Here is the quote I wanted to post today:
"Prejudices are what fools use for reason."
Voltaire
The thing is, I decided to verify the quote before I posted it, and doing a little bit of searching, I found quite a few sites which serve as nice repositories of quotations, and within them, I found quotes by Voltaire, but I did not find the quote above.
Hmmmm.
However, I did find an piece of Voltaire's writing(1) which deals with prejudice. Here is its opening:
"PREJUDICE is an opinion without judgment. Thus all over the world do people inspire children with all the opinions they desire, before the children can judge."
From that opening line, one might think that Voltaire is about to condemn prejudice in all its forms. He does not, however. He, as a philosopher, delves into the value of many kinds of human thought. This particular essay is really part of The Philosophical Dictionary.
Of course, the word "prejudice" has taken on some baggage as commonly used in American society today. So, while I can't find the exact quote, the reading I've done as I put together this blog entry leads me to believe that Voltaire would have agreed with the intent, if not the exact wording.
How many lessons can I draw from today's entry?
- Check your sources.
- Philosphers don't (usually) speak in sound bites.
- "A witty saying proves nothing." -- Voltaire
- (Add your own -- there are more!)
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(1)Here is a link to the Voltaire's entry on "Prejudice" as posted by the Hanover College Department of History.