The Mind under the Influence of Prejudice

Nothing is more difficult, while the mind is under the influence

of prejudice, than to persuade it of the necessity of removing or

destroying that prejudice; prejudice destroys the discerning power of

the understanding, and conviction becomes impossible while the force

of evidence necessary to produce it is not discovered. The same idea

of right, the same ideas of truth, associate themselves with a

prejudiced mind, as are to be found in the clearest operation of the

most enlightened; and the fool is as confident in error, as the wise

man standing on the broad basis of moral and natural truth. No hopes

of reform can be entertained relative to such obstinate minds, until

you can render them susceptible of the impressions of doubt or

uncertainty; the man who never doubts, or calls in question the truth

of any deduction which he has made, is but badly calculated for the

development of real principle; there is no extension or perfection of

mind which excludes the possibility of error, and it is only by

repeated examination of our own opinions, that we can arrive through

the process of investigation to that elevated situation which unfolds

the sublime truths contained in the system of nature.

 --Elihu Palmer (1764-1806), Principles of Nature; or, A Development of the Moral Causes of Happiness and Misery Among the Human Species