Rabid suspicion has nothing in it of skepticism. The suspicious mind believes more than it doubts. It believes in a formidable and ineradicable evil lurking in every person.
PsychologyBeliefSkepticismEvilCritical thinkingSuspicionTrust
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Suspicion is not skepticism; it is a belief in hidden evil rather than a questioning of claims.
- In plain terms
- Suspicious people believe in bad things everywhere instead of just doubting.
- What can you take from it?
- Distinguish between healthy doubt and paranoid suspicion.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When does doubt become suspicion?
- What do you assume about others?
Another view
Some suspicion is warranted in high-risk situations.
More from Eric Hoffer
There are many who find a good alibi far more attractive than an achievement. For an achievement does not settle anything permanently. We still have to prove o…
Permalink to quote #57 With some people solitariness is an escape not from others but from themselves. For they see in the eyes of others only a reflection of themselves.
Permalink to quote #59 No one is truly literate who cannot read his own heart.
Permalink to quote #56
Related quotes
Douter de tout ou tout croire, ce sont deux solutions egalement commodes, qui l'une et l'autre nous dispensent de reflechir.
Henri PoincareHenri Poincare quote #5 Fay: Your explanation had the ring of truth. Naturally I disbelieved every word.
Joe OrtonJoe Orton quote #9 There are two ways to slide easily through life: to believe everything or to doubt everything; both ways save us from thinking.
Alfred KorzybskiAlfred Korzybski quote #11