--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Aristotle discovered all the half-truths…" description: "\"Aristotle discovered all the half-truths which were necessary to the creation of science.\" — Alfred North Whitehead" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/492/alfred-north-whitehead-836_accounts_aristotle-discovered-all-the-half-truths_39619.png" --- # Aristotle discovered all the half-truths which were… ![“Aristotle discovered all the half-truths which were necessary to the creation of science.” quote by Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/492/alfred-north-whitehead-836_accounts_aristotle-discovered-all-the-half-truths_39619.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/492/alfred-north-whitehead-836_accounts_aristotle-discovered-all-the-half-truths_39619.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/492/alfred-north-whitehead-836_accounts_aristotle-discovered-all-the-half-truths_39619.png) > “Aristotle discovered all the half-truths which were necessary to the creation of science.” [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Science builds on partial truths, each serving as stepping stones toward fuller understanding. **In simple terms:** Science advances via incremental insights. Key Takeaway Progress is cumulative, not absolute. Themes epistemology philosophy of science knowledge acquisition incrementalism truth methodology Mood curiosity skepticism optimism Type aphilosorical analytical When to use this quote - forming hypotheses - designing experiments - evaluating data - refining theories - teaching scientific thinking Key Concepts partial truth scientific method progress error correction Practical Applications - research design - educational curricula Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions limit our current models? - How can we turn half‑truths into full insights? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accounts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accounts/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aristotle/) [Aristotle Discovered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aristotle-discovered-451933/) [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Discovered Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovered-half-451934/) [Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half/) [Half truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half-truth/) [Half Truths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half-truths/) [Necessary Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necessary-creation-451935/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [There are no whole truths: All truths are half-truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/there-are-no-whole-truths-all-truths-are-half-truths/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The truths that seem most truthful, if you look at them from all sides, if you look at them close up, turn out to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/the-truths-that-seem-most-truthful-if-you-look-at-them-from-all-sides/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [It is notorious that we speak no more than half-truths in our ordinary conversation, and even a soliloquy is likely to be affected by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-linklater/it-is-notorious-that-we-speak-no-more-than-half-truths-in-our/) [Eric Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-linklater/) > [ The tragic reality is that there have been occasions when \[Mormon\] Church leaders, teachers, and writers have not told the truth they knew about… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-michael-quinn/the-tragic-reality-is-that-there-have-been-occasions-when-mormon/) [D. Michael Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-michael-quinn/) > [The polls demonstrate that 50 percent of Americans who get their news from TV think Saddam Hussein was behind the Twin Towers attack. Man,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-polls-demonstrate-that-50-percent-of-americans-who-get-their-news/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [One goes to Nature only for hints and half-truths. Her facts are crude until you have absorbed them or translated them ... It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/one-goes-to-nature-only-for-hints-and-half-truths-her-facts-are-crude/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [Maxims are sharp-edged half-truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/maxims-are-sharp-edged-half-truths/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [What will a Hillary Clinton presidency look like? The answer by now seems obvious: It will look like her presidential campaign, which in turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/what-will-a-hillary-clinton-presidency-look-like-the-answer-by-now/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [The truth is always a compound of two half- truths, and you never reach it, because there is always something more to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/the-truth-is-always-a-compound-of-two-half-truths-and-you-never-reach/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Two half truths do not make a truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/two-half-truths-do-not-make-a-truth/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [Half truths were a wonderful way to inspire credibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/half-truths-were-a-wonderful-way-to-inspire-credibility/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [There was a distinction between lying and telling half-truths, but it was a very narrow one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/there-was-a-distinction-between-lying-and-telling-half-truths-but-it/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [Half-truths are the devil's IOUs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ban-breathnach/half-truths-are-the-devil-s-ious/) [Sarah Ban Breathnach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ban-breathnach/) > [Common sense, the half-truths of a deceitful society, is honored as the honest truths of a frank world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-jacoby/common-sense-the-half-truths-of-a-deceitful-society-is-honored-as-the/) [Russell Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-jacoby/) > [We make no apology then for raising our voices loud to a world that is ripening in sin the lord has said,” Say nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-w-kimball/we-make-no-apology-then-for-raising-our-voices-loud-to-a-world-that/) [Spencer W. Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-w-kimball/) ## More by Alfred North Whitehead > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Philosophy begins in wonder. And, at the end, when philosophic thought has done its best, the wonder remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/philosophy-begins-in-wonder-and-at-the-end-when-philosophic-thought/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The pursuit of mathematics is a divine madness of the human spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-pursuit-of-mathematics-is-a-divine-madness-of-the-human-spirit/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Without adventure all civilization is full of decay. Adventure rarely reaches its predetermined end. Columbus never reached China.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/without-adventure-all-civilization-is-full-of-decay-adventure-rarely/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [On the ostensible exactitude of certain branches of human knowledge, including mathematics. The exactness is a fake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/on-the-ostensible-exactitude-of-certain-branches-of-human-knowledge/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [It is this union of passionate interest in the detailed facts with equal devotion to abstract generalisation which forms the novelty in our present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/it-is-this-union-of-passionate-interest-in-the-detailed-facts-with/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Our minds are finite, and yet even in these circumstances of infinitude we are surrounded by possibilities that are infinite, and the purpose of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/our-minds-are-finite-and-yet-even-in-these-circumstances-of/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The many become one and are increased by one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-many-become-one-and-are-increased-by-one/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Art is the imposing of a pattern on experience, and our aesthetic enjoyment is recognition of the pattern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/art-is-the-imposing-of-a-pattern-on-experience-and-our-aesthetic/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The future belongs to those who can rise above the confines of the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-future-belongs-to-those-who-can-rise-above-the-confines-of-the/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Common sense is genius in homespun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/common-sense-is-genius-in-homespun/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Everyone is a philosopher. Not everyone is good at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/everyone-is-a-philosopher-not-everyone-is-good-at-it/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Do not teach too many subjects and what you teach, teach thoroughly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/do-not-teach-too-many-subjects-and-what-you-teach-teach-thoroughly/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking about them. Operations of thought are cavalry charges in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/civilization-advances-by-extending-the-number-of-important-operations/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [“The merit of Locke 's 'Essay Concerning Human Understanding' is its adequacy, and not its consistency. . . He should have widened the title…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-merit-of-locke-s-essay-concerning-human-understanding-is-its/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) [Explore all 356 Alfred North Whitehead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) ## More Accounts quotes > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [Think of these things, whence you came, where you are going, and to whom you must account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/think-of-these-things-whence-you-came-where-you-are-going-and-to-whom/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [The Hindus have a peculiar slovenliness in business matters, not being sufficiently methodical and strict in keeping accounts etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-hindus-have-a-peculiar-slovenliness-in-business-matters-not-being/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [With the Truman book, I wrote the entire account of his experiences in World War I before going over to Europe to follow his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/with-the-truman-book-i-wrote-the-entire-account-of-his-experiences-in/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [A great read; an exciting, frightening account of organized crime today. 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The more you put in, the more you can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lalanne/you-ve-got-to-exercise-your-health-account-your-bank-account-they-re/) [Jack LaLanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lalanne/) > [No physiologist who calmly considers the question in connection with the general truths of his science, can long resist the conviction that different parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-physiologist-who-calmly-considers-the-question-in-connection-with/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [God puts you where God needs you. You are where you are supposed to be. The job you are doing may not be any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kushner/god-puts-you-where-god-needs-you-you-are-where-you-are-supposed-to-be/) [Lawrence Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kushner/) > [Stop trying to treat music like it's a tennis shoe, something to be branded. 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