--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I will not go so far as to say that to…" description: "\"I will not go so far as to say that to construct a history of thought without profound study of the mathematical ideas of successive epochs is like omi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/alfred-north-whitehead-836_charming_i-will-not-go-so-far-as-to-say-that-to-c_2158798.jpg" --- # I will not go so far as to say that to construct a history… ![“I will not go so far as to say that to construct a history of thought without profound study of the mathematical ideas of successive epochs is like omitting Hamlet from the play which is named after him. That would be claiming too much. But it is certainly analogous to cutting out the part of…” quote by Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/alfred-north-whitehead-836_charming_i-will-not-go-so-far-as-to-say-that-to-c_2158798.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/alfred-north-whitehead-836_charming_i-will-not-go-so-far-as-to-say-that-to-c_2158798.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/alfred-north-whitehead-836_charming_i-will-not-go-so-far-as-to-say-that-to-c_2158798.jpg) > “I will not go so far as to say that to construct a history of thought without profound study of the mathematical ideas of successive epochs is like omitting Hamlet from the play which is named after him. That would be claiming too much. But it is certainly analogous to cutting out the part of Ophelia. This simile is singularly exact. For Ophelia is quite essential to the play, she is very charming . . . and a little mad.” [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. History of thought must include its mathematical foundations, just as a play needs all its characters. **In simple terms:** Include math in intellectual history. Key Takeaway Study math to understand ideas fully. Themes history mathematics philosophy Mood analytical thoughtful Type philosophical academic When to use this quote - academic research - education curriculum - interdisciplinary studies Key Concepts epistemology interconnectedness Questions to Reflect On - How does mathematics shape philosophical ideas? - What parts of history are often omitted? A Different Perspective Focusing only on narrative can miss essential structure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Charming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/charming/) [Constructs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constructs/) [Cutting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cutting/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Essentials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essentials/) [Hamlet Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hamlet-play-4279201/) [Historical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-thought-810895/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Ideas Successive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas-successive-4571611/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Mad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mad/) [Math](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/math/) [Mathematical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematical/) [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [Omitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/omitting/) [Omitting Hamlet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/omitting-hamlet-4571609/) [Ophelia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ophelia/) [Ophelia Simile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ophelia-simile-4571610/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Profound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profound/) [Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakespeare/) [Simile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simile/) [Study](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Too much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-much/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [“I would not go so far as to say that to construct a history of thought without a profound study of the mathematical ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-would-not-go-so-far-as-to-say-that-to-construct-a-history-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > ['Hamlet' is a play of many strange parts, with ghosts and players, politicians and clowns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-farr/hamlet-is-a-play-of-many-strange-parts-with-ghosts-and-players/) [David Farr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-farr/) > [Hamlet 's character is the prevalence of the abstracting and generalizing habit over the practical. He does not want courage, skill, will, or opportunity;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/hamlet-s-character-is-the-prevalence-of-the-abstracting-and/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > ['Hamlet' is a play about a man whose grief is deemed unseemly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meghan-o-rourke/hamlet-is-a-play-about-a-man-whose-grief-is-deemed-unseemly/) [Meghan O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meghan-o-rourke/) > ['Macbeth' sags in act four - the England scene with Malcolm and Macduff just doesn't work theatrically. But with 'Hamlet,' although the play is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-pryce/macbeth-sags-in-act-four-the-england-scene-with-malcolm-and-macduff/) [Jonathan Pryce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-pryce/) > [ “Only the learned read old books, and... now... they are of all men the least likely to acquire wisdom by doing so. ...\[G\]reat scholars… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/only-the-learned-read-old-books-and-now-they-are-of-all-men-the-least/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [All history is the history of thought,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-g-collingwood/all-history-is-the-history-of-thought/) [Robin G. Collingwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-g-collingwood/) > [The history of thought, and therefore all history, is the re-enactment of past thought in the historian's own mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-g-collingwood/the-history-of-thought-and-therefore-all-history-is-the-re-enactment/) [Robin G. Collingwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-g-collingwood/) > [“History, he thought, is the study of men and women who rise to extraordinary events. It is, over and over, an examination of one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/history-he-thought-is-the-study-of-men-and-women-who-rise-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“No Big Power in all history ever thought of itself as an aggressor. That is still true today.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-big-power-in-all-history-ever-thought-of-itself-as-an-aggressor/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The history of thought, of knowledge, of philosophy, of literature seems to be seeking, and discovering, more and more discontinuities, whereas history itself appears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/the-history-of-thought-of-knowledge-of-philosophy-of-literature-seems/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [“Like, okay. Everyone in history thought they were the ones who finally knew everything. In their naissance, right, they were positive they knew exactly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/like-okay-everyone-in-history-thought-they-were-the-ones-who-finally/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [“The history of thought - or of reason - is like this river. The thoughts that are washed along with the current of past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/the-history-of-thought-or-of-reason-is-like-this-river-the-thoughts/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“The history of social, political and technological change is inextricably bound to the history of thought.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-stokes/the-history-of-social-political-and-technological-change-is/) [Philip Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-stokes/) > [I was very interested in history, but I also thought, you know, history is not that interesting sometimes, and it can feel a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/min-jin-lee/i-was-very-interested-in-history-but-i-also-thought-you-know-history/) [Min Jin Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/min-jin-lee/) ## 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/) > [Aristotle discovered all the half-truths which were necessary to the creation of science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/aristotle-discovered-all-the-half-truths-which-were-necessary-to-the/) [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/) [Explore all 356 Alfred North Whitehead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) ## More Charming quotes > [In some circles where very heavy people think they have very heavy brains, words like "charming" and "clever" and "pretty" are all put-downs; all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/in-some-circles-where-very-heavy-people-think-they-have-very-heavy/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [Anybody can be Prince Charming one day a year, with the dinner and the flowers and all that. But you know what impresses me?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-howard/anybody-can-be-prince-charming-one-day-a-year-with-the-dinner-and-the/) [Ryan Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-howard/) > [Ninety-eight percent of the things that come out of my mouth are intended to be harmless or even charming. They're not ever intended to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/ninety-eight-percent-of-the-things-that-come-out-of-my-mouth-are/) [Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/) > [Falling out of love is chiefly a matter of forgetting how charming someone is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/falling-out-of-love-is-chiefly-a-matter-of-forgetting-how-charming/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [You have to be nicer to me," I said. Again he laughed. "What? I'm the King of nice. What are you talking about?" "You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-myracle/you-have-to-be-nicer-to-me-i-said-again-he-laughed-what-i-m-the-king/) [Lauren Myracle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-myracle/) > [Everything was so designed by Hannibal to break down Will in the first season, until Will's sanity became questionable. It's so much easier to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-fuller/everything-was-so-designed-by-hannibal-to-break-down-will-in-the/) [Bryan Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-fuller/) > [Old Etonians are the most charming people in the world. It's not just the analytic ability and the great education; there is a really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-wade/old-etonians-are-the-most-charming-people-in-the-world-it-s-not-just/) [Laura Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-wade/) > [My beloved friend - one of the most unique and charming personalities of our time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/my-beloved-friend-one-of-the-most-unique-and-charming-personalities/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [Wouldn’t that make a charming epitaph? Here lies Cat. Killed not by fang, but Ferragamos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/wouldn-t-that-make-a-charming-epitaph-here-lies-cat-killed-not-by/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [Sir, money, money, the most charming of all things; money, which will say more in one moment than the most elegant lover can in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/sir-money-money-the-most-charming-of-all-things-money-which-will-say/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) > [Charming Alnaschar visions! it is the happy privilege of youth to construct you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/charming-alnaschar-visions-it-is-the-happy-privilege-of-youth-to/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [I wasn‘t—" I began. I didn‘t—" He began. How charming," V‘lane cut us off. His voice arrived before he did. "The very portrait of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/i-wasn-t-i-began-i-didn-t-he-began-how-charming-v-lane-cut-us-off-his/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Lillian Gish may be a charming person, but she is not Ophelia. She comes on stage as if she had been sent for to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mrs-patrick-campbell/lillian-gish-may-be-a-charming-person-but-she-is-not-ophelia-she/) [Mrs. Patrick Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mrs-patrick-campbell/) > [There are likable characters in prison. Sometimes the worst criminals are also some of the most charming people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taryn-manning/there-are-likable-characters-in-prison-sometimes-the-worst-criminals/) [Taryn Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taryn-manning/) > [The secular mind and heart, however gifted and personally charming, has no place in the leadership of the church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-oswald-sanders/the-secular-mind-and-heart-however-gifted-and-personally-charming-has/) [J. Oswald Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-oswald-sanders/) [Browse all 808 Charming quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/charming/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I will not go so far as to say that to construct a history of thought without profound study of the mathematical ideas of successive epochs is like omitting Hamlet from the play which is named after him. That would be claiming too much. 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