--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we know only our own side of the…" description: "\"“If we know only our own side of the argument, we hardly know even that; it becomes stale, soon learned only by rote, untested, a pallid and lifeless t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a10/carl-sagan-160_truth_if-we-know-only-our-own-side-of-the-argu_1799321.jpg" --- # If we know only our own side of the argument, we hardly… ![“If we know only our own side of the argument, we hardly know even that; it becomes stale, soon learned only by rote, untested, a pallid and lifeless truth.” quote by Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a10/carl-sagan-160_truth_if-we-know-only-our-own-side-of-the-argu_1799321.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a10/carl-sagan-160_truth_if-we-know-only-our-own-side-of-the-argu_1799321.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a10/carl-sagan-160_truth_if-we-know-only-our-own-side-of-the-argu_1799321.jpg) > ““If we know only our own side of the argument, we hardly know even that; it becomes stale, soon learned only by rote, untested, a pallid and lifeless truth.”” [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Knowing only one side leads to stale, untested truth lacking depth. **In simple terms:** One-sided knowledge is shallow. Key Takeaway Seek multiple perspectives. Themes knowledge truth critical thinking Mood curious skeptical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - debates - research - education - policy making Key Concepts epistemology bias dialogue Questions to Reflect On - What perspectives are you ignoring? - How can you test your assumptions? A Different Perspective Opposing views may be hard to find or accept. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Argument Hardly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument-hardly-2018321/) [Hardly Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hardly-know-1395641/) [Know Argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-argument-2018323/) [Know Stale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-stale-2018322/) [Lifeless Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lifeless-truth-2018320/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [I never allow myself to have an opinion on anything that I don't know the other side's argument better than they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/i-never-allow-myself-to-have-an-opinion-on-anything-that-i-don-t-know/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [“You love the Pope, don't you, Paddy?" Tom is staring at me. "Why, I do not know," I say, surprised into honesty. "I hardly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonatha-ceely/you-love-the-pope-don-t-you-paddy-tom-is-staring-at-me-why-i-do-not/) [Jonatha Ceely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonatha-ceely/) > [“He hated so many people I hardly know anyone any more”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/he-hated-so-many-people-i-hardly-know-anyone-any-more/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [Some ghosts are so quiet you would hardly know they were there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mcgill/some-ghosts-are-so-quiet-you-would-hardly-know-they-were-there/) [Bernie Mcgill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mcgill/) > [“Will you tell me how long you have loved him?" "It has been coming on so gradually, that I hardly know when it began.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/will-you-tell-me-how-long-you-have-loved-him-it-has-been-coming-on-so/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [It didn't take long to realize I didn't hardly know nothing. And that if you ast yourself why you black or a man or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/it-didn-t-take-long-to-realize-i-didn-t-hardly-know-nothing-and-that/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [It strikes me how strange people are. You can see them every day - you can think you know them - and then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-strikes-me-how-strange-people-are-you-can-see-them-every-day-you/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Humans hardly know what they want, how they want it, or when they want it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/humans-hardly-know-what-they-want-how-they-want-it-or-when-they-want/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is so rare...to find a complete person, with a soul, a heart and an imagination; so rare for characters as ardent and restless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hector-berlioz/it-is-so-rare-to-find-a-complete-person-with-a-soul-a-heart-and-an/) [Hector Berlioz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hector-berlioz/) > [“... we hardly ever know the decisions we make that change our lives, mostly because they are the small ones”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawkins/we-hardly-ever-know-the-decisions-we-make-that-change-our-lives/) [Rachel Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawkins/) > [I got a lot of best friends. Some o' them I don't even hardly know!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-got-a-lot-of-best-friends-some-o-them-i-don-t-even-hardly-know/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Now I see that if one doesn’t know how to die, one can hardly know how to live—because death is a part of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/now-i-see-that-if-one-doesn-t-know-how-to-die-one-can-hardly-know-how/) [Thích Nhất Hạnh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/) > [“As for me, all I know is that I know nothing, for when I don't know what justice is, I'll hardly know whether it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/as-for-me-all-i-know-is-that-i-know-nothing-for-when-i-don-t-know/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [I got a lotta best friends. Some o' them I don't even hardly know!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archie-bunker/i-got-a-lotta-best-friends-some-o-them-i-don-t-even-hardly-know/) [Archie Bunker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archie-bunker/) > [You will hardly know who I am or what I mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/you-will-hardly-know-who-i-am-or-what-i-mean/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) ## More by Carl Sagan > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-prediction-of-nuclear-winter-is-drawn-not-of-course-from-any/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion or in politics, but it is not the path to knowledge; it has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-suppression-of-uncomfortable-ideas-may-be-common-in-religion-or/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Telepathy’ literally means to feel at a distance, just as ‘telephone’ is to hear at a distance and ‘television’ is to see at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/telepathy-literally-means-to-feel-at-a-distance-just-as-telephone-is/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“On the scale of worlds—to say nothing of stars or galaxies—humans are inconsequential, a thin film of life on an obscure and solitary lump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/on-the-scale-of-worlds-to-say-nothing-of-stars-or-galaxies-humans-are/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-one-of-us-is-in-the-cosmic-perspective-precious-if-a-human/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [In our time, we have sifted the sands of Mars, we have established a presence there, we have fulfilled a century of dreams!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-our-time-we-have-sifted-the-sands-of-mars-we-have-established-a/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ “\[ When a religious couple wrote to Sagan about fulfilled prophecies, he wrote back in May 1996 :\] If ‘fulfilled prophecy’ is your criterion,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/when-a-religious-couple-wrote-to-sagan-about-fulfilled-prophecies-he/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Don't judge everyone else by your own limited experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/don-t-judge-everyone-else-by-your-own-limited-experience/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Books permit us to voyage through time, to tap the wisdom of our ancestors. The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/books-permit-us-to-voyage-through-time-to-tap-the-wisdom-of-our/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [We live on a hunk of rock and metal that circles a humdrum star that is one of 400 billion other stars that make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-live-on-a-hunk-of-rock-and-metal-that-circles-a-humdrum-star-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [A tiny blue dot set in a sunbeam. Here it is. That's where we live. That's home. We humans are one species and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/a-tiny-blue-dot-set-in-a-sunbeam-here-it-is-that-s-where-we-live-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Any sufficiently crisp question can be answered by a single binary digit-0 or 1, yes or no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/any-sufficiently-crisp-question-can-be-answered-by-a-single-binary/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Humans — who enslave, castrate, experiment on, and fillet other animals — have had an understandable penchant for pretending animals do not feel pain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/humans-who-enslave-castrate-experiment-on-and-fillet-other-animals/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Every star may be a sun to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-star-may-be-a-sun-to-someone/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) [Explore all 1,043 Carl Sagan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## More Truth quotes > [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/) > [High school sucked. It was a universal truth, and whoever said these were supposed to be the best years of your life was probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kami-garcia/high-school-sucked-it-was-a-universal-truth-and-whoever-said-these/) [Kami Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kami-garcia/) > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“The truth is heavier than a sword.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naiyem-chowdhury-rony/the-truth-is-heavier-than-a-sword/) [Naiyem Chowdhury Rony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naiyem-chowdhury-rony/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [I could program a 'fabulous, I love it' kind of hit season right now. I'm more interested in breaking boundaries, telling a story, defying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/i-could-program-a-fabulous-i-love-it-kind-of-hit-season-right-now-i-m/) [George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [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/) > [I just speak the truth. I keep it real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-vera/i-just-speak-the-truth-i-keep-it-real/) [Marlon Vera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-vera/) > [I always believed that photography was subjective, interpretive and certainly did not represent the truth, but I did think that its status as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-ritchin/i-always-believed-that-photography-was-subjective-interpretive-and/) [Fred Ritchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-ritchin/) > [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/) > [The greatest act of courage is to be and to ownall of who you are—without apology, without excuses, without masks to cover the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-ford/the-greatest-act-of-courage-is-to-be-and-to-ownall-of-who-you-are/) [Debbie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-ford/) > [There's no authoritarian structure at Reed College, but the education is conservative. So what you have is a lot of students who are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/there-s-no-authoritarian-structure-at-reed-college-but-the-education/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“The Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose, Sergeant,’ Anthony Payne replied. ‘That is from The Merchant of Venice, but it holds great truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arnold/the-devil-can-cite-scripture-for-his-purpose-sergeant-anthony-payne/) [Michael Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arnold/) > [Logic is essentially a tool for getting at truth; it is the tool, for without it no reasoning is possible in any field of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oderberg/logic-is-essentially-a-tool-for-getting-at-truth-it-is-the-tool-for/) [David Oderberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oderberg/) [Browse all 45,081 Truth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If we know only our own side of the argument, we hardly know even that; it becomes stale, soon learned only by rote, untested, a pallid and lifeless truth.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carl Sagan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/if-we-know-only-our-own-side-of-the-argument-we-hardly-know-even-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Truth" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/if-we-know-only-our-own-side-of-the-argument-we-hardly-know-even-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a10/carl-sagan-160_truth_if-we-know-only-our-own-side-of-the-argu_1799321.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a10/carl-sagan-160_truth_if-we-know-only-our-own-side-of-the-argu_1799321.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a10/carl-sagan-160_truth_if-we-know-only-our-own-side-of-the-argu_1799321.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If we know only our own side of the argument, we hardly know even that; it becomes stale, soon learned only…” — Carl Sagan", "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": "Carl Sagan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If we know only our own...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/if-we-know-only-our-own-side-of-the-argument-we-hardly-know-even-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/if-we-know-only-our-own-side-of-the-argument-we-hardly-know-even-that/#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 } } ] } ```