--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Science is more than a body of knowledge…" description: "\"“Science is more than a body of knowledge; it is a way of thinking. I have a foreboding of an America in my children’s or grandchildren’s time—when the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c49/carl-sagan-160_knowledge_science-is-more-than-a-body-of-knowledge_3210473.jpg" --- # Science is more than a body of knowledge; it is a way of… ![“Science is more than a body of knowledge; it is a way of thinking. I have a foreboding of an America in my children’s or grandchildren’s time—when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the key manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when…” quote by Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c49/carl-sagan-160_knowledge_science-is-more-than-a-body-of-knowledge_3210473.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c49/carl-sagan-160_knowledge_science-is-more-than-a-body-of-knowledge_3210473.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c49/carl-sagan-160_knowledge_science-is-more-than-a-body-of-knowledge_3210473.jpg) > ““Science is more than a body of knowledge; it is a way of thinking. I have a foreboding of an America in my children’s or grandchildren’s time—when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the key manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what’s true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness.”” [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. Sagan warns that concentration of technological power and loss of critical thinking can lead society back to superstition and authoritarian control. **In simple terms:** Loss of critical thought risks returning to superstition. Key Takeaway Cultivate critical thinking, protect democratic oversight. Themes technology power critical thinking democracy Mood concerned urgent Type political philosophical When to use this quote - education reform - media literacy - policy advocacy - community dialogue Key Concepts information monopoly social decay public policy Questions to Reflect On - What can individuals do to strengthen critical faculties? - How can societies prevent power concentration? A Different Perspective Economic shifts alone won’t solve underlying cultural decline. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Public interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-interest/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Way of thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-of-thinking/) ## Related quotes > [ I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time - \[...\] when awesome technological powers are in the hands of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/i-have-a-foreboding-of-an-america-in-my-children-s-or-grandchildren-s-3/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time -- when the United States is a service and information economy;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/i-have-a-foreboding-of-an-america-in-my-children-s-or-grandchildren-s-2/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“I have a foreboding of an America in my children’s or grandchildren’s time—when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/i-have-a-foreboding-of-an-america-in-my-children-s-or-grandchildren-s/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Science is much more than a body of knowledge. It is a way of thinking. This is central to its success. Science invites us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/science-is-much-more-than-a-body-of-knowledge-it-is-a-way-of-thinking/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Science is more than a body of knowledge. It's a way of thinking: a way of skeptically interrogating the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/science-is-more-than-a-body-of-knowledge-it-s-a-way-of-thinking-a-way/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Science is more than a body of knowledge; it is a way of thinking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/science-is-more-than-a-body-of-knowledge-it-is-a-way-of-thinking/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“as I intend, you should begin to look with different eyes at your immediate surroundings, seeing not just leaves but yourself and everything around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-vogel/as-i-intend-you-should-begin-to-look-with-different-eyes-at-your/) [Steven Vogel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-vogel/) > [Science is not a body of facts. Science is a state of mind. It is a way of viewing the world, of facing reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-angier/science-is-not-a-body-of-facts-science-is-a-state-of-mind-it-is-a-way/) [Natalie Angier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-angier/) > [Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/science-is-a-way-of-thinking-much-more-than-it-is-a-body-of-knowledge-2/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge. 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It is a way of thinking; a way of skeptically interrogating the universe with a fine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/science-is-more-than-a-body-of-knowledge-it-is-a-way-of-thinking-a/) [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/) > [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/) ## 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. 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It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [An enlightened awareness is within each one of us, right at this moment. This enlightened awareness is truly unborn and marvellously illuminating; and everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bankei-yotaku/an-enlightened-awareness-is-within-each-one-of-us-right-at-this/) [Bankei Yotaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bankei-yotaku/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I never knew any man who had once tasted the sweetness of experimental knowledge, that ever afterward fasted after ye Vapour garlick and onions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/i-never-knew-any-man-who-had-once-tasted-the-sweetness-of/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [I would rather excel others in the knowledge of what is excellent than in the extent of my powers and dominion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/i-would-rather-excel-others-in-the-knowledge-of-what-is-excellent/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [We know accurately only when we know little, with knowledge doubt increases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-know-accurately-only-when-we-know-little-with-knowledge-doubt/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I've always been a believer in research. 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