--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is one thing a professor can be…" description: "\"There is one thing a professor can be absolutely certain of: almost every student entering the university believes, or says he believes, that truth is ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/allan-bloom-4105_believe_there-is-one-thing-a-professor-can-be-ab_25410.png" --- # There is one thing a professor can be absolutely certain… ![“There is one thing a professor can be absolutely certain of: almost every student entering the university believes, or says he believes, that truth is relative.” quote by Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/allan-bloom-4105_believe_there-is-one-thing-a-professor-can-be-ab_25410.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/allan-bloom-4105_believe_there-is-one-thing-a-professor-can-be-ab_25410.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/allan-bloom-4105_believe_there-is-one-thing-a-professor-can-be-ab_25410.png) > “There is one thing a professor can be absolutely certain of: almost every student entering the university believes, or says he believes, that truth is relative.” [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Students often assume truth varies with perspective, but the professor knows that many hold this relativistic view. **In simple terms:** Relativism in education Key Takeaway Challenge assumptions about truth Themes Epistemology Education Philosophy Relativism Critical Thinking Mood Reflective Skeptical Thoughtful Type Philosophical Educational Critical When to use this quote - College orientation - Introductory philosophy class - Debate on moral standards - Curriculum design Key Concepts Truth Belief Student Mindset Professor's Perspective Practical Applications - Designing curricula that address epistemic humility - Teaching critical analysis of relativistic claims Questions to Reflect On - How does relativism affect academic discourse? - What evidence supports objective truth? A Different Perspective Some argue that acknowledging multiple perspectives enriches understanding, not undermines objective truth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Professors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professors/) [Skepticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skepticism/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university/) ## Related quotes > [“Every university believes in “excellence,” and hundred-page course catalogs arranged alphabetically according to arbitrary departments of knowledge seem designed to reassure you that “it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/every-university-believes-in-excellence-and-hundred-page-course/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [It's hard to come across genuine people now a days and no one believes in the truth anymore either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-hard-to-come-across-genuine-people-now-a-days-and-no-one/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/one-should-either-write-ruthlessly-what-one-believes-to-be-the-truth/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [The Bible's truth does not depend in any way on whether or not a person believes the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-bible-s-truth-does-not-depend-in-any-way-on-whether-or-not-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A lie is a lie even if everyone believes it. The truth is the truth even if nobody believes it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-lie-is-a-lie-even-if-everyone-believes-it-the-truth-is-the-truth/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm someone who believes the truth needs to be heard. And if I'm empowered with the truth, I'm not going to shut up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-ritter/i-m-someone-who-believes-the-truth-needs-to-be-heard-and-if-i-m/) [Scott Ritter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-ritter/) > [“- 'My lord, if a man cannot express his honestly held views in the Central Criminal Court, perhaps you can advise me where else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-archer/my-lord-if-a-man-cannot-express-his-honestly-held-views-in-the/) [Jeffrey Archer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-archer/) > [The right I claim is that of every human being to speak what he believes to be the truth to whomever he may meet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-a-moore/the-right-i-claim-is-that-of-every-human-being-to-speak-what-he/) [George A. Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-a-moore/) > [“A writer inevitably - and less directly this applies to all the arts - about contemporary events, and his impulse is to tell what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/a-writer-inevitably-and-less-directly-this-applies-to-all-the-arts/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [ “No one will seek the highest \[things\] if he believes that there is no truth, that nothing is his fault, and that government will… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-v-schall/no-one-will-seek-the-highest-things-if-he-believes-that-there-is-no/) [James V. Schall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-v-schall/) > [An organizer working in and for an open society is in an ideological dilemma to begin with, he does not have a fixed truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/an-organizer-working-in-and-for-an-open-society-is-in-an-ideological/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The Bible's been attacked. What is truth? It's relative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-burpo/the-bible-s-been-attacked-what-is-truth-it-s-relative/) [Todd Burpo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-burpo/) > [“Truth becomes a relative and disputable term in the alternate reality of partisan politics”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-rejebian/truth-becomes-a-relative-and-disputable-term-in-the-alternate-reality/) Michael Rejebian > [“Truth is not something that is relative to one situation and then changes to fit another situation. Truth is constant, never changing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwen-burton/truth-is-not-something-that-is-relative-to-one-situation-and-then/) Gwen Burton > [No matter who hurt me the truth, relative to live a lie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misherie/no-matter-who-hurt-me-the-truth-relative-to-live-a-lie/) [Misherie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misherie/) ## More by Allan Bloom > [Authentic values are those by which a life can be lived, which can form a people that produces great deeds and thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/authentic-values-are-those-by-which-a-life-can-be-lived-which-can/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [Shakespeare's naturalness is attested to by the strange fact that he is the only classical author who remains popular. The critical termites are massed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/shakespeare-s-naturalness-is-attested-to-by-the-strange-fact-that-he/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [The utilitarian behaves sensibly in all that is required for preservation but never takes account of the fact that he must die...His whole life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/the-utilitarian-behaves-sensibly-in-all-that-is-required-for/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [The longing for Europe has been all but extinguished in the young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/the-longing-for-europe-has-been-all-but-extinguished-in-the-young/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [Students now arrive at the university ignorant and cynical about our political heritage, lacking the wherewithal to be either inspired by it or seriously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/students-now-arrive-at-the-university-ignorant-and-cynical-about-our/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [Human nature must not be altered in order to have a problem-free world. Man is not just a problem-solving being, as behaviorists would wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/human-nature-must-not-be-altered-in-order-to-have-a-problem-free/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [Never did I think that the university was properly ministerial to the society around it. Rather I thought and think that society is ministerial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/never-did-i-think-that-the-university-was-properly-ministerial-to-the/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [Reason cannot establish values, and its belief that it can is the stupidiest and most pernicious illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/reason-cannot-establish-values-and-its-belief-that-it-can-is-the/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [Fathers and mothers have lost the idea that the highest aspiration they might have for their children is for them to be wise... specialized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/fathers-and-mothers-have-lost-the-idea-that-the-highest-aspiration/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [As Western nations became more prosperous, leisure, which had been put off for several centuries in favor of the pursuit of property, the means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/as-western-nations-became-more-prosperous-leisure-which-had-been-put/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [Historicism and cultural relativism actually are a means to avoid testing our own prejudices and asking, for example, whether men are really equal or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/historicism-and-cultural-relativism-actually-are-a-means-to-avoid/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [“Man requires a healing education which returns him to himself. Rousseau's paradoxes- his attack on the arts and the sciences and his practice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/man-requires-a-healing-education-which-returns-him-to-himself/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [The failure to read good books both enfeebles the vision and strengthens our most fatal tendency - the belief that the here and now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/the-failure-to-read-good-books-both-enfeebles-the-vision-and/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [Life, liberty, and the pursuit of property were just what Aristotle did not talk about. They are the conditions of happiness; but the essence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/life-liberty-and-the-pursuit-of-property-were-just-what-aristotle-did/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [Education is not sermonizing to children against their instincts and pleasures, but providing a natural continuity between what they feel and what they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/education-is-not-sermonizing-to-children-against-their-instincts-and/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) [Explore all 116 Allan Bloom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [That's why I don't generally talk about endorsements because I don't believe we have to tell people who to vote for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-iii/that-s-why-i-don-t-generally-talk-about-endorsements-because-i-don-t/) [Martin Luther King III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-iii/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) Browse all 47,704 Believe quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is one thing a professor can be absolutely certain of: almost every student entering the university believes, or says he believes, that truth is relative.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Allan Bloom" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/there-is-one-thing-a-professor-can-be-absolutely-certain-of-almost/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Believe" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/there-is-one-thing-a-professor-can-be-absolutely-certain-of-almost/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/allan-bloom-4105_believe_there-is-one-thing-a-professor-can-be-ab_25410.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/allan-bloom-4105_believe_there-is-one-thing-a-professor-can-be-ab_25410.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/allan-bloom-4105_believe_there-is-one-thing-a-professor-can-be-ab_25410.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is one thing a professor can be absolutely certain of: almost every student entering the university…” — Allan Bloom", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Allan Bloom", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is one thing a professor...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/there-is-one-thing-a-professor-can-be-absolutely-certain-of-almost/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/there-is-one-thing-a-professor-can-be-absolutely-certain-of-almost/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```