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About this quote

What does it mean?
Diderot distinguishes between the certainty people feel after revelation and the actual truth revealed, arguing theologians often confuse the two.
In plain terms
Feeling sure about something isn't the same as knowing it is true.
What can you take from it?
Certainty does not guarantee truth.

Where it applies

  • religious debate
  • scientific discovery
  • personal belief

Putting it to work

  • questioning certainty
  • distinguishing belief from fact

Questions to consider

  • Can we ever truly know absolute truth?
  • Why do we trust feelings of certainty?

Another view

It assumes objective truth can be separated from personal experience.

More from Denis Diderot

  1. What is this world of ours? A complex entity subject to sudden changes which all indicate a tendency to destruction; a swift succession of beings which follow …

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  2. Il y a un peu de testicule au fond de nos sentiments les plus sublimes et de notre tendresse la plus epuree

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  3. If you want me to believe in God, you must make me touch him.

    Permalink to quote #2

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