"The exact contrary of what is generally believed is often the truth"

Jean de la Bruyere’s assertion challenges the comfort of broadly accepted ideas, encouraging a healthy skepticism of what society holds as obvious or self-evident. It implies that collective beliefs, even or especially those most widely accepted, are susceptible to error, distortion, or outright inversion of reality. This tendency may arise from the human inclination toward conformity, where agreement becomes more important than truth. As a result, narratives form, reinforced through tradition, repetition, and the pressure of consensus, sometimes growing so entrenched that their origins or accuracy go unquestioned.

When La Bruyere speaks of the “exact contrary,” he draws attention to paradoxes that pervade human experience. That which everyone assumes to be good, just, or wise might mask flaws, injustices, or foolishness overlooked precisely because they are popular; conversely, ideas or practices shunned or mocked may contain unexpected wisdom or virtue. History demonstrates myriad examples: scientific theories dismissed as heresy later become dogma; social norms once undisputed now evoke shock and remorse. Galileo’s heliocentrism, once heretical, came to define astronomy. Throughout philosophical, cultural, and political realms, transformations often emerge when some dare to question the prevailing view, uncovering deeper truths lying beneath the surface of what “everyone knows.”

The statement serves as an invitation to critical thought and intellectual humility. It warns against complacency and the assumption that majority opinion equates to correctness. Instead, it asks individuals to scrutinize biases, personal and collective, and to recognize that reality can be complex, counter-intuitive, sometimes uncomfortable. For genuine understanding, it is necessary to look beyond consensus, to question, to probe, and sometimes to entertain radical alternatives. In practice, this outlook cultivates open-mindedness and a greater capacity for independent judgement, essential qualities for discovering truth in an ever-changing world, where yesterday’s certainties may become tomorrow’s follies.