The eulogies of my intelligence are positively intended to evade the question 'Is what she says true?'
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Weil suggests that intellectual arguments often sidestep the real question of truthfulness.
- In plain terms
- Intellectual defenses tend to avoid asking if statements are true.
- What can you take from it?
- Focus on truth rather than clever rhetoric.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Do you prioritize truth over persuasion?
- How can you spot evasive reasoning?
Another view
The critique may overlook the value of nuanced argumentation.
More from Simone Weil
No human being escapes the necessity of conceiving some good outside himself towards which his thought turns in a movement of desire, supplication, and hope. c…
Permalink to quote #12 There is nothing that comes closer to true humility than the intelligence. It is impossible to feel pride in one's intelligence at the moment when one really a…
Permalink to quote #14 In order to obey God, one must receive his commands. How did it happen that I received them in adolescence, while I was professing atheism? To believe that the…
Permalink to quote #11
Related quotes
We should always be prepared so as never to err to believe that what I see as white is black, if the hierarchic Church defines it thus.
Ignatius of LoyolaIgnatius of Loyola quote #6 Appearances to the mind are of four kinds. Things either are what they appear to be; or they neither are, nor appear to be; or they are, and do not appear to b…
EpictetusEpictetus quote #8 'All things are to be examined and called into question. There are no limits set to thought.'
Edith HamiltonEdith Hamilton quote #10