--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All knowledge that is about human…" description: "\"All knowledge that is about human society, and not about the natural world, is historical knowledge, and therefore rests upon judgment and interpretati..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/edward-said-6412_data_all-knowledge-that-is-about-human-societ_608156.jpg" --- # All knowledge that is about human society, and not about… ![“All knowledge that is about human society, and not about the natural world, is historical knowledge, and therefore rests upon judgment and interpretation. This is not to say that facts or data are nonexistent, but that facts get their importance from what is made of them in interpretation… for…” quote by Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/edward-said-6412_data_all-knowledge-that-is-about-human-societ_608156.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/edward-said-6412_data_all-knowledge-that-is-about-human-societ_608156.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/edward-said-6412_data_all-knowledge-that-is-about-human-societ_608156.jpg) > “All knowledge that is about human society, and not about the natural world, is historical knowledge, and therefore rests upon judgment and interpretation. This is not to say that facts or data are nonexistent, but that facts get their importance from what is made of them in interpretation… for interpretations depend very much on who the interpreter is, who he or she is addressing, what his or her purpose is, at what historical moment the interpretation takes place.” [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Historical knowledge is shaped by interpretation, which depends on the interpreter’s perspective and context. **In simple terms:** History is interpreted, not just facts. Key Takeaway Consider whose viewpoint frames history. Themes interpretation subjectivity history knowledge Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - education - media analysis - policy making - museum curation Key Concepts postcolonial theory epistemology narrative Questions to Reflect On - Whose voices are missing in historical narratives? - How does context alter meaning? A Different Perspective Interpretations can be biased, obscuring alternative truths. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Data](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/data/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Historical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical/) [Historical knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical-knowledge/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Human society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-society/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Importance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/importance/) [Interpretation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interpretation/) [Interpretation Interpretations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interpretation-interpretations-4943989/) [Interpretations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interpretations/) [Interpretations Depend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interpretations-depend-4943988/) [Interpreter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interpreter/) [Judgment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judgment/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Natural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural/) [Natural world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-world/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Everyone in a complex system has a slightly different interpretation. The more interpretations we gather, the easier it becomes to gain a sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-j-wheatley/everyone-in-a-complex-system-has-a-slightly-different-interpretation/) [Margaret J. Wheatley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-j-wheatley/) > [An experiment in nature, like a text in the Bible, is capable of different interpretations, according to the preconceptions of the interpreter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-jones/an-experiment-in-nature-like-a-text-in-the-bible-is-capable-of/) [William Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-jones/) > [It is not my job to sit down and read peer-reviewed papers because I simply haven't got the time ... I am an interpreter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-delingpole/it-is-not-my-job-to-sit-down-and-read-peer-reviewed-papers-because-i/) [James Delingpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-delingpole/) > [I am an interpreter of interpretations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-delingpole/i-am-an-interpreter-of-interpretations/) [James Delingpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-delingpole/) > [There's been essentially the same analysis over and over again and very little allowance made for different views and interpretations and reflections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/there-s-been-essentially-the-same-analysis-over-and-over-again-and/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [“It does not require much historical knowledge (though it may require a certain historical perspective) to see that many, if not all, of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lukacs/it-does-not-require-much-historical-knowledge-though-it-may-require-a/) [John Lukacs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lukacs/) > [“This is the paradox of historical knowledge. Knowledge that does not change behaviour is useless. But knowledge that changes behaviour quickly loses its relevance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/this-is-the-paradox-of-historical-knowledge-knowledge-that-does-not/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Gower is the first English writer to use "history" as an English word. He regularly rhymes the term with "memory," for to his way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-a-peck/gower-is-the-first-english-writer-to-use-history-as-an-english-word/) [Russell A. Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-a-peck/) > [“Men and women who have never lived make finer captives on the printed page, or if they have lived, and are historical, then the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/men-and-women-who-have-never-lived-make-finer-captives-on-the-printed/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [Risk models are a substitute for historical knowledge, because they tend to work with just three years' worth of data. But three years is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-ferguson/risk-models-are-a-substitute-for-historical-knowledge-because-they/) [Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/) > [A modern theory of knowledge which takes account of the relational as distinct from the merely relative character of all historical knowledge must start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-mannheim/a-modern-theory-of-knowledge-which-takes-account-of-the-relational-as/) [Karl Mannheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-mannheim/) > [The mere notion of photography, when we introduce it into our meditation on the genesis of historical knowledge and its true value, suggests the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/the-mere-notion-of-photography-when-we-introduce-it-into-our/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [“young people at Western schools and universities have been given the idea of a liberal education, without the substance of historical knowledge. They have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-ferguson/young-people-at-western-schools-and-universities-have-been-given-the/) [Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/) > [Genuine historical knowledge requires nobility of character, a profound understanding of human existence - not detachment and objectivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/genuine-historical-knowledge-requires-nobility-of-character-a/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The bases for historical knowledge are not empirical facts but written texts, even if these texts masquerade in the guise of wars or revolutions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-bases-for-historical-knowledge-are-not-empirical-facts-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Edward Said > [Beginning is not only a kind of action. It is also a frame of mind, a kind of work, an attitude, a consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/beginning-is-not-only-a-kind-of-action-it-is-also-a-frame-of-mind-a/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [It's very hard, for example, to justify the thirty-four-year occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. It's very hard to justify 140 Israeli settlements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/it-s-very-hard-for-example-to-justify-the-thirty-four-year-occupation/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [ \[9/11\] was bloody-minded destruction for no other reason than to do it. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/9-11-was-bloody-minded-destruction-for-no-other-reason-than-to-do-it/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Look at situations as contingent, not as inevitable, look at them as the result of a series of historical choices made by men and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/look-at-situations-as-contingent-not-as-inevitable-look-at-them-as/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [I was one of the first people in the Palestinian world, in the late 1970s, to say that there is no military option, either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/i-was-one-of-the-first-people-in-the-palestinian-world-in-the-late/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Take a young man from Gaza living in the most horrendous conditions - most of it imposed by Israel - who straps dynamite around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/take-a-young-man-from-gaza-living-in-the-most-horrendous-conditions/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [ \[One task of intellectuals is\] to break down the stereotypes and reductive categories that are . . . limiting to human thought and communication. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/one-task-of-intellectuals-is-to-break-down-the-stereotypes-and/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [I have never known what is Arabic or English, or which one was really mine beyond any doubt. What I do know, however, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/i-have-never-known-what-is-arabic-or-english-or-which-one-was-really/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Every single empire in its official discourse has said that it is not like all the others, that its circumstances are special, that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/every-single-empire-in-its-official-discourse-has-said-that-it-is-not/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [ The just response to this terrible event \[9/11\] should be to go immediately to the world community, the United Nations. The rule of international… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/the-just-response-to-this-terrible-event-9-11-should-be-to-go/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Since when does a militarily occupied people have the responsibility for a peace movement?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/since-when-does-a-militarily-occupied-people-have-the-responsibility/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Refuse to allow yourself to become a vegetable that simply absorbs information, pre-packaged, pre-ideologized , because no message.. is anything but an ideological package…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/refuse-to-allow-yourself-to-become-a-vegetable-that-simply-absorbs/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [No cause, no God, no abstract idea can justify the mass slaughter of innocents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/no-cause-no-god-no-abstract-idea-can-justify-the-mass-slaughter-of/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [What we must eliminate are systems of representation that carry with them the authority which has become repressive because it doesn't permit or make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/what-we-must-eliminate-are-systems-of-representation-that-carry-with/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Part of the main plan of imperialism... is that we will give you your history, we will write it for you, we will re-order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/part-of-the-main-plan-of-imperialism-is-that-we-will-give-you-your/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) [Explore all 97 Edward Said quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) ## More Data quotes > [Information is money, but data is squat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-llama-butler/information-is-money-but-data-is-squat/) [Angela Llama-Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-llama-butler/) > [“ data analytics consulting Perceptive Analtyics is a data analytic company and a trusted advisor to its clients across domains. 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Little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-mayer-sch-nberger/the-amount-of-stored-information-grows-four-times-faster-than-the/) [Viktor Mayer-Schönberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-mayer-sch-nberger/) [Browse all 3,134 Data quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/data/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "All knowledge that is about human society, and not about the natural world, is historical knowledge, and therefore rests upon judgment and interpretation. 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