--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If the history of science shows us…" description: "\"If the history of science shows us anything, it is that we get nowhere by labeling our ignorance “God”.\" — Anonymous" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bd/anonymous-1_history_if-the-history-of-science-shows-us-anyth_1416433.jpg" --- # If the history of science shows us anything, it is that we… ![“If the history of science shows us anything, it is that we get nowhere by labeling our ignorance “God”.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bd/anonymous-1_history_if-the-history-of-science-shows-us-anyth_1416433.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bd/anonymous-1_history_if-the-history-of-science-shows-us-anyth_1416433.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bd/anonymous-1_history_if-the-history-of-science-shows-us-anyth_1416433.jpg) > “If the history of science shows us anything, it is that we get nowhere by labeling our ignorance “God”.” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It warns that attributing unknown phenomena to a deity hinders scientific progress by discouraging inquiry. **In simple terms:** Calling unknown things “God” blocks scientific inquiry. Key Takeaway Question assumptions, seek evidence. Themes science faith critical thinking Mood thoughtful skeptical Type philosophical critical. When to use this quote - research labs - education - public policy - media commentary Key Concepts epistemology skepticism atheism Questions to Reflect On - How does labeling unknowns affect curiosity? - Can belief coexist with scientific rigor? A Different Perspective Faith may provide comfort but can limit empirical investigation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [Our ignorance is God; what we know is science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/our-ignorance-is-god-what-we-know-is-science/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No one infers a god from the simple, from the known, from what is understood, but from the complex, from the unknown, and incomprehensible.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-one-infers-a-god-from-the-simple-from-the-known-from-what-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are many aspects of the universe that still cannot be explained satisfactorily by science; but ignorance implies only ignorance that may someday be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/there-are-many-aspects-of-the-universe-that-still-cannot-be-explained/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Ideally, brewers interpret history, and through science they create art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/ideally-brewers-interpret-history-and-through-science-they-create-art/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [History is and should be a science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/numa-denis-fustel-de-coulanges/history-is-and-should-be-a-science/) [Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/numa-denis-fustel-de-coulanges/) > [“Against ignorance, God Himself is helpless.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-lawrence/against-ignorance-god-himself-is-helpless/) [R.J. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-lawrence/) > [“Ignorance is worst when it amounts to ignorance of God, and knowledge is best when it exercises itself upon the name of God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-haddon-spurgeon/ignorance-is-worst-when-it-amounts-to-ignorance-of-god-and-knowledge/) [Charles Haddon Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-haddon-spurgeon/) > [Today, on our own turf, we face pagan ignorance about God every bit as deep as that which the early church faced in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/today-on-our-own-turf-we-face-pagan-ignorance-about-god-every-bit-as/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [To surrender to ignorance and call it God has always been premature, and it remains premature today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/to-surrender-to-ignorance-and-call-it-god-has-always-been-premature/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“labelling our ignorance "God".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/labelling-our-ignorance-god/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Ignorance is God's prison. Knowing is God's palace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/ignorance-is-god-s-prison-knowing-is-god-s-palace/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Our ignorance of God is too great, because our estimations of God are too little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-charnock/our-ignorance-of-god-is-too-great-because-our-estimations-of-god-are/) [Stephen Charnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-charnock/) > [Our ignorance is God; what we know is science. When we abandon the doctrine that some infinite being created matter and force, and enacted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/our-ignorance-is-god-what-we-know-is-science-when-we-abandon-the/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Wisdom leads to unity, but ignorance to separation. So long as God seems to be outside and far away, there is ignorance. But when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramakrishna/wisdom-leads-to-unity-but-ignorance-to-separation-so-long-as-god/) [Ramakrishna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramakrishna/) > [“Every human being is a god today. A god, who creates his own world employing deceit, envy, betrayal, murder, legality, obligation, superstition, faith, devotion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shankar-lamichhane/every-human-being-is-a-god-today-a-god-who-creates-his-own-world/) [Shankar Lamichhane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shankar-lamichhane/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The NBA is my history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-hardaway/the-nba-is-my-history/) [Penny Hardaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-hardaway/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) C-DASH > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If the history of science shows us anything, it is that we get nowhere by labeling our ignorance “God”.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-the-history-of-science-shows-us-anything-it-is-that-we-get-nowhere/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "History" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-the-history-of-science-shows-us-anything-it-is-that-we-get-nowhere/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bd/anonymous-1_history_if-the-history-of-science-shows-us-anyth_1416433.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bd/anonymous-1_history_if-the-history-of-science-shows-us-anyth_1416433.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bd/anonymous-1_history_if-the-history-of-science-shows-us-anyth_1416433.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If the history of science shows us anything, it is that we get nowhere by labeling our ignorance “God”.” — Anonymous", "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": "Anonymous", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If the history of science shows...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-the-history-of-science-shows-us-anything-it-is-that-we-get-nowhere/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-the-history-of-science-shows-us-anything-it-is-that-we-get-nowhere/#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 } } ] } ```