an increasing number of people, it's time for philosophy to address forcefully these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/because-of-the-failure-of-religion-to-offer-satisfying-answers-to-an/) [Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) > [If we look at our attitudes consistently and work out the logical implications we're on the road to moral progress, moral understanding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/if-we-look-at-our-attitudes-consistently-and-work-out-the-logical/) [Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) > [We may not need God to tell us where the world came from, but we need God to be able to live moral lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/we-may-not-need-god-to-tell-us-where-the-world-came-from-but-we-need/) [Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) > [In order to refute a conclusion, you have to put forth the best possible argument for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/in-order-to-refute-a-conclusion-you-have-to-put-forth-the-best/) [Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) > [Philosophical progress changes what we take to be "intuitively" obvious, and this change covers up the tracks of the laborious arguments that preceded the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/philosophical-progress-changes-what-we-take-to-be-intuitively-obvious/) [Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) > [What one tries to force into a child against its own nature will never come to good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/what-one-tries-to-force-into-a-child-against-its-own-nature-will/) [Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) > [Thinking is the soul speaking to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/thinking-is-the-soul-speaking-to-itself/) [Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) > [What is remarkable about the Greeks - even pre-philosophically - is that despite the salience of religious rituals in their lives, when it came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/what-is-remarkable-about-the-greeks-even-pre-philosophically-is-that/) [Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) > [In fact, it’s the very impersonality of impersonal knowledge that renders such knowledge the most ethically potent of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/in-fact-it-s-the-very-impersonality-of-impersonal-knowledge-that/) [Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) [Explore all 116 Rebecca Goldstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. 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And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. 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