--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So far as the mere imparting of…" description: "\"So far as the mere imparting of information is concerned, no university has had any justification for existence since the popularization of printing in..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/943/alfred-north-whitehead-836_century_so-far-as-the-mere-imparting-of-informat_2357141.png" --- # So far as the mere imparting of information is concerned… ![“So far as the mere imparting of information is concerned, no university has had any justification for existence since the popularization of printing in the fifteenth century.” quote by Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/943/alfred-north-whitehead-836_century_so-far-as-the-mere-imparting-of-informat_2357141.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/943/alfred-north-whitehead-836_century_so-far-as-the-mere-imparting-of-informat_2357141.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/943/alfred-north-whitehead-836_century_so-far-as-the-mere-imparting-of-informat_2357141.png) > “So far as the mere imparting of information is concerned, no university has had any justification for existence since the popularization of printing in the fifteenth century.” [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. The spread of printed material makes universities' role of merely transmitting facts obsolete; they must offer deeper value beyond information delivery. **In simple terms:** Universities need to provide more than just facts. Key Takeaway Focus on critical thinking and research. Themes education knowledge institutional relevance Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - curriculum design - policy making - academic leadership Key Concepts critical thinking research innovation Questions to Reflect On - How can universities stay relevant in the digital age? - What unique value can they offer beyond information? A Different Perspective Universities still need to teach foundational skills. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/century/) [Concerned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concerned/) [Concerned University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concerned-university-5760056/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Fifteenth Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fifteenth-century-685975/) [Information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information/) [Justification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justification/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Math](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/math/) [Mathematical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematical/) [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [Mere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mere/) [Popularization Printing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/popularization-printing-5760058/) [Printing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/printing/) [Printing Fifteenth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/printing-fifteenth-5760055/) [University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university/) [University Justification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university-justification-5760057/) ## Related quotes > [The discovery of printing in the middle of the fifteenth century implied the beginning of a return to a type of civilization dominated by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-innis/the-discovery-of-printing-in-the-middle-of-the-fifteenth-century/) [Harold Innis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-innis/) > [The Renaissance of the fifteenth century was, in many things, great rather by what it designed that by what it achieved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-pater/the-renaissance-of-the-fifteenth-century-was-in-many-things-great-2/) [Walter Pater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-pater/) > [No account of the Renaissance can be complete without some notice of the attempt made by certain Italian scholars of the fifteenth century to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-pater/no-account-of-the-renaissance-can-be-complete-without-some-notice-of/) [Walter Pater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-pater/) > [It's all nonsense to say that the Fifteenth Century can't possibly speak to the Twentieth, because it is the Fifteenth and not the Twentieth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-rolfe/it-s-all-nonsense-to-say-that-the-fifteenth-century-can-t-possibly/) [Frederick Rolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-rolfe/) > [And the fifteenth century was an impassioned age, so ardent and serious in its pursuit of art that it consecrated everything with which art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-pater/and-the-fifteenth-century-was-an-impassioned-age-so-ardent-and/) [Walter Pater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-pater/) > [“At the height of their power in the fifteenth century, the Hanseatics were believed to have had at their command 40,000 vessels and 300,000 men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/at-the-height-of-their-power-in-the-fifteenth-century-the-hanseatics/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [“I don't think people have made staples by hand since the fifteenth century.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/i-don-t-think-people-have-made-staples-by-hand-since-the-fifteenth/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“Most Europeans at the end of the fifteenth century considered religious unity a good idea, but only Spain’s rulers believed it was essential to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/most-europeans-at-the-end-of-the-fifteenth-century-considered/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) > [The Renaissance of the fifteenth century was, in many things, great rather by what it designed then by what it achieved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-pater/the-renaissance-of-the-fifteenth-century-was-in-many-things-great/) [Walter Pater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-pater/) > [And so by the fifteenth century, on October 8, the Europeans were looking for a new place to try to get to, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/and-so-by-the-fifteenth-century-on-october-8-the-europeans-were/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [“It was an archetypal ruin portrait, a sub-genre that was terribly common during the fifteenth century. The top third of the picture-plane hosted a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-cathrall/it-was-an-archetypal-ruin-portrait-a-sub-genre-that-was-terribly/) [Sylvie Cathrall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-cathrall/) > [Printers shall be liable to legal prosecution for printing and publishing false facts injurious to the party prosecuting: but they shall be under no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/printers-shall-be-liable-to-legal-prosecution-for-printing-and/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The World's a Printing-House, our words, our thoughts, Our deeds, are characters of several sizes. Each soul is a Compos'tor, of whose faults The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/the-world-s-a-printing-house-our-words-our-thoughts-our-deeds-are/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [TV is bigger than any story it reports. It's the greatest teaching tool since the printing press.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-w-friendly/tv-is-bigger-than-any-story-it-reports-it-s-the-greatest-teaching/) [Fred W. Friendly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-w-friendly/) > [Plenty of white space and generous line spacing,and don't make the type size too miserly. Then you will be assured of a product fit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giambattista-bodoni/plenty-of-white-space-and-generous-line-spacing-and-don-t-make-the/) [Giambattista Bodoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giambattista-bodoni/) ## 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 Century quotes > [I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-always-that-i-am-an-outsider-a-stranger-in-this-century-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ \[The Dalai Lama\] told me some years ago, "I've made every concession to China, and I've been as open and tolerant as I could,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-told-me-some-years-ago-i-ve-made-every-concession-to/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The poetry from the eighteenth century was prose; the prose from the seventeenth century was poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hare/the-poetry-from-the-eighteenth-century-was-prose-the-prose-from-the/) [David Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hare/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Talented people can predict with great accuracy what's about to happen just a tiny bit ahead of their competitors. It might be two seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/talented-people-can-predict-with-great-accuracy-what-s-about-to/) [Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. 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