Faith Quote by William Kingdon Clifford
““We may believe what goes beyond our experience, only when it is inferred from that experience by the assumption that what we do not know is like what we know.””
About This Quote
Source Book: The Ethics of Belief by William K. Clifford, 1877
We accept ideas beyond direct evidence only when we infer them from known experiences, assuming unknowns resemble knowns.
In simple terms: We trust unseen things by comparing them to what we know.
Key Takeaway
Question assumptions before accepting unseen claims.
Themes
epistemology
assumption
inference
Mood
curious
critical
Type
analytical
philosophical
When to use this quote
- scientific research
- everyday decision making
- teaching
- policy formation
Key Concepts
philosophy
cognitive bias
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you verify that an unknown resembles a known?
- What risks arise from such inference?
A Different Perspective
Assumptions may be false, leading to error.
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