“Secondly, We may observe that opinions which contradict first principles, are distinguished, from other errors, by this:—That they are not only false but absurd; and, to discountenance absurdity, Nature hath given us a particular emotion—to wit, that of ridicule—which seems intended for this very purpose of putting out of countenance what is absurd, either in opinion or practice.” ~ Thomas Reid, Essay on the Intellectual Powers of Man

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