--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A delusion that encourages belief where…" description: "\"A delusion that encourages belief where there is no evidence is asking for trouble. Disagreements between incompatible beliefs cannot be settled by rea..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c45/richard-dawkins-115_arguing_a-delusion-that-encourages-belief-where_306257.jpg" --- # A delusion that encourages belief where there is no… ![“A delusion that encourages belief where there is no evidence is asking for trouble. Disagreements between incompatible beliefs cannot be settled by reasoned argument because reasoned argument is drummed out of those trained in religion from the cradle. Instead, disagreements are settled by other…” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c45/richard-dawkins-115_arguing_a-delusion-that-encourages-belief-where_306257.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c45/richard-dawkins-115_arguing_a-delusion-that-encourages-belief-where_306257.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c45/richard-dawkins-115_arguing_a-delusion-that-encourages-belief-where_306257.jpg) > “A delusion that encourages belief where there is no evidence is asking for trouble. Disagreements between incompatible beliefs cannot be settled by reasoned argument because reasoned argument is drummed out of those trained in religion from the cradle. Instead, disagreements are settled by other means which, in extreme cases, inevitably become violent. Scientists disagree among themselves but they never fight over their disagreements. They argue about evidence or go out and seek new evidence. Much the same is true of philosophers, historians and literary critics.” [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Belief without evidence invites conflict; rational debate fails when parties are entrenched in religious doctrine, often leading to violence. **In simple terms:** Unfounded belief can cause violence. Key Takeaway Promote evidence‑based dialogue and critical thinking. Themes religion conflict reason epistemology Mood thoughtful concerned Type philosophical critical. When to use this quote - public debates - education curricula - interfaith dialogues - policy making Key Concepts cognitive bias social identity violent extremism Questions to Reflect On - What role does identity play in belief? - How can societies reduce violence from doctrinal clashes? A Different Perspective Strong cultural ties to belief can resist rational challenges. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Delusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delusion/) [Disagreements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disagreements/) [Extremes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremes/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Philosopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosopher/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist/) [Violent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violent/) ## Related quotes > [Disagreements between incompatible beliefs cannot be settled by reasoned argument because reasoned argument is drummed out of those trained in religion from the cradle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/disagreements-between-incompatible-beliefs-cannot-be-settled-by/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Scientists disagree among themselves but they never fight over their disagreements. They argue about evidence or go out and seek new evidence. Much the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/scientists-disagree-among-themselves-but-they-never-fight-over-their/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“Beyond our perceptional distortions, there is a problem with logic itself. How can someone have no clue yet be able to hold a set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/beyond-our-perceptional-distortions-there-is-a-problem-with-logic/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [That whole environment was just incompatible with my beliefs and my personality. It was a dark time for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-ziyi/that-whole-environment-was-just-incompatible-with-my-beliefs-and-my/) [Zhang Ziyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-ziyi/) > [“In modern life outside of the academy, however, arguments and debates have no external review. Facts come and go as people find convenient at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/in-modern-life-outside-of-the-academy-however-arguments-and-debates/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [Trump will not respond to reasoned argument. He will not be held accountable for the things he said. All you can do is point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/trump-will-not-respond-to-reasoned-argument-he-will-not-be-held/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I enjoy a good reasoned argument. I love the power of logic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-roberts/i-enjoy-a-good-reasoned-argument-i-love-the-power-of-logic/) [Luke Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-roberts/) > [And this is how I know that it's all just words, words, words - that fundamentally, they make no difference... Our relationship, for as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-sittenfeld/and-this-is-how-i-know-that-it-s-all-just-words-words-words-that/) [Curtis Sittenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-sittenfeld/) > [We should stop looking to law to provide the final answer… Law cannot save us from ourselves… We have to go out and try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-howard/we-should-stop-looking-to-law-to-provide-the-final-answer-law-cannot/) [Philip K. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-howard/) > [It appears to me that in Ethics, as in all other philosophical studies, the difficulties and disagreements, of which history is full, are mainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-moore/it-appears-to-me-that-in-ethics-as-in-all-other-philosophical-studies/) [George Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-moore/) > [Disagreements over money are the biggest cause of divorce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/disagreements-over-money-are-the-biggest-cause-of-divorce/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [There have been major disagreements within the European Union.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-pierre-raffarin/there-have-been-major-disagreements-within-the-european-union/) [Jean-Pierre Raffarin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-pierre-raffarin/) > [“Have thoughtful disagreements in which people are willing to shift their opinions as they learn,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/have-thoughtful-disagreements-in-which-people-are-willing-to-shift/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [“Some day, I must ask him what it's like to be married to someone who, eyes narrowed in thought, peers at him over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cordelia-fine/some-day-i-must-ask-him-what-it-s-like-to-be-married-to-someone-who/) [Cordelia Fine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cordelia-fine/) > [“when people’s brains are in defensive mode, it becomes harder to see common sense. Small disagreements can end up holding back progress beyond reason.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-webb/when-people-s-brains-are-in-defensive-mode-it-becomes-harder-to-see/) [Caroline Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-webb/) ## More by Richard Dawkins > [At the deepest level, all living things that have ever been looked at have the same DNA code. And many of the same genes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/at-the-deepest-level-all-living-things-that-have-ever-been-looked-at/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“The fundamentalist Kurt Wise proclaims that all the evidence in the universe would not change his mind. The true scientist, however passionately he may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-fundamentalist-kurt-wise-proclaims-that-all-the-evidence-in-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [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/) > [“much of the Bible is not systematically evil but just plain weird, as you would expect of a chaotically cobbled-together anthology of disjointed documents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/much-of-the-bible-is-not-systematically-evil-but-just-plain-weird-as/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The recurrent laryngeal nerve - which runs from the head to the voice box - goes all the way down into the chest, loops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-recurrent-laryngeal-nerve-which-runs-from-the-head-to-the-voice/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The Roman Catholic Church is an institution for whose gains the phrase "ill-gotten" might have been specially invented. And of all its money-making rip-offs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-roman-catholic-church-is-an-institution-for-whose-gains-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to because we may then at least have the chance to upset their designs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/let-us-understand-what-our-own-selfish-genes-are-up-to-because-we-may/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [What's going to happen when I die? I may be buried, or I may be cremated, I may give my body to science. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/what-s-going-to-happen-when-i-die-i-may-be-buried-or-i-may-be/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Or why it is acceptable to train fast runners and high jumpers but not to breed them. I can think of some answers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/or-why-it-is-acceptable-to-train-fast-runners-and-high-jumpers-but/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [We have seen that living things are too improbable and too beautifully 'designed' to have come into existence by chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-have-seen-that-living-things-are-too-improbable-and-too/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“We will not go quietly away. If in the future that requires violence”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-will-not-go-quietly-away-if-in-the-future-that-requires-violence/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [It's a truly disgusting idea that the creator of the universe - capable of inventing the laws of physics and designing the evolutionary process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/it-s-a-truly-disgusting-idea-that-the-creator-of-the-universe-capable/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) [Explore all 1,239 Richard Dawkins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## More Arguing quotes > [I do wish you wouldn't argue with me when I'm knitting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-durrell/i-do-wish-you-wouldn-t-argue-with-me-when-i-m-knitting/) [Gerald Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-durrell/) > [Any comprehensive doctrine, religious or secular, can be introduced into any political argument at any time, but I argue that people who do this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/any-comprehensive-doctrine-religious-or-secular-can-be-introduced/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [It's fine to talk about politics with people you agree with. But it is rude to argue about politics with people you disagree with.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-lessig/it-s-fine-to-talk-about-politics-with-people-you-agree-with-but-it-is/) [Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-lessig/) > [Men are fair, and they have learned not to personalize anger - they can disagree with you and argue to the bone, but afterward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/men-are-fair-and-they-have-learned-not-to-personalize-anger-they-can/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [When Eudæmonidas heard a philosopher arguing that only a wise man can be a good general, "This is a wonderful speech," said he; "but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/when-eud-monidas-heard-a-philosopher-arguing-that-only-a-wise-man-can/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [Fasting is required, staying away from fighting and arguing and bombing of masjids is still going on. Hatred is still manifested between Sunni and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-farrakhan/fasting-is-required-staying-away-from-fighting-and-arguing-and/) [Louis Farrakhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-farrakhan/) > [The problem for the Left, however, is that the moment it stops painting the Right as vile, it has to argue the issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/the-problem-for-the-left-however-is-that-the-moment-it-stops-painting/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/to-argue-with-a-person-who-has-renounced-the-use-of-reason-is-like/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [You can argue that the Terminator movies reboot their world each time they go back in time, but that doesn't negate the value of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hayter/you-can-argue-that-the-terminator-movies-reboot-their-world-each-time/) [David Hayter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hayter/) > [We may argue eloquently that 'Honesty is the best Policy' - unfortunately, the moment honesty is adopted for the sake of policy it mysteriously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/we-may-argue-eloquently-that-honesty-is-the-best-policy-unfortunately/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [I'm a very serious person, but I don't take myself very seriously and I would rather laugh all day than argue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stone-cold-steve-austin/i-m-a-very-serious-person-but-i-don-t-take-myself-very-seriously-and/) [Stone Cold Steve Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stone-cold-steve-austin/) > [These eyes, tho' clear To outward view of blemish or of spot, Bereft of light, their seeing have forgot, Nor to their idle orbs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/these-eyes-tho-clear-to-outward-view-of-blemish-or-of-spot-bereft-of/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [There's crucial distinction that has to be drawn between the Shari'a, which is this hugely expansive vision of cosmic order that I've been describing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadakat-kadri/there-s-crucial-distinction-that-has-to-be-drawn-between-the-shari-a/) [Sadakat Kadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadakat-kadri/) > [Only fools argue whether to eat meat or not. They don't understand truth nor do they meditate on it. Who can define what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guru-nanak/only-fools-argue-whether-to-eat-meat-or-not-they-don-t-understand/) [Guru Nanak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guru-nanak/) > [The surest sign that you haven't any sense is to argue with one who hasn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-j-peter/the-surest-sign-that-you-haven-t-any-sense-is-to-argue-with-one-who/) [Laurence J. Peter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-j-peter/) Browse all 1,908 Arguing quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A delusion that encourages belief where there is no evidence is asking for trouble. Disagreements between incompatible beliefs cannot be settled by reasoned argument because reasoned argument is drummed out of those trained in religion from the cradle. Instead, disagreements are settled by other means which, in extreme cases, inevitably become violent. 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