"Liberalism is an attitude rather than a set of dogmas - an attitude that insists upon questioning all plausible and self-evident propositions, seeking not to reject them but to find out what evidence there is to support them rather than their possible alternatives"
About this Quote
The key move is his insistence on questioning without the thrill of demolition. “Seeking not to reject” is doing quiet but heavy work. Cohen is wary of the pose of radical negation as much as he’s wary of dogma. The liberal temperament he’s describing is closer to a courtroom than a barricade: test the case, ask what evidence exists, and then ask what evidence could support the alternatives we’ve been trained not to see. That last clause - “rather than their possible alternatives” - contains the subtext: most intellectual coercion works by shrinking the menu. Power doesn’t always lie; it often just declares the debate finished.
Context matters. Cohen lived through the rise of mass propaganda, ideological movements that demanded loyalty over inquiry, and a modern media environment that could make a claim feel “self-evident” through repetition. His intent is protective: liberalism as an epistemic ethic, a safeguard against certainty dressed up as common sense. In an era when politics keeps trying to convert identity into belief, Cohen argues for a more subversive allegiance: loyalty to the process that makes beliefs earn their authority.
Quote Details
| Topic | Reason & Logic |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Cohen, Morris Raphael. (n.d.). Liberalism is an attitude rather than a set of dogmas - an attitude that insists upon questioning all plausible and self-evident propositions, seeking not to reject them but to find out what evidence there is to support them rather than their possible alternatives. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/liberalism-is-an-attitude-rather-than-a-set-of-92693/
Chicago Style
Cohen, Morris Raphael. "Liberalism is an attitude rather than a set of dogmas - an attitude that insists upon questioning all plausible and self-evident propositions, seeking not to reject them but to find out what evidence there is to support them rather than their possible alternatives." FixQuotes. Accessed February 2, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/liberalism-is-an-attitude-rather-than-a-set-of-92693/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Liberalism is an attitude rather than a set of dogmas - an attitude that insists upon questioning all plausible and self-evident propositions, seeking not to reject them but to find out what evidence there is to support them rather than their possible alternatives." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/liberalism-is-an-attitude-rather-than-a-set-of-92693/. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.








