---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At Oxford he learned that the importance…"
description: "\"“At Oxford he learned that the importance of human beings has been vastly over rated by specialists.”\" — E.M. Forster"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/e-m-forster-2-1148_quote_at-oxford-he-learned-that-the-importance_1312342.jpg"
---

#  At Oxford he learned that the importance of human beings…

![“At Oxford he learned that the importance of human beings has been vastly over rated by specialists.” quote by E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/e-m-forster-2-1148_quote_at-oxford-he-learned-that-the-importance_1312342.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/e-m-forster-2-1148_quote_at-oxford-he-learned-that-the-importance_1312342.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/e-m-forster-2-1148_quote_at-oxford-he-learned-that-the-importance_1312342.jpg)

> ““At Oxford he learned that the importance of human beings has been vastly over rated by specialists.””

[E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Specialists often overemphasize their expertise, overlooking the inherent value of ordinary human experience.

**In simple terms:** Experts may undervalue regular people.

Key Takeaway

Value everyday perspectives.

Themes

humility expertise humanity valuation society

Mood

reflective critical

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- education reform
- policy making
- community projects
- healthcare delivery

Key Concepts

Philosophy social critique anthropology

Questions to Reflect On

- How can we balance expertise with common sense?
- What mechanisms ensure ordinary voices are heard?

A Different Perspective

Specialist bias can lead to misguided decisions.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

## Related quotes

> [As a doctor, I've learned the importance and value of listening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ami-bera/as-a-doctor-i-ve-learned-the-importance-and-value-of-listening/)

[Ami Bera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ami-bera/)

> [I learned the importance of a man's chair early in life. I learned that he may love several wives, embrace several cars, be true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/i-learned-the-importance-of-a-man-s-chair-early-in-life-i-learned/)

[Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/)

> [In regards to my artistry, I've learned the importance of being vulnerable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rayvon-owen/in-regards-to-my-artistry-i-ve-learned-the-importance-of-being/)

[Rayvon Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rayvon-owen/)

> [We had to learn that we're beautiful. We had to relearn something forcefully taken from us. We had to learn about Black power. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/assata-shakur/we-had-to-learn-that-we-re-beautiful-we-had-to-relearn-something/)

[Assata Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/assata-shakur/)

> [But, yes, I learned everything working in theater. I learned the importance of community - I was constantly going to play readings, stand-up nights,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-meriwether/but-yes-i-learned-everything-working-in-theater-i-learned-the/)

[Elizabeth Meriwether](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-meriwether/)

> [I learned the importance of being nonjudgmental, taking what happens and trying to make it work.That's something you should apply to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-hancock/i-learned-the-importance-of-being-nonjudgmental-taking-what-happens/)

[Herbie Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-hancock/)

> [As governor, I learned the importance of having an agenda.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-engler/as-governor-i-learned-the-importance-of-having-an-agenda/)

[John Engler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-engler/)

> [Doctors should recognise the importance of the five human values; Truth, righteousness, Peace, Love and Non-violence. Love is the basis for all the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/doctors-should-recognise-the-importance-of-the-five-human-values/)

[Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/)

> [“In mechanical terms, humans are quite efficient converters of food into energy, so human slaves were often more valuable than animal slaves, if one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-christian/in-mechanical-terms-humans-are-quite-efficient-converters-of-food/)

[David Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-christian/)

> [Our vanity makes us exaggerate the importance of human life; the individual is nothing; Nature cares only for the species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/our-vanity-makes-us-exaggerate-the-importance-of-human-life-the/)

[Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/)

> [I believe in the utmost importance of one human being's actions toward another. This is actually what I believe in. How we handle one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramin-bahrani/i-believe-in-the-utmost-importance-of-one-human-being-s-actions/)

[Ramin Bahrani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramin-bahrani/)

> [“What I was suddenly aware of was the importance of their being whatever each of them was--cocky and contemptuous, or bothered and beaten--as long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-christopher/what-i-was-suddenly-aware-of-was-the-importance-of-their-being/)

[John Christopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-christopher/)

> [The youth would be able to live peacefully and prosperously only if they study the existing problems and their reasons well. If they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-joseph-benziger/the-youth-would-be-able-to-live-peacefully-and-prosperously-only-if/)

[T Joseph Benziger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-joseph-benziger/)

> [The importance of human judgment does not evaporate in the future, and as connected individuals, we will have to exercise sound judgment about what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-cohen/the-importance-of-human-judgment-does-not-evaporate-in-the-future-and/)

[Jared Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-cohen/)

> [The art of drawing which is of more real importance to the human race than that of writing...should be taught to every child just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/the-art-of-drawing-which-is-of-more-real-importance-to-the-human-race/)

[John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/)

## More by E.M. Forster

> [“She gave up trying to understand herself, and the vast armies of the benighted, who follow neither the heart nor the brain, and march…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/she-gave-up-trying-to-understand-herself-and-the-vast-armies-of-the/)

[E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/)

> [“They had tried to reproduce their own attitude to life upon the stage, and to dress up as the middle-class English people they actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/they-had-tried-to-reproduce-their-own-attitude-to-life-upon-the-stage/)

[E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/)

> [“I believe in aristocracy, though -- if that is the right word, and if a democrat may use it. Not an aristocracy of power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/i-believe-in-aristocracy-though-if-that-is-the-right-word-and-if-a/)

[E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/)

> [“Oh, what's the use of your fairmindedness if you never decide for yourself? Anyone gets hold of you and makes you do what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/oh-what-s-the-use-of-your-fairmindedness-if-you-never-decide-for/)

[E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/)

> [“You mean that a Frenchman could share with a friend and yet not go to prison?’ ‘Share? Do you mean unite? If both are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/you-mean-that-a-frenchman-could-share-with-a-friend-and-yet-not-go-to/)

[E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/)

> [“Margaret realized the chaotic nature of our daily life, and its difference from the orderly sequence that has been fabricated by historians. Actual life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/margaret-realized-the-chaotic-nature-of-our-daily-life-and-its/)

[E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/)

> [“Everything seems just alike in these days.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/everything-seems-just-alike-in-these-days/)

[E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/)

> [“He had said it bravely, and that is why one can trust Beethoven when he says other things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/he-had-said-it-bravely-and-that-is-why-one-can-trust-beethoven-when/)

[E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/)

> [“He whispered: ‘Is it this? Is this possible? I’ll put a marvel to you. That your cousin has always hoped. That from the very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/he-whispered-is-it-this-is-this-possible-i-ll-put-a-marvel-to-you/)

[E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/)

> [“Perhaps anything that he did would have pleased Lucy, but his awkwardness went straight to her heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/perhaps-anything-that-he-did-would-have-pleased-lucy-but-his/)

[E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/)

> [“Because a thing is going strong now, it need not go strong for ever,' she said. 'This craze for motion has only set in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/because-a-thing-is-going-strong-now-it-need-not-go-strong-for-ever/)

[E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/)

> [“England was alive, throbbing through all her estuaries, crying for joy through the mouths of all her gulls, and the north wind, with contrary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/england-was-alive-throbbing-through-all-her-estuaries-crying-for-joy/)

[E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/)

> [“But the poetry of that kiss, the wonder of it, the magic that there was in life for hours after it--who can describe that?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/but-the-poetry-of-that-kiss-the-wonder-of-it-the-magic-that-there-was/)

[E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/)

> [“But that some sonatas of Beethoven are written tragic no one can gainsay; yet they can triumph or despair as the player decides, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/but-that-some-sonatas-of-beethoven-are-written-tragic-no-one-can/)

[E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/)

> [“He chanced to be in a lucid critical mood, and would not sympathize with exaltation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/he-chanced-to-be-in-a-lucid-critical-mood-and-would-not-sympathize/)

[E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/)

[Explore all 274 E.M. Forster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/)

## More Oxford quotes

> [ “See that the mind is honest, first; the rest may follow or not as God wills. \[That\] the fundamental treason to the mind ...… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/see-that-the-mind-is-honest-first-the-rest-may-follow-or-not-as-god/)

[Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/)

> [ Jowett, in his day, did probably more than any other single man to let some fresh air into the exhausted atmosphere of the \[Oxford\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-jowett/jowett-in-his-day-did-probably-more-than-any-other-single-man-to-let/)

[Benjamin Jowett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-jowett/)

> [I went to study at Oxford University in the 1980s on an imperial scholarship instituted by Cecil Rhodes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/i-went-to-study-at-oxford-university-in-the-1980s-on-an-imperial/)

[Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/)

> [At Oxford University, I studied languages so I could read the great novels as they were originally written. I took what in the United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-beckinsale/at-oxford-university-i-studied-languages-so-i-could-read-the-great/)

[Kate Beckinsale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-beckinsale/)

> [As a graduate student at Oxford in 1963, I began writing about books in revolutionary France, helping to found the discipline of book history.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-darnton/as-a-graduate-student-at-oxford-in-1963-i-began-writing-about-books/)

[Robert Darnton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-darnton/)

> [“I knew I should believe him, as he taught at Oxford, but his answers did not feel complete. It was like having a meal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chevalier/i-knew-i-should-believe-him-as-he-taught-at-oxford-but-his-answers/)

[Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/)

> [Clothing should be like food. There should never be a $5000 sweater. You know what should cost $5000? A car.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/clothing-should-be-like-food-there-should-never-be-a-5000-sweater-you/)

[Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/)

> [...The two great turning-points of my life were when my father sent to Oxford, and when society sent me to prison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-two-great-turning-points-of-my-life-were-when-my-father-sent-to/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [Jonathan Coe's genial, likeable novel can only be described as a kind of lit-prog-rock concept album... Coe recreates the period with such loving accuracy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bradshaw/jonathan-coe-s-genial-likeable-novel-can-only-be-described-as-a-kind/)

[Peter Bradshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bradshaw/)

> [I drove to Oxford with my van full of petrol and tin cans, as I didn't know there were service stations on the motorway.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-drove-to-oxford-with-my-van-full-of-petrol-and-tin-cans-as-i-didn-t/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [“Oxford is very pretty, but I don't like to be dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/oxford-is-very-pretty-but-i-don-t-like-to-be-dead/)

[T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/)

> [“Rome has been called the "Sacred City": - might not our Oxford be called so too? There is an air about it, resonant of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/rome-has-been-called-the-sacred-city-might-not-our-oxford-be-called/)

[William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/)

> [Governance has been at the heart of the work of the Oxford Martin Commission for Future Generations and is a clear focus in its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-ibrahim/governance-has-been-at-the-heart-of-the-work-of-the-oxford-martin/)

[Mo Ibrahim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-ibrahim/)

> [“Very well. I will take you to Oxford. It might be an educational opportunity at that. You can see the college your father attended,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-metzger/very-well-i-will-take-you-to-oxford-it-might-be-an-educational/)

Barbara Metzger

> [Economists use the word consume to mean "utilize economic goods," but the Shorter Oxford Dictionary's definition is more appropriate to ecologists: "To make away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-thein-durning/economists-use-the-word-consume-to-mean-utilize-economic-goods-but/)

[Alan Thein Durning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-thein-durning/)

Browse all 324 Oxford quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“At Oxford he learned that the importance of human beings has been vastly over rated by specialists.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "E.M. Forster"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/at-oxford-he-learned-that-the-importance-of-human-beings-has-been/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Oxford"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/at-oxford-he-learned-that-the-importance-of-human-beings-has-been/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/e-m-forster-2-1148_quote_at-oxford-he-learned-that-the-importance_1312342.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/e-m-forster-2-1148_quote_at-oxford-he-learned-that-the-importance_1312342.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/e-m-forster-2-1148_quote_at-oxford-he-learned-that-the-importance_1312342.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“At Oxford he learned that the importance of human beings has been vastly over rated by specialists.” — E.M. Forster",
                "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": "E.M. Forster",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“At Oxford he learned that the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/at-oxford-he-learned-that-the-importance-of-human-beings-has-been/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/at-oxford-he-learned-that-the-importance-of-human-beings-has-been/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
