--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Thoroughly understand what it is to…" description: "\"Thoroughly understand what it is to understand, and not only will you understand the broad lines of all there is to be understood but also you will pos..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf8/bernard-lonergan-31286_broads_thoroughly-understand-what-it-is-to-unde_4917.jpg" --- # Thoroughly understand what it is to understand, and not… ![“Thoroughly understand what it is to understand, and not only will you understand the broad lines of all there is to be understood but also you will possess a fixed base, an invariant pattern, opening upon all further developments of understanding.” quote by Bernard Lonergan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf8/bernard-lonergan-31286_broads_thoroughly-understand-what-it-is-to-unde_4917.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf8/bernard-lonergan-31286_broads_thoroughly-understand-what-it-is-to-unde_4917.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf8/bernard-lonergan-31286_broads_thoroughly-understand-what-it-is-to-unde_4917.jpg) > “Thoroughly understand what it is to understand, and not only will you understand the broad lines of all there is to be understood but also you will possess a fixed base, an invariant pattern, opening upon all further developments of understanding.” [Bernard Lonergan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lonergan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding the process of understanding creates a stable foundation that supports all future learning and insight. **In simple terms:** Know how you know, and you can build lasting insight. Key Takeaway Meta‑understanding stabilizes further knowledge. Themes epistemology learning cognition meta‑analysis growth Mood inquisitive analytical Type academic introspective When to use this quote - studying a new discipline - designing a training program - solving a complex problem Key Concepts foundational thinking cognitive scaffolding Practical Applications - Practice reflective journaling on learning experiences - Teach the steps of reasoning to others Questions to Reflect On - What habits help you notice your own thought patterns? - When does deep analysis become a barrier? A Different Perspective May over‑emphasis on abstract frameworks hinder practical action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Broads](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broads/) [Development](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/development/) [Fixed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fixed/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lines/) [Lines Understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lines-understood-297131/) [Opening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opening/) [Patterns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patterns/) [Thoroughly Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoroughly-understand-297128/) [Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand/) [Understand Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand-understand/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) [Understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood/) ## Related quotes > [I arrived at the conviction that we should, more easily and more thoroughly than we now do or ever have done, understand the nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/i-arrived-at-the-conviction-that-we-should-more-easily-and-more/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [“For others, as for ourselves, we must trust him. If we could thoroughly understand anything, that would be enough to prove it undivine; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/for-others-as-for-ourselves-we-must-trust-him-if-we-could-thoroughly/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [“Go and see for yourself to thoroughly understand the situation (genchi genbutsu).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-k-liker/go-and-see-for-yourself-to-thoroughly-understand-the-situation-genchi/) [Jeffrey K. Liker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-k-liker/) > [I think if we ever reach the point where we think we thoroughly understand who we are and where we came from, we will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/i-think-if-we-ever-reach-the-point-where-we-think-we-thoroughly/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Is not all the stupid chatter of most of our newspapers the babble of fools who suffer from the fixed idea of morality, legality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-stirner/is-not-all-the-stupid-chatter-of-most-of-our-newspapers-the-babble-of/) [Max Stirner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-stirner/) > [The capacity of the mind is broad and huge, like the vast sky. Do not sit with a mind fixed on emptiness. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huineng/the-capacity-of-the-mind-is-broad-and-huge-like-the-vast-sky-do-not/) [Huineng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huineng/) > [Believe in order to Understand and Understand in order to Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/believe-in-order-to-understand-and-understand-in-order-to-believe/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [When things happen that you cannot understand...Understand, there is a reason for every occurrence. God knows best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-things-happen-that-you-cannot-understand-understand-there-is-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To understand him you had to understand this: he wasn't human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-dugan/to-understand-him-you-had-to-understand-this-he-wasn-t-human/) [Joe Dugan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-dugan/) > [Never give up, and never say never, always be ready for everything, and expect everything, life is not easy but you should understand it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-give-up-and-never-say-never-always-be-ready-for-everything-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [An understanding person may not understand everything about you. But they always understand when you're sad or happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/an-understanding-person-may-not-understand-everything-about-you-but/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [To know each other is the best way to understand each other. To understand each other is the only way to love each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/to-know-each-other-is-the-best-way-to-understand-each-other-to/) [Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/) > [“i understand that i understand”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-augustine/i-understand-that-i-understand/) [St. Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-augustine/) > [No calls? I understand. No text? I understand. But when you see me with someone else…please understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhat/no-calls-i-understand-no-text-i-understand-but-when-you-see-me-with/) [Zhat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhat/) > [If readers understand that they do not understand what they are reading then they must possess an understanding which is superior to the meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlo-guthrie/if-readers-understand-that-they-do-not-understand-what-they-are/) [Arlo Guthrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlo-guthrie/) ## More by Bernard Lonergan > [It is in the measure that special methods acknowledge their common core in transcendental method, that norms common to all the sciences will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-lonergan/it-is-in-the-measure-that-special-methods-acknowledge-their-common/) [Bernard Lonergan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lonergan/) > [Total surrender to the demands of the human spirit: be attentive, be intelligent, be reasonable, be responsible, be in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-lonergan/total-surrender-to-the-demands-of-the-human-spirit-be-attentive-be/) [Bernard Lonergan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lonergan/) > [In philosophy an individual is becoming himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-lonergan/in-philosophy-an-individual-is-becoming-himself/) [Bernard Lonergan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lonergan/) > [For it is in the field where meaning is constitutive that man's freedom reaches its highest point. There too his responsibility is greatest. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-lonergan/for-it-is-in-the-field-where-meaning-is-constitutive-that-man-s/) [Bernard Lonergan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lonergan/) > [The church always arrives on the scene a little breathless and a little late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-lonergan/the-church-always-arrives-on-the-scene-a-little-breathless-and-a/) [Bernard Lonergan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lonergan/) > [No matter what your logic is, if it is coherent, you can develop a technique to express it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-lonergan/no-matter-what-your-logic-is-if-it-is-coherent-you-can-develop-a/) [Bernard Lonergan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lonergan/) > [Freely the subject makes himself what he is, never in this life is the making finished, always it is in process, always it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-lonergan/freely-the-subject-makes-himself-what-he-is-never-in-this-life-is-the/) [Bernard Lonergan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lonergan/) > [“To demand the absolute and to be content with absolutely nothing else results in a skepticism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-lonergan/to-demand-the-absolute-and-to-be-content-with-absolutely-nothing-else/) [Bernard Lonergan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lonergan/) > [Faith ... is a conscious apprehension of something inevident, something which unlike this desk and this chair is not seen to be there, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-lonergan/faith-is-a-conscious-apprehension-of-something-inevident-something/) [Bernard Lonergan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lonergan/) > [Discovery is new beginning. It is the origin of new rules that supplement, or even supplant, the old. Genius is creative. It is genius…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-lonergan/discovery-is-new-beginning-it-is-the-origin-of-new-rules-that/) [Bernard Lonergan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lonergan/) > [The fulfilment that is being in love with God is not the product of our knowledge and choice. It is God's gift. Like all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-lonergan/the-fulfilment-that-is-being-in-love-with-god-is-not-the-product-of/) [Bernard Lonergan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lonergan/) > [God is utterly simple; for every composite being necessarily has a cause of its own composition, and so, since God is the first principle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-lonergan/god-is-utterly-simple-for-every-composite-being-necessarily-has-a/) [Bernard Lonergan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lonergan/) > [Choice is a determinant in personal development ... by my free acts I am making myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-lonergan/choice-is-a-determinant-in-personal-development-by-my-free-acts-i-am/) [Bernard Lonergan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lonergan/) > [If one denies that, when the meaning is true, then the meant is what is so, one rejects propositional truth. If the rejection is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-lonergan/if-one-denies-that-when-the-meaning-is-true-then-the-meant-is-what-is/) [Bernard Lonergan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lonergan/) > [“One cannot play fast and loose with what one knows to be true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-lonergan/one-cannot-play-fast-and-loose-with-what-one-knows-to-be-true/) [Bernard Lonergan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lonergan/) [Explore all 16 Bernard Lonergan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lonergan/) ## More Broads quotes > [We'll walk together holding hands, and kiss in broad daylight, and love each other as much as we want to, and no one will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/we-ll-walk-together-holding-hands-and-kiss-in-broad-daylight-and-love/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [There was only the broad square with the scattered dim moons of the street lamps and with the monumental stone arch which receded into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/there-was-only-the-broad-square-with-the-scattered-dim-moons-of-the/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/we-must-remember-that-intelligence-is-not-enough-intelligence-plus/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The "family" has clearly emerged anew in the late 1970s as a central subject for discussion, debate, research and writing in bothscholarly and popular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-kamerman/the-family-has-clearly-emerged-anew-in-the-late-1970s-as-a-central/) [Sheila Kamerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-kamerman/) > [I am formally accountable to the steering board of the PIC, and I meet with nine ambassadors from the PIC every week. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/i-am-formally-accountable-to-the-steering-board-of-the-pic-and-i-meet/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [If you know the differences between an oak and a poplar, a spruce and a pine, down to the needles... you are able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-allen-lawson/if-you-know-the-differences-between-an-oak-and-a-poplar-a-spruce-and/) [T. 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America, not more advantages for people at the very top.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/broad-based-inclusive-growth-is-what-we-need-in-america-not-more/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [The trees are white with dust, that o'er their sleep Wave their broad curtains in the south-wind's breath, While underneath such leafy tents they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/the-trees-are-white-with-dust-that-o-er-their-sleep-wave-their-broad/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [A top World War II ace once said that fighter pilots fall into two broad categories: those who go out to kill and those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-top-world-war-ii-ace-once-said-that-fighter-pilots-fall-into-two/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Jubilee 2000 is a broad coalition which has moved the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/jubilee-2000-is-a-broad-coalition-which-has-moved-the-earth/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [As science is more and more subject to grave misuse as well as to use for human benefit it has also become the scientist's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-science-is-more-and-more-subject-to-grave-misuse-as-well-as-to-use/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [With the broad and powerful swing of the hand which Zola in The Earth gave to his ploughman, L'Auto, journal of ideas and action,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-desgrange/with-the-broad-and-powerful-swing-of-the-hand-which-zola-in-the-earth/) [Henri Desgrange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-desgrange/) [Browse all 956 Broads quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broads/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Thoroughly understand what it is 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