--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we are to define science, ... it does…" description: "\"If we are to define science, ... it does not consist so much in knowing, nor even in \"organized knowledge,\" as it does in diligent inquiry into truth f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/charles-sanders-peirce-5105_accounts_if-we-are-to-define-science-it-does-not_26115.png" --- # If we are to define science, ... it does not consist so… ![“If we are to define science, ... it does not consist so much in knowing, nor even in "organized knowledge," as it does in diligent inquiry into truth for truth's sake, without any sort of axe to grind, nor for the sake of the delight of contemplating it, but from an impulse to penetrate into the…” quote by Charles Sanders Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/charles-sanders-peirce-5105_accounts_if-we-are-to-define-science-it-does-not_26115.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/charles-sanders-peirce-5105_accounts_if-we-are-to-define-science-it-does-not_26115.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/charles-sanders-peirce-5105_accounts_if-we-are-to-define-science-it-does-not_26115.png) > “If we are to define science, ... it does not consist so much in knowing, nor even in "organized knowledge," as it does in diligent inquiry into truth for truth's sake, without any sort of axe to grind, nor for the sake of the delight of contemplating it, but from an impulse to penetrate into the reason of things.” [Charles Sanders Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sanders-peirce/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Science is portrayed as a relentless pursuit of truth, driven by curiosity rather than personal gain or mere accumulation of facts. **In simple terms:** Truth-seeking over knowledge accumulation Key Takeaway Science is inquiry for its own sake Themes Epistemology Philosophy of Science Curiosity Intellectual Integrity Motivation Truth Mood Reflective Inquisitive Serious Type Philosophical Aphoristic Inspirational When to use this quote - Academic research - Fundamental physics investigations - Philosophical debates - Exploratory data analysis Key Concepts Scientific Method Skepticism Intellectual Honesty Intrinsic Motivation Practical Applications - Designing unbiased experiments - Developing curricula that emphasize inquiry Questions to Reflect On - Why might personal agendas hinder scientific progress? - How does curiosity differ from utilitarian goals in research? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accounts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accounts/) [Contemplating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplating/) [Define Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/define-science-412261/) [Delight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delight/) [Diligent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diligent/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Grind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grind/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Impulse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impulse/) [Inquiry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inquiry/) [Inquiry Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inquiry-truth-412262/) [Knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Organized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organized/) [Penetrate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/penetrate/) [Penetrate Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/penetrate-reason-412263/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Sake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sake/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-does-246869/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [Another of the qualities of science is that it teaches the value of rational thought, as well as the importance of freedom of thought;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/another-of-the-qualities-of-science-is-that-it-teaches-the-value-of/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [I define science fiction as fiction in which things happen that are not possible today - that depend, for instance, on advanced space travel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-define-science-fiction-as-fiction-in-which-things-happen-that-are/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Our public schools arbitrarily define science as explaining the world by natural processes alone. In essence, a religion of naturalism is being imposed on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-ham/our-public-schools-arbitrarily-define-science-as-explaining-the-world/) [Ken Ham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-ham/) > [“I define science fiction as the art of the possible. Fantasy is the art of the impossible. Science fiction, again, is the history of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-define-science-fiction-as-the-art-of-the-possible-fantasy-is-the-2/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I venture to define science as a series of interconnected concepts and conceptual schemes arising from experiment and observation and fruitful of further experiments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bryant-conant/i-venture-to-define-science-as-a-series-of-interconnected-concepts/) [James Bryant Conant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bryant-conant/) > [Thirst was made for water. Inquiry for truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/thirst-was-made-for-water-inquiry-for-truth/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Truth should be the first lesson of the child and the last aspiration of manhood; for it has been well said that the inquiry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/truth-should-be-the-first-lesson-of-the-child-and-the-last-aspiration/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [Difference of opinion leads to inquiry, and inquiry to the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/difference-of-opinion-leads-to-inquiry-and-inquiry-to-the-truth/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [... religious controversy does only harm. It destroys humble inquiry after truth, and throws all the energies into an attempt to prove ourselves right-a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-william-robertson/religious-controversy-does-only-harm-it-destroys-humble-inquiry-after/) [Frederick William Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-william-robertson/) > [Real inquiry is a tremendous moral transforming force. 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Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [As one may bring himself to believe almost anything he is inclined to believe, it makes all the difference whether we begin or end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/as-one-may-bring-himself-to-believe-almost-anything-he-is-inclined-to/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [Thirst was made for water; inquiry for truth. What you now call the free play of inquiry has neither more nor less to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/thirst-was-made-for-water-inquiry-for-truth-what-you-now-call-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The third class consists of men to whom nothing seems great but reason. If force interests them, it is not in its exertion, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sanders-peirce/the-third-class-consists-of-men-to-whom-nothing-seems-great-but/) [Charles Sanders Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sanders-peirce/) ## More by Charles Sanders Peirce > [It will sometimes strike a scientific man that the philosophers have been less intent on finding out what the facts are, than on inquiring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sanders-peirce/it-will-sometimes-strike-a-scientific-man-that-the-philosophers-have/) [Charles Sanders Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sanders-peirce/) > [One will meet, for example, the virtual assumption that what is relative to thought cannot be real. But why not, exactly? 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I do not see that; though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sanders-peirce/looking-out-of-my-window-this-lovely-spring-morning-i-see-an-azalea/) [Charles Sanders Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sanders-peirce/) > [Fate then is that necessity by which a certain result will surely be brought to pass according to the natural course of events however…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sanders-peirce/fate-then-is-that-necessity-by-which-a-certain-result-will-surely-be/) [Charles Sanders Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sanders-peirce/) > [If man were immortal he could be perfectly sure of seeing the day when everything in which he had trusted should betray his trust,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sanders-peirce/if-man-were-immortal-he-could-be-perfectly-sure-of-seeing-the-day/) [Charles Sanders Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sanders-peirce/) > [Some think to avoid the influence of metaphysical errors, by paying no attention to metaphysics; but experience shows that these men beyond all others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sanders-peirce/some-think-to-avoid-the-influence-of-metaphysical-errors-by-paying-no/) [Charles Sanders Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sanders-peirce/) > [The percept is the reality. 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