--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We may take it to be the accepted idea…" description: "\"We may take it to be the accepted idea that the Mosaic books were not handed down to us for our instruction in scientific knowledge, and that it is our..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b29/asa-gray-20258_accepted_we-may-take-it-to-be-the-accepted-idea-t_2327025.jpg" --- # We may take it to be the accepted idea that the Mosaic… ![“We may take it to be the accepted idea that the Mosaic books were not handed down to us for our instruction in scientific knowledge, and that it is our duty to ground our scientific beliefs upon observation and inference, unmixed with considerations of a different order.” quote by Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b29/asa-gray-20258_accepted_we-may-take-it-to-be-the-accepted-idea-t_2327025.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b29/asa-gray-20258_accepted_we-may-take-it-to-be-the-accepted-idea-t_2327025.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b29/asa-gray-20258_accepted_we-may-take-it-to-be-the-accepted-idea-t_2327025.jpg) > “We may take it to be the accepted idea that the Mosaic books were not handed down to us for our instruction in scientific knowledge, and that it is our duty to ground our scientific beliefs upon observation and inference, unmixed with considerations of a different order.” [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Science should rely on empirical evidence, separate from religious or metaphysical considerations, to maintain objectivity. **In simple terms:** Science needs observation, not faith. Key Takeaway Prioritize evidence in scientific reasoning. Themes science religion epistemology objectivity Mood thoughtful inquisitive balanced Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - education - policy - research - public discourse Key Concepts empiricism secularism methodology Questions to Reflect On - How can science and ethics coexist? - What role should belief play in inquiry? A Different Perspective Risk of dismissing valuable ethical insights. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Beliefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beliefs/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Consideration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consideration/) [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Mosaics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mosaics/) [Observation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observation/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Scientific knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientific-knowledge/) ## Related quotes > [The world is evolving, and there is an acceptance of all beliefs, in my observation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-epps/the-world-is-evolving-and-there-is-an-acceptance-of-all-beliefs-in-my/) [Omar Epps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-epps/) > [Not all ideas will be accepted, but every idea deserves its own space, and every idea deserves to be expressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-chidambaram/not-all-ideas-will-be-accepted-but-every-idea-deserves-its-own-space/) [P. Chidambaram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-chidambaram/) > [We always see the point of an iceberg. So I've always accepted the idea that people - they don't necessarily know everything I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-theyskens/we-always-see-the-point-of-an-iceberg-so-i-ve-always-accepted-the/) [Olivier Theyskens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-theyskens/) > [I never accepted the idea that I was all through. I guess no person who has once been a star can do that, ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-waters/i-never-accepted-the-idea-that-i-was-all-through-i-guess-no-person/) [Ethel Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-waters/) > [Science shares with religion the claim that it answers deep questions about origins, the nature of life, and the cosmos. But there the resemblance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/science-shares-with-religion-the-claim-that-it-answers-deep-questions/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Scientific beliefs are supported by evidence, and they get results. Myths and faiths are not and do not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/scientific-beliefs-are-supported-by-evidence-and-they-get-results/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“Your scientific beliefs tell you that your entire world happend accidentally. Your religions tell you that man is sinful: The body is not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-the-individual-and-the-nature-of-mass-events/your-scientific-beliefs-tell-you-that-your-entire-world-happend/) Seth- The Individual And The Nature Of Mass Events > [I never accepted the idea that I had to be guided by some pattern or blueprint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/little-richard/i-never-accepted-the-idea-that-i-had-to-be-guided-by-some-pattern-or/) [Little Richard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/little-richard/) > [These maxims and the art of interpreting them may be said to constitute the premisses of science but I prefer to call them our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-polanyi/these-maxims-and-the-art-of-interpreting-them-may-be-said-to/) [Michael Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-polanyi/) > [None of us is alone in this world; each of us is a vital piece of the great mosaic of humanity as a whole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/none-of-us-is-alone-in-this-world-each-of-us-is-a-vital-piece-of-the/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [The earliest religious texts in the West ascribe to humankind both a prehistory and a destiny among the gods. M. David Litwa presents a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terryl-l-givens/the-earliest-religious-texts-in-the-west-ascribe-to-humankind-both-a/) [Terryl L. Givens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terryl-l-givens/) > [The emergence of a unified cognitive moment relies on the coordination of scattered mosaics of functionally specialized brain regions. Here we review the mechanisms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-varela/the-emergence-of-a-unified-cognitive-moment-relies-on-the/) [Francisco Varela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-varela/) > [It has nothing to do with commercial success. You cannot calculate in your head how to put the mosaic together to make a commercial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-cohn/it-has-nothing-to-do-with-commercial-success-you-cannot-calculate-in/) [Arthur Cohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-cohn/) > [That's what my books are, now that I'm a grownup - mosaics of jokes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/that-s-what-my-books-are-now-that-i-m-a-grownup-mosaics-of-jokes/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [A well-fashioned day - with a beginning and an end, a purpose and a content, a color and a character, a feel and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/a-well-fashioned-day-with-a-beginning-and-an-end-a-purpose-and-a/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) ## More by Asa Gray > [This substance, which is manifold in its forms and protean in its transformations, has, in its state of living matter, one physiological name which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/this-substance-which-is-manifold-in-its-forms-and-protean-in-its/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [Is it philosophical, is it quite allowable, to assume without evidence from fossil plants that the family or any of the genera was once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/is-it-philosophical-is-it-quite-allowable-to-assume-without-evidence/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [The best opinion now is, that there are multitudinous forms which are not sufficiently differentiated to be distinctively either plant or animal, while, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/the-best-opinion-now-is-that-there-are-multitudinous-forms-which-are/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [It remains to consider what attitude thoughtful men and Christian believers should take respecting them, and how they stand related to beliefs of another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/it-remains-to-consider-what-attitude-thoughtful-men-and-christian/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [“Botany is the name of the science of the vegetable kingdom in general; that is, of plants.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/botany-is-the-name-of-the-science-of-the-vegetable-kingdom-in-general/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [Why is it not just as likely that there were as many small general nearly at first as now, and as great a disproportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/why-is-it-not-just-as-likely-that-there-were-as-many-small-general/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [I know some people who never have any difficulties to speak of. The moment I understood your premisses, I felt sure you had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/i-know-some-people-who-never-have-any-difficulties-to-speak-of-the/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [It was implicitly supposed that every living thing was distinctively plant or animal; that there were real and profound differences between the two, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/it-was-implicitly-supposed-that-every-living-thing-was-distinctively/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [“This view, as a rounded whole and in all its essential elements, has very recently disappeared from science. It died a royal death with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/this-view-as-a-rounded-whole-and-in-all-its-essential-elements-has/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [Faith in order, which is the basis of science, cannot reasonably be separated from faith in an Ordainer, which is the basis of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/faith-in-order-which-is-the-basis-of-science-cannot-reasonably-be/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [Indeed upon much that may have to say, I expect rather the charitable judgment than the full assent of those whose approbation I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/indeed-upon-much-that-may-have-to-say-i-expect-rather-the-charitable/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [But it was soon ascertained that this quaternary matter of the animal body was chemically the same in the plant, was elaborated there, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/but-it-was-soon-ascertained-that-this-quaternary-matter-of-the-animal/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [Next it was found that it was physiologically and structurally the same in the plant, that it was the living part of the plant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/next-it-was-found-that-it-was-physiologically-and-structurally-the/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [There is a class, moreover, by whom all these scientific theories, and more are held as ascertained facts, and as the basis of philosophical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/there-is-a-class-moreover-by-whom-all-these-scientific-theories-and/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [“Perhaps if zoologists would contemplate the wide variations presented by many plants of indubitably one and the same species, and the still wider diversities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/perhaps-if-zoologists-would-contemplate-the-wide-variations-presented/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) [Explore all 31 Asa Gray quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) ## More Accepted quotes > [Merkel has realized that the euro is not working, but she cannot change the narrative she has created because that narrative has caught the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/merkel-has-realized-that-the-euro-is-not-working-but-she-cannot/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [I started off playing by ear, and being around a bunch of musicians and playing in the streets and in the different parades and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-andrews/i-started-off-playing-by-ear-and-being-around-a-bunch-of-musicians/) [Troy Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-andrews/) > [Greatness is not guarding yourself from people. Greatness is being accepted by the people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/greatness-is-not-guarding-yourself-from-people-greatness-is-being/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [The idea that this world is a playground instead of a battleground has now been accepted in practice by the vast majority of Christians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/the-idea-that-this-world-is-a-playground-instead-of-a-battleground/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [Bruce Katz is a spectacular talent! He's a brilliant composer and arranger who uses uncommon and unique musical intelligence to redefine jazz and blues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-coryell/bruce-katz-is-a-spectacular-talent-he-s-a-brilliant-composer-and/) [Larry Coryell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-coryell/) > [wishes for sons by Lucille Clifton i wish them cramps. i wish them a strange town and the last tampon. I wish them no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucille-clifton/wishes-for-sons-by-lucille-clifton-i-wish-them-cramps-i-wish-them-a/) [Lucille Clifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucille-clifton/) > [What our species needs, above all else, is a generally accepted ethical system that is compatible with the scientific knowledge we now possess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-our-species-needs-above-all-else-is-a-generally-accepted-ethical/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are a lot of movies about misfits that are quite cool, that kind of glamorize it on some level. I think there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-hall/there-are-a-lot-of-movies-about-misfits-that-are-quite-cool-that-kind/) [Rebecca Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-hall/) > [In Quebec City many Muslims have said that they hide their faith because they know that if they don't, if they show that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-pratte/in-quebec-city-many-muslims-have-said-that-they-hide-their-faith/) Andre Pratte > [The rules and principles of case law have never been treated as final truths but as working hypotheses, continually retested in those great laboratories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-n-cardozo/the-rules-and-principles-of-case-law-have-never-been-treated-as-final/) [Benjamin N. Cardozo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-n-cardozo/) > [ We have reached a situation where a theory has been accepted as fact by some, and possible contrary evidence is shunted aside. \[This is\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-shapiro/we-have-reached-a-situation-where-a-theory-has-been-accepted-as-fact/) [Robert Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-shapiro/) > [And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-if-all-others-accepted-the-lie-which-the-party-imposed-if-all/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [I was in a conversation and someone said: "You know, we were talking about the whole issue of transgender and how it has become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/i-was-in-a-conversation-and-someone-said-you-know-we-were-talking/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [Divorce is so common and accepted in America that beating myself up over it may sound ridiculous. 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