--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I believe there is no source of deception…" description: "\"I believe there is no source of deception in the investigation of nature which can compare with a fixed belief that certain kinds of phenomena are IMPO..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/199/william-james-228_belief_i-believe-there-is-no-source-of-deceptio_177386.png" --- # I believe there is no source of deception in the… ![“I believe there is no source of deception in the investigation of nature which can compare with a fixed belief that certain kinds of phenomena are IMPOSSIBLE.” quote by William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/199/william-james-228_belief_i-believe-there-is-no-source-of-deceptio_177386.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/199/william-james-228_belief_i-believe-there-is-no-source-of-deceptio_177386.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/199/william-james-228_belief_i-believe-there-is-no-source-of-deceptio_177386.png) > “I believe there is no source of deception in the investigation of nature which can compare with a fixed belief that certain kinds of phenomena are IMPOSSIBLE.” [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A rigid belief that something is impossible blocks inquiry, whereas open investigation allows discovery beyond preconceived limits. **In simple terms:** Fixed impossibility limits discovery. Key Takeaway Question assumptions, stay open. Themes science open‑mindedness philosophy of knowledge Mood curious analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - research methodology - scientific inquiry - theoretical physics Key Concepts skepticism epistemic humility Questions to Reflect On - What “impossible” have you questioned? - How does doubt foster learning? A Different Perspective Dogmatic certainty can hinder progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Deception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deception/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science and religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-and-religion/) [Skepticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skepticism/) ## Related quotes > [Art is born of the observation and investigation of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/art-is-born-of-the-observation-and-investigation-of-nature/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [The investigation of nature is an infinite pasture-ground where all may graze, and where the more bite, the longer the grass grows, the sweeter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-investigation-of-nature-is-an-infinite-pasture-ground-where-all/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [In science it often happens that scientists say, "You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken..."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-science-it-often-happens-that-scientists-say-you-know-that-s-a-2/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Skeptical scrutiny is the means, in both science and religion, by which deep thoughts can be winnowed from deep nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/skeptical-scrutiny-is-the-means-in-both-science-and-religion-by-which/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [When you realize that no one really knows what they are doing and that everyone is doing the best they can according to their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/when-you-realize-that-no-one-really-knows-what-they-are-doing-and/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [If you are only skeptical, then no new ideas make it through to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/if-you-are-only-skeptical-then-no-new-ideas-make-it-through-to-you/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [To give up pretensions is as blessed a relief as to get them ratified.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/to-give-up-pretensions-is-as-blessed-a-relief-as-to-get-them-ratified/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/with-or-without-religion-you-would-have-good-people-doing-good-things/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [“Religion is not a book, it is not an institution, and it is not even a person. True Religion is realization of the self.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/religion-is-not-a-book-it-is-not-an-institution-and-it-is-not-even-a/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [The Christians who engaged in infamous persecutions and shameful inquisitions were not evil men but misguided men. The churchmen who felt they had an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-christians-who-engaged-in-infamous-persecutions-and-shameful/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [“One of the biggest religions on Roundworld was founded by a carpenter's son!' Ponder snarled. 'For years, the most powerful person on the planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/one-of-the-biggest-religions-on-roundworld-was-founded-by-a-carpenter/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [ As you kind of get over the anxiety about \[science and evolution\], it actually adds to your sense of awe about this amazing universe… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/as-you-kind-of-get-over-the-anxiety-about-science-and-evolution-it/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [The scientist who yields anything to theology, however slight, is yielding to ignorance and false pretenses, and as certainly as if he granted that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/the-scientist-who-yields-anything-to-theology-however-slight-is/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [To claim that science and religion pose different questions to the world is not to suggest that if the bones of Jesus were discovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/to-claim-that-science-and-religion-pose-different-questions-to-the/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [Science can destroy religion by ignoring it as well as by disproving its tenets. No one ever demonstrated, so far as I am aware,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/science-can-destroy-religion-by-ignoring-it-as-well-as-by-disproving/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) ## More by William James > [Effort is the one strictly undervalued and original contribution we make to this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/effort-is-the-one-strictly-undervalued-and-original-contribution-we/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [In the dim background of our mind we know meanwhile what we ought to be doing: getting up, dressing ourselves, answering the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-the-dim-background-of-our-mind-we-know-meanwhile-what-we-ought-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“Our minds thus grow in spots; and like grease-spots, the spots spread. But we let them spread as little as possible: we keep unaltered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/our-minds-thus-grow-in-spots-and-like-grease-spots-the-spots-spread/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Circumstance does not make me, it reveals me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/circumstance-does-not-make-me-it-reveals-me/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > ['Facts' are the bounds of human knowledge, set for it, not by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/facts-are-the-bounds-of-human-knowledge-set-for-it-not-by-it/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Woe to him whose beliefs play fast and loose with the order which realities follow in his experience; they will lead him nowhere or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/woe-to-him-whose-beliefs-play-fast-and-loose-with-the-order-which/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We never fully grasp the import of any true statement until we have a clear notion of what the opposite untrue statement would be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-never-fully-grasp-the-import-of-any-true-statement-until-we-have-a/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is your friends who make your world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-your-friends-who-make-your-world/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/human-beings-can-alter-their-lives-by-altering-their-attitudes-of-mind/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Most people, probably, are in doubt about certain matters ascribed to their past. They may have seen them, may have said them, done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/most-people-probably-are-in-doubt-about-certain-matters-ascribed-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“How soon, indeed, are human things forgotten! As we meet here this morning, the Southern sun is shining on their place of burial, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/how-soon-indeed-are-human-things-forgotten-as-we-meet-here-this/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [There can be no difference anywhere that does not make a difference somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/there-can-be-no-difference-anywhere-that-does-not-make-a-difference/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is wrong always, everywhere, and for everyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-wrong-always-everywhere-and-for-everyone-to-believe-anything/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) [Explore all 854 William James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## More Belief quotes > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“MIND & GRIND Self-belief and hard work can propel you past more talented peers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamil-ali/mind-grind-self-belief-and-hard-work-can-propel-you-past-more/) [Kamil Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamil-ali/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [It took me 20 years of hard training to get the physique I have today. what you need is what i had - BELIEF…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/branch-warren/it-took-me-20-years-of-hard-training-to-get-the-physique-i-have-today/) [Branch Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/branch-warren/) > [“Here is a fundamental difference between the man of faith and the man of unbelief. The unbeliever is 'of the world', judges everything by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-w-pink/here-is-a-fundamental-difference-between-the-man-of-faith-and-the-man/) [Arthur W. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-w-pink/) > [“She herself vacillated when it came to belief. She did not particularly believe in God. Or, rather, she didn't believe in a particular God.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allegra-goodman/she-herself-vacillated-when-it-came-to-belief-she-did-not/) [Allegra Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allegra-goodman/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [“Rigid traditions capture souls prisons of spiritual thought man’s religion has captured a god grown too small and very weak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-w-earle/rigid-traditions-capture-souls-prisons-of-spiritual-thought-man-s/) [David W Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-w-earle/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [In business, as in politics, it is never easy to go against the beliefs and attitudes held by the majority. The businessman who moves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-paul-getty/in-business-as-in-politics-it-is-never-easy-to-go-against-the-beliefs/) [J. Paul Getty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-paul-getty/) > [There's no greatest moment in the arts. It's a life; it's a continuity thing. You can't have a great moment because it's spiritual. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/there-s-no-greatest-moment-in-the-arts-it-s-a-life-it-s-a-continuity/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular belief, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/to-preserve-an-unclouded-capacity-for-the-enjoyment-of-life-is-an/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) [Browse all 10,268 Belief quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I believe there is no source of deception in the investigation of nature which can compare with a fixed belief that certain kinds of phenomena are IMPOSSIBLE.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William James" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/i-believe-there-is-no-source-of-deception-in-the-investigation-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Belief" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/i-believe-there-is-no-source-of-deception-in-the-investigation-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/199/william-james-228_belief_i-believe-there-is-no-source-of-deceptio_177386.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/199/william-james-228_belief_i-believe-there-is-no-source-of-deceptio_177386.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/199/william-james-228_belief_i-believe-there-is-no-source-of-deceptio_177386.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I believe there is no source of deception in the investigation of nature which can compare with a fixed…” — William James", "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": "William James", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I believe there is no source...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/i-believe-there-is-no-source-of-deception-in-the-investigation-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/i-believe-there-is-no-source-of-deception-in-the-investigation-of/#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 } } ] } ```