--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Reasonableness is a matter of degree…" description: "\"“Reasonableness is a matter of degree. Beliefs can be very reasonable (Japan exists), fairly reasonable (quarks exist), not unreasonable (there's intel..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ef/stephen-law-279714_animal-suffering_reasonableness-is-a-matter-of-degree-bel_2700372.jpg" --- # Reasonableness is a matter of degree. Beliefs can be very… ![“Reasonableness is a matter of degree. Beliefs can be very reasonable (Japan exists), fairly reasonable (quarks exist), not unreasonable (there's intelligent life on other planets) or downright unreasonable (fairies exist). There's a scale of reasonableness, if you like, with very reasonable…” quote by Stephen Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ef/stephen-law-279714_animal-suffering_reasonableness-is-a-matter-of-degree-bel_2700372.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ef/stephen-law-279714_animal-suffering_reasonableness-is-a-matter-of-degree-bel_2700372.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ef/stephen-law-279714_animal-suffering_reasonableness-is-a-matter-of-degree-bel_2700372.jpg) > ““Reasonableness is a matter of degree. Beliefs can be very reasonable (Japan exists), fairly reasonable (quarks exist), not unreasonable (there's intelligent life on other planets) or downright unreasonable (fairies exist). There's a scale of reasonableness, if you like, with very reasonable beliefs near the top and deeply unreasonable ones towards the bottom. Notice a belief can be very high up the scale, yet still be open to some doubt. And even when a belief is low down, we can still acknowledge the remote possibility it might be true. How reasonable is the belief that God exists? Atheists typically think it very unreasonable. Very low on the scale. But most religious people say it is at least not unreasonable (have you ever met a Christian who said 'Hey, belief in God is no more reasonable than belief in fairies, but I believe it anyway!'?) They think their belief is at least halfway up the scale of reasonableness. Now, that their belief is downright unreasonable might, in fact, be established empirically. If it turned out that not only is there no good evidence of an all-powerful, all-good God, there's also overwhelming evidence against (from millions of years of unimaginable and pointless animal suffering, including several mass extinctions - to thousands of children being crushed to death or buried alive in Pakistan earthquake, etc. etc. etc.) then it could be empirically confirmed that there's no God. Would this constitute a 'proof' that there's no God? Depends what you mean by 'proof'. Personally I think these sorts of consideration do establish beyond any reasonable doubt that there is no all-powerful all-good God. So we can, in this sense, prove there's no God. Yet all the people quoted in my last blog say you cannot 'scientifically' prove or disprove God's existence. If they mean prove beyond any doubt they are right. But then hardly anything is provable in that sense, not even the non-existence of fairies.”” [Stephen Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-law/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Beliefs range from highly reasonable to deeply unreasonable; reasonableness is a matter of degree and can be evaluated by evidence and doubt. **In simple terms:** Ideas vary in reasonableness based on evidence. Key Takeaway Assess evidence before judging beliefs. Themes reasonableness belief evidence atheism faith Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical argumentative When to use this quote - academic debate - personal belief - public discourse Key Concepts epistemology philosophy of religion probability rationality Questions to Reflect On - How do you weigh evidence versus personal experience? - Can unreasonable belief be reasonable for some? A Different Perspective Even strong evidence may not eliminate all doubt. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal-suffering/) [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) [Atheist-argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist-argument/) [Belief in god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief-in-god/) [Beliefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beliefs/) [Beliefs Reasonable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beliefs-reasonable-2728672/) [Buried Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buried-alive/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Empirical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empirical/) [Empiricism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empiricism/) [Evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evidence/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Fairies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fairies/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [God exists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-exists/) [God Reasonable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-reasonable-340364/) [God'S Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-s-existence/) [Japan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/japan/) [Life on other planets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-on-other-planets/) [Omnibenevolence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/omnibenevolence-135789/) [Omnipotence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/omnipotence/) [Problem of evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem-of-evil/) [Proof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proof/) [Quarks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quarks/) [Rationality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rationality/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Reasonable Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reasonable-belief-1273535/) [Reasonable Beliefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reasonable-beliefs-2728671/) [Reasonable doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reasonable-doubt/) [Reasonableness Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reasonableness-belief-2728670/) [Religious people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-people/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Unreasonable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unreasonable/) ## Related quotes > [ “It comes as no surprise to find \[Norman\] Mailer embracing \[in the book On God \] a form of Manicheanism, pitting the forces of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-comes-as-no-surprise-to-find-norman-mailer-embracing-in-the-book/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Where one, without fault is placed under circumstances sufficient to excite the fears of it reasonable man that another designs to commit it felony,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-maxwell-brown/where-one-without-fault-is-placed-under-circumstances-sufficient-to/) [Richard Maxwell Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-maxwell-brown/) > [“I hold that belief in God is not merely as reasonable as other belief, or even a little or infinitely more probably true than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelius-van-til/i-hold-that-belief-in-god-is-not-merely-as-reasonable-as-other-belief/) [Cornelius Van Til](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelius-van-til/) > [I shall not convert you at the end of my argument. I think the argument is sound. I hold that belief in God is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelius-van-til/i-shall-not-convert-you-at-the-end-of-my-argument-i-think-the/) [Cornelius Van Til](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelius-van-til/) > [“Whereas for me it is the very unreasonableness of God that allows me to believe. Because I cannot understand, count me in. If God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guideposts/whereas-for-me-it-is-the-very-unreasonableness-of-god-that-allows-me/) [Guideposts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guideposts/) > [“When we learn to run to it and embrace it, when we can plan habitually to go without things for Christ’s sake, then we’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-p-yohannan/when-we-learn-to-run-to-it-and-embrace-it-when-we-can-plan-habitually/) [K.P. Yohannan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-p-yohannan/) > [It is closer to the truth to say that God is crazy than that God is reasonable. I suspect God merely smiles when someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/it-is-closer-to-the-truth-to-say-that-god-is-crazy-than-that-god-is/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [“ROM12.1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/rom12-1-i-beseech-you-therefore-brethren-by-the-mercies-of-god-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ “God is The Reasonable One, therefore reason & faith are not antithetical" ~R. Alan Woods \[2007\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-alan-woods/god-is-the-reasonable-one-therefore-reason-faith-are-not-antithetical/) [R. Alan Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-alan-woods/) ## More Animal suffering quotes > [There's no better feeling in the world than knowing that my show played a role in stopping animal abuse or alleviating animal suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-velez-mitchell/there-s-no-better-feeling-in-the-world-than-knowing-that-my-show/) [Jane Velez-Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-velez-mitchell/) > [“ONE OF THE most pernicious effects of religion is that it tends to divorce morality from the reality of human and animal suffering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/one-of-the-most-pernicious-effects-of-religion-is-that-it-tends-to/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“When a man’s love of finery clouds his moral judgment, that is vanity. 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Many animal advocates are inclined to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/i-find-it-very-annoying-that-so-many-animal-advocates-talk-about-the/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [So in 1987 I gave up all animal products and became a vegan. Simply so that I could eat and live in accordance with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/so-in-1987-i-gave-up-all-animal-products-and-became-a-vegan-simply-so/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) [Browse all 38 Animal suffering quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal-suffering/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Reasonableness is a matter of degree. Beliefs can be very reasonable (Japan exists), fairly reasonable (quarks exist), not unreasonable (there's intelligent life on other planets) or downright unreasonable (fairies exist). 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