--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The authority of science promotes and…" description: "\"The authority of science promotes and encourages the activity of observing, comparing, measuring and ordering the physical characteristics of human bod..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3e/cornel-west-708_activity_the-authority-of-science-promotes-and-en_729552.jpg" --- # The authority of science promotes and encourages the… ![“The authority of science promotes and encourages the activity of observing, comparing, measuring and ordering the physical characteristics of human bodies. Cartesian epistemology and classical ideals produced forms of rationality, scientificity and objectivity that, though efficacious in the quest…” quote by Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3e/cornel-west-708_activity_the-authority-of-science-promotes-and-en_729552.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3e/cornel-west-708_activity_the-authority-of-science-promotes-and-en_729552.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3e/cornel-west-708_activity_the-authority-of-science-promotes-and-en_729552.jpg) > “The authority of science promotes and encourages the activity of observing, comparing, measuring and ordering the physical characteristics of human bodies. Cartesian epistemology and classical ideals produced forms of rationality, scientificity and objectivity that, though efficacious in the quest for truth and knowledge, prohibited the intelligibility and legitimacy of black equality. In fact, to "think" such an idea was to be deemed irrational, barbaric or mad.” [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Scientific rationality, while powerful, has historically excluded Black experiences, labeling them irrational and marginalizing equality. **In simple terms:** Science can ignore Black perspectives. Key Takeaway Challenge exclusion in scientific discourse. Themes justice epistemology racism Mood critical thought‑provoking Type philosophical political When to use this quote - academic curricula - policy making - public health research - media representation Key Concepts critical theory objectivity social equity Questions to Reflect On - How can science become more inclusive? - What biases exist in current research? A Different Perspective Science alone cannot guarantee fairness without inclusive epistemology. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Epistemology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epistemology/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Human body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-body/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Ideals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideals/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Irrational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irrational/) [Legitimacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legitimacy/) [Objectivity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objectivity/) [Rationality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rationality/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [For the educated, the authority of science rested on the strictness of its methods; for the mass, it rested on the powers of explanation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/for-the-educated-the-authority-of-science-rested-on-the-strictness-of/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [The most beautiful emotion we can experience is the mystical. It is the power of all true art and science. He to whom this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-most-beautiful-emotion-we-can-experience-is-the-mystical-it-is/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Authority in science exists to be questioned, since heresy is the spring from which new ideas flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/authority-in-science-exists-to-be-questioned-since-heresy-is-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To know what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty... this knowledge, this feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/to-know-what-is-impenetrable-to-us-really-exists-manifesting-itself/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“When you cease to be fearful of Authority, you become Authority. Neither Baker or Wily, or any of the members of Wily's lock-step staff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/various/when-you-cease-to-be-fearful-of-authority-you-become-authority/) Various > [If you tell the truth, you don't need a long memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ventura/if-you-tell-the-truth-you-don-t-need-a-long-memory/) [Jesse Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ventura/) > [The most noble of all pursuits is to be enlightened, to know truth, to have knowledge and yet be beyond even truth and knowledge,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-most-noble-of-all-pursuits-is-to-be-enlightened-to-know-truth-to/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The alternative to doubt is authority, against which science had fought for centuries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/the-alternative-to-doubt-is-authority-against-which-science-had/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [Admittedly, the body of scientists, as a whole, does uphold the authority of science over the lay public. It controls thereby also the process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-polanyi/admittedly-the-body-of-scientists-as-a-whole-does-uphold-the/) [Michael Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-polanyi/) > [After much seeking for truth and knowledge the profoundness of reality came to me with a clarity never before known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/after-much-seeking-for-truth-and-knowledge-the-profoundness-of/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Sun-worship and pure forms of nature-worship were, in their day, noble religions, highly allegorical but full of profound truth and knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/sun-worship-and-pure-forms-of-nature-worship-were-in-their-day-noble/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [There is a fundamental difference between religion, which is based on authority, and science, which is based on observation and reason. Science will win…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/there-is-a-fundamental-difference-between-religion-which-is-based-on/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [Mr. Speaker, for the last 5 years I have been working with a bipartisan group of my colleagues to make it illegal to continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-blumenauer/mr-speaker-for-the-last-5-years-i-have-been-working-with-a-bipartisan/) [Earl Blumenauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-blumenauer/) > [“Barbaric is letting the woman suffer to be alone for the rest of her life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/missy-lyons/barbaric-is-letting-the-woman-suffer-to-be-alone-for-the-rest-of-her/) [Missy Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/missy-lyons/) > [Fighting, to me, seems barbaric. I don't really like it. I enjoy out-thinking another man and out-maneuvering him, but I still don't like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugar-ray-robinson/fighting-to-me-seems-barbaric-i-don-t-really-like-it-i-enjoy-out/) [Sugar Ray Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugar-ray-robinson/) ## More by Cornel West > [There has certainly been ugly, right-wing hatred targeting Barack Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/there-has-certainly-been-ugly-right-wing-hatred-targeting-barack-obama/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [What is accurately portrayed is the rich humanity not just of Martin Luther King but of the movement, which was a multiracial movement. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/what-is-accurately-portrayed-is-the-rich-humanity-not-just-of-martin/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I feel as if I have been blessed to undergo a transformation from 'gangster' to 'redeemed sinner with gangster proclivities.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-feel-as-if-i-have-been-blessed-to-undergo-a-transformation-from/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [“Like King, we need to put on our cemetery clothes and be coffin-ready for the next great democratic battle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/like-king-we-need-to-put-on-our-cemetery-clothes-and-be-coffin-ready/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [ “You can't really move forward until you look back. \[From Remaking America panel discussion at George Washington University\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-t-really-move-forward-until-you-look-back-from-remaking/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [When we think of globalization we are thinking in part of structures and institutions that have been developed over time and that have allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/when-we-think-of-globalization-we-are-thinking-in-part-of-structures/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The challenge artists face today is whether to be an underground, unheard genius, or to dilute their art for the marketplace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-challenge-artists-face-today-is-whether-to-be-an-underground/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The need of black conservatives to gain the respect of their white peers deeply shapes certain elements of their conservatism. In this regard, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-need-of-black-conservatives-to-gain-the-respect-of-their-white/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [For me, musicians are poets. Beethoven describes himself as a poet of tones, just like Coltrane's a poet of tempo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/for-me-musicians-are-poets-beethoven-describes-himself-as-a-poet-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I don't draw any distinctions between forms of bigotry or forms of ideology that lose sight of the humanity of people. I can't stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-don-t-draw-any-distinctions-between-forms-of-bigotry-or-forms-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Barack Obama has domesticated the left in such a way that we feel as if we have no alternative but him...I refuse to accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/barack-obama-has-domesticated-the-left-in-such-a-way-that-we-feel-as/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Larry Summers, I think, he had a long history of arrogance and relative ignorance about poor people's culture and working people's culture and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/larry-summers-i-think-he-had-a-long-history-of-arrogance-and-relative/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The greatest gift you can give someone is the gift of inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-greatest-gift-you-can-give-someone-is-the-gift-of-inspiration/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [You can see it in terms of the obsession on Wall Street with not just profits but greed, more profit, more profit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-see-it-in-terms-of-the-obsession-on-wall-street-with-not-just/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Anybody who takes Martin Luther King seriously has got to go beyond the standard understanding of who he was, has to connect those dots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/anybody-who-takes-martin-luther-king-seriously-has-got-to-go-beyond/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Explore all 400 Cornel West quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) ## More Activity quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Fighting's fun, man. It's a great activity, it's a great sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/fighting-s-fun-man-it-s-a-great-activity-it-s-a-great-sport/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/) [Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [For the longest time, neuroscientists were forced to be passive observers of brain activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gero-miesenbock/for-the-longest-time-neuroscientists-were-forced-to-be-passive/) Gero Miesenbock > [Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/enjoyment-is-not-a-goal-it-is-a-feeling-that-accompanies-important/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Once an activity has been socialized, it is impossible to point out, by concrete example, how men in a free market could better conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/once-an-activity-has-been-socialized-it-is-impossible-to-point-out-by/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [“Fun is not an activity, it is a state of mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/fun-is-not-an-activity-it-is-a-state-of-mind/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I have to consider everything I eat; I consider every activity I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kimball/i-have-to-consider-everything-i-eat-i-consider-every-activity-i-do/) [Charlie Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kimball/) > [Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/almost-all-good-businesses-engage-in-pain-today-gain-tomorrow/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) Browse all 3,263 Activity quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The authority of science promotes and encourages the activity of observing, comparing, measuring and ordering the physical characteristics of human bodies. 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