--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: With the exception of professional…" description: "\"“With the exception of professional rationalists, today people despair of true knowledge. If only the significant history of human thought were to be w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c79/albert-camus-47_futility_with-the-exception-of-professional-ratio_1714143.jpg" --- # With the exception of professional rationalists, today… ![“With the exception of professional rationalists, today people despair of true knowledge. If only the significant history of human thought were to be written, it would have to be he history of its successive regrets and its impotences.” quote by Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c79/albert-camus-47_futility_with-the-exception-of-professional-ratio_1714143.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c79/albert-camus-47_futility_with-the-exception-of-professional-ratio_1714143.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c79/albert-camus-47_futility_with-the-exception-of-professional-ratio_1714143.jpg) > ““With the exception of professional rationalists, today people despair of true knowledge. If only the significant history of human thought were to be written, it would have to be he history of its successive regrets and its impotences.”” [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human history is marked by repeated regrets and unfulfilled knowledge pursuits **In simple terms:** History repeats its failures Key Takeaway Learn from past errors to seek true insight Themes philosophy history knowledge regret Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - academic research - education reform - public discourse - policy making Key Concepts epistemology existentialism human error Questions to Reflect On - What “ would change if we documented successes? - How can societies avoid repeating intellectual regrets? A Different Perspective Idealizing past knowledge can ignore present possibilities ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Futility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/futility/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-human/) [Human thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-thought/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Professional Rationalists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professional-rationalists-1274672/) [Rationalists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rationalists-319667/) [Rationalists Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rationalists-today-1274671/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) [True knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-knowledge/) ## Related quotes > [If the only significant history of human thought were to be written, it would have to be the history of its successive regrets and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/if-the-only-significant-history-of-human-thought-were-to-be-written/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [It is not the world that is absurd, nor human thought: the absurd arises when the human need to understand meets the unreasonableness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/it-is-not-the-world-that-is-absurd-nor-human-thought-the-absurd/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The various systems of doctrine that have held dominion over man have been demonstrated to be true beyond all question by rationalists of such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfred-trotter/the-various-systems-of-doctrine-that-have-held-dominion-over-man-have/) [Wilfred Trotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfred-trotter/) > [Artists are mystics rather than rationalists. They leap to conclusions that logic cannot reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/artists-are-mystics-rather-than-rationalists-they-leap-to-conclusions/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [“There are no rationalists. We all believe fairy-tales, and live in them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/there-are-no-rationalists-we-all-believe-fairy-tales-and-live-in-them/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [You're either a rationalist, or you're not. And the good news is a recent poll found 20% of adults under 30 say they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/you-re-either-a-rationalist-or-you-re-not-and-the-good-news-is-a/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [“One of chief pieces of advice I give to aspiring rationalists is "Don't try to be clever." And, "Listen to those quiet, nagging doubts."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/one-of-chief-pieces-of-advice-i-give-to-aspiring-rationalists-is-don/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [“The very rationalists who jeer at the trial by combat, in the old feudal ordeal, do in fact accept a trial by combat as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/the-very-rationalists-who-jeer-at-the-trial-by-combat-in-the-old/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [Rationalists are admirable beings, rationalism is a hideous monster when it claims for itself omnipotence. Attribution of omnipotence to reason is as bad a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/rationalists-are-admirable-beings-rationalism-is-a-hideous-monster/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Just as eunuchs will never know aesthetics as applied to the selection of beautiful women, so neither will pure rationalists ever know ethics, nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel/just-as-eunuchs-will-never-know-aesthetics-as-applied-to-the/) [Miguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel/) > [“What we want to believe and what is true are, I think, more closely related than the Rationalists would sometimes have us believe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/what-we-want-to-believe-and-what-is-true-are-i-think-more-closely/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“There comes a time when one must be strong with rationalists, for they can reduce anything whatever to dust, if they happen not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/there-comes-a-time-when-one-must-be-strong-with-rationalists-for-they/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [“Some of them are blinding glimpses of the obvious (BGOs), several overlap, and I make no claims of discovery. The fundamental proposition – and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/some-of-them-are-blinding-glimpses-of-the-obvious-bgos-several/) [Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/) > [“So we invent reasons for the unreasonable. We are rationalists of the irrational. It”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/so-we-invent-reasons-for-the-unreasonable-we-are-rationalists-of-the/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“THE GREATEST MYSTERY OF ALL TIME… THE HISTORY OF HUMAN ORIGINS… WILL BE REVEALED. 70,000 years ago, the human race almost went extinct. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-g-riddle/the-greatest-mystery-of-all-time-the-history-of-human-origins-will-be/) [A.G. Riddle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-g-riddle/) ## More by Albert Camus > [“The whole town rushed outside to celebrate this crowded minute when the time of suffering had ended and the time of forgetting had not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-whole-town-rushed-outside-to-celebrate-this-crowded-minute-when/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Generally, I like all islands. There, it is easier to rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/generally-i-like-all-islands-there-it-is-easier-to-rule/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Being is good, but getting rich is better… If the gods had only the riches of men's adoration, they would be as poor as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/being-is-good-but-getting-rich-is-better-if-the-gods-had-only-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“Having been, not only mutilated in our country, wounded in our very flesh, but also divested of our most beautiful images, for you gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/having-been-not-only-mutilated-in-our-country-wounded-in-our-very/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I've seen of enough of people who die for an idea. I don't believe in heroism; I know it's easy and I've learned it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-ve-seen-of-enough-of-people-who-die-for-an-idea-i-don-t-believe-in/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The best are led to make greater demands upon themselves. As for those who succumb, they did not deserve to survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-best-are-led-to-make-greater-demands-upon-themselves-as-for-those/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“Then he asked me if I wasn’t interested in a change of life. I said that people never change their lives, that in any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/then-he-asked-me-if-i-wasn-t-interested-in-a-change-of-life-i-said/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Life is meaningless, but worth living, provided you recognize it's meaningless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/life-is-meaningless-but-worth-living-provided-you-recognize-it-s/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Thinking of the future, establishing aims for oneself, having preferences-all this presupposes a belief in freedom, even if one occasionally ascertains that one doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/thinking-of-the-future-establishing-aims-for-oneself-having/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I explained to him, however, that my nature was such that my physical needs often got in the way of my feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-explained-to-him-however-that-my-nature-was-such-that-my-physical/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-only-way-to-deal-with-an-unfree-world-is-to-become-so-absolutely/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“We love people not because for good they did for us, but for good we did for them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/we-love-people-not-because-for-good-they-did-for-us-but-for-good-we/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [You have so much inside you, and the noblest happiness of all. Don’t just wait for a man to come along. That’s the mistake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/you-have-so-much-inside-you-and-the-noblest-happiness-of-all-don-t/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The desire for possession is insatiable, to such a point that it can survive even love itself. To love, therefore, is to sterilize the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-desire-for-possession-is-insatiable-to-such-a-point-that-it-can/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) [Explore all 1,600 Albert Camus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) ## More Futility quotes > [Married life had taught him the futility of arguing with a female in a dark-brown mood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/married-life-had-taught-him-the-futility-of-arguing-with-a-female-in/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [I am alive again, now that I can no longer stand to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-am-alive-again-now-that-i-can-no-longer-stand-to-live/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“The nobility of age is that it conceals from the young the futility of effort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yeo-tze/the-nobility-of-age-is-that-it-conceals-from-the-young-the-futility/) [Yeo-tze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yeo-tze/) > [“Dabbling in the sandbox gives Rabbit a small headache. Over at the pavilion the rubber thump of Roofball and the click of checkers call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/dabbling-in-the-sandbox-gives-rabbit-a-small-headache-over-at-the/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Death is the only monastery; the tomb is the only cell, and the grave that adjoins the convent is the bitterest mock of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/death-is-the-only-monastery-the-tomb-is-the-only-cell-and-the-grave/) [Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/) > [It occurred to me that my speech or my silence, indeed any action of mine, would be a mere futility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/it-occurred-to-me-that-my-speech-or-my-silence-indeed-any-action-of/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [A mature artist is at the same time aware of the futility of his achievement and the validity of the pursuit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-helion/a-mature-artist-is-at-the-same-time-aware-of-the-futility-of-his/) [Jean Helion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-helion/) > [Suddenly the clouds seem high above us. They’re moving over us in an arch, circling the planet. They have seen abysmal oceans and charred,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-destefano/suddenly-the-clouds-seem-high-above-us-they-re-moving-over-us-in-an/) [Lauren DeStefano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-destefano/) > [“She strives, understanding the futility of it, for perfection.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/she-strives-understanding-the-futility-of-it-for-perfection/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) > [“Uite, daca-mi strang sufletul, nu se prinde nimic in el. Oricum, am ajuns departe, foarte departe. O mai fi ceva? Arborii cresc, le dau…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marin-sorescu/uite-daca-mi-strang-sufletul-nu-se-prinde-nimic-in-el-oricum-am-ajuns/) [Marin Sorescu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marin-sorescu/) > [“There are the girls we love, the men we look up to, the tenderness, the friendships, the opportunities, the pleasures! But the fact remains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/there-are-the-girls-we-love-the-men-we-look-up-to-the-tenderness-the/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“    In a thousand years or ten thousand, no one would remember my nation. It, too, would share in oblivion and prove to not matter,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miller-rory/in-a-thousand-years-or-ten-thousand-no-one-would-remember-my-nation/) [Miller Rory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miller-rory/) > [“...he arrived late at the office, perceived that his doing so made no difference whatever to any one, and was filled with sudden exasperation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/he-arrived-late-at-the-office-perceived-that-his-doing-so-made-no/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [Automobiles are often conveniently tagged as the villains responsible for the ills of cities and the disappointments and futilities of city planning. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/automobiles-are-often-conveniently-tagged-as-the-villains-responsible/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [The fatal futility of Fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/the-fatal-futility-of-fact/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) [Browse all 297 Futility quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/futility/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“With the exception of professional rationalists, today people despair of true knowledge. 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