--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It seems plain and self-evident, yet it…" description: "\"It seems plain and self-evident, yet it needs to be said: the isolated knowledge obtained by a group of specialists in a narrow field has in itself no ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/erwin-schrodinger-8450_demand_it-seems-plain-and-self-evident-yet-it-n_2477617.jpg" --- # It seems plain and self-evident, yet it needs to be said… ![“It seems plain and self-evident, yet it needs to be said: the isolated knowledge obtained by a group of specialists in a narrow field has in itself no value whatsoever, but only in its synthesis with all the rest of knowledge and only inasmuch as it really contributes in this synthesis toward…” quote by Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/erwin-schrodinger-8450_demand_it-seems-plain-and-self-evident-yet-it-n_2477617.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/erwin-schrodinger-8450_demand_it-seems-plain-and-self-evident-yet-it-n_2477617.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/erwin-schrodinger-8450_demand_it-seems-plain-and-self-evident-yet-it-n_2477617.jpg) > “It seems plain and self-evident, yet it needs to be said: the isolated knowledge obtained by a group of specialists in a narrow field has in itself no value whatsoever, but only in its synthesis with all the rest of knowledge and only inasmuch as it really contributes in this synthesis toward answering the demand, "Who are we?"” [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He argues that isolated specialist knowledge lacks value unless integrated with broader knowledge to address fundamental questions about humanity. **In simple terms:** Specialist knowledge needs synthesis to be meaningful. Key Takeaway Seek interdisciplinary collaboration for deeper insight. Themes knowledge interdisciplinarity humanity Mood analytical inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - research projects - policy development - education curricula Key Concepts systems thinking epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How can we foster effective synthesis? - What barriers prevent collaboration? A Different Perspective Integration can be hindered by disciplinary silos. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contributes Synthesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contributes-synthesis-827103/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Evident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evident/) [Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fields/) [Groups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/groups/) [Isolated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isolated/) [Isolated Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isolated-knowledge-827101/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Knowledge Inasmuch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge-inasmuch-827102/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self Evident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-evident-358729/) [Specialists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/specialists/) [Synthesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/synthesis/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) ## Related quotes > [“Modern-day science is a unique tradition of knowledge, inasmuch as it openly admits collective ignorance regarding the most important questions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/modern-day-science-is-a-unique-tradition-of-knowledge-inasmuch-as-it/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [In order to write about the machine you have to know it, to live with it, to love it (or hate it). I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/in-order-to-write-about-the-machine-you-have-to-know-it-to-live-with/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [Thomas Jefferson spoke of certain truths as self-evident. He did not say that these truths were self-explanatory or that they were self-operating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-martin-klotsche/thomas-jefferson-spoke-of-certain-truths-as-self-evident-he-did-not/) [J. Martin Klotsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-martin-klotsche/) > [Two and two only supreme and luminously self-evident beings, myself and my Creator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-henry-newman/two-and-two-only-supreme-and-luminously-self-evident-beings-myself/) [John Henry Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-henry-newman/) > [Long before we understand ourselves through the process of self-examination, we understand ourselves in a self-evident way in the family, society and state in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-georg-gadamer/long-before-we-understand-ourselves-through-the-process-of-self/) [Hans-Georg Gadamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-georg-gadamer/) > [An intelligent being, is the active principle of all things. One must have renounced all common sense to doubt it, and it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/an-intelligent-being-is-the-active-principle-of-all-things-one-must/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [I'd like to think that most of what I do is self-evident if you're listening to it or seeing it. But I don't mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-brion/i-d-like-to-think-that-most-of-what-i-do-is-self-evident-if-you-re/) [Jon Brion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-brion/) > [The need to remove Col. Qaddafi should be self-evident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hoekstra/the-need-to-remove-col-qaddafi-should-be-self-evident/) [Pete Hoekstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hoekstra/) > [Travel challenges truths that we were raised thinking were self-evident and God-given. Leaving home, we learn other people find different truths to be self-evident.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-steves/travel-challenges-truths-that-we-were-raised-thinking-were-self/) [Rick Steves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-steves/) > [“Her favorite stepping-aside technique was to lay out a dizzying mountain of complex steps and then pronounce the conclusion self-evident. Excuse me? Things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-beers/her-favorite-stepping-aside-technique-was-to-lay-out-a-dizzying/) [Charlotte Beers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-beers/) > [“‎But he still thought it self-evident that one had to do what was right; he had never learned how people could want to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/but-he-still-thought-it-self-evident-that-one-had-to-do-what-was/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [When we were the political slaves of King George, and wanted to be free, we called the maxim that "all men are created equal"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/when-we-were-the-political-slaves-of-king-george-and-wanted-to-be/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Everything is self-evident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/everything-is-self-evident/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/we-hold-these-truths-to-be-self-evident-that-all-men-and-women-are/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [ It is self-evident that any and all paths must be open to a researcher during the actual course of his \[or her\] investigations. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-weierstrass/it-is-self-evident-that-any-and-all-paths-must-be-open-to-a/) [Karl Weierstrass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-weierstrass/) ## More by Erwin Schrodinger > [Thus you can throw yourself flat on the ground, stretched out upon mother earth, with the certain conviction that you are one with her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/thus-you-can-throw-yourself-flat-on-the-ground-stretched-out-upon/) [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [Nature has no reverence towards life. Nature treats life as though it were the most valueless thing in the world… Nature does not act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/nature-has-no-reverence-towards-life-nature-treats-life-as-though-it/) [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [I know not whence I came, nor whither I go, nor who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/i-know-not-whence-i-came-nor-whither-i-go-nor-who-i-am/) [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [If all this damned quantum jumping were really here to stay, I should be sorry, I should be sorry I ever got involved with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/if-all-this-damned-quantum-jumping-were-really-here-to-stay-i-should/) [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [In an honest search for knowledge, you quite often have to abide by ignorance for an indefinite period.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/in-an-honest-search-for-knowledge-you-quite-often-have-to-abide-by/) [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [Whence come I and whither go I? That is the great unfathomable question. Science has no answer to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/whence-come-i-and-whither-go-i-that-is-the-great-unfathomable/) [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [Science cannot tell us a word about why music delights us, of why and how an old song can move us to tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/science-cannot-tell-us-a-word-about-why-music-delights-us-of-why-and/) [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [I am very astonished that the scientific picture of the real world around me is very deficient. It gives a lot of factual information,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/i-am-very-astonished-that-the-scientific-picture-of-the-real-world/) [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [If a man never contradicts himself, the reason must be that he virtually never says anything at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/if-a-man-never-contradicts-himself-the-reason-must-be-that-he/) [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [“I am no friend of probability theory, I have hated it from the first moment when our dear friend Max Born gave it birth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/i-am-no-friend-of-probability-theory-i-have-hated-it-from-the-first/) [Erwin Schrödinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [Our perceiving self is nowhere to be found in the world-picture, because it itself is the world-picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/our-perceiving-self-is-nowhere-to-be-found-in-the-world-picture/) [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [Vedanta teaches that consciousness is singular, all happenings are played out in one universal consciousness and there is no multiplicity of selves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/vedanta-teaches-that-consciousness-is-singular-all-happenings-are/) [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [An animal that embarks on forming states without greatly restricting egoism will perish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/an-animal-that-embarks-on-forming-states-without-greatly-restricting/) [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [Matter and energy seem granular in structure, and so does “life”, but not so mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/matter-and-energy-seem-granular-in-structure-and-so-does-life-but-not/) [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [“When in the puppet-show of dreams we hold in hand the strings of quite a number of actors, controlling their actions and their speech,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/when-in-the-puppet-show-of-dreams-we-hold-in-hand-the-strings-of/) [Erwin Schrödinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) [Explore all 79 Erwin Schrodinger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) ## More Demand quotes > [Our times demand the declaration of the world's resources as the common heritage of all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/our-times-demand-the-declaration-of-the-world-s-resources-as-the/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [Parents who are stressed or disturbed will have more difficulty in meeting their children's needs. Parents who have little support--from friends, relatives, neighbors, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-kamerman/parents-who-are-stressed-or-disturbed-will-have-more-difficulty-in/) [Sheila Kamerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-kamerman/) > [If a person does not listen to the demands of their own spiritual and heart life and insists on a certain program, you're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/if-a-person-does-not-listen-to-the-demands-of-their-own-spiritual-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Empires fall, ids explode, great symphonies are written, and behind all of it is a single instinct that demands satisfaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/empires-fall-ids-explode-great-symphonies-are-written-and-behind-all/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > [My dogs can't do anything--and what a relief. I don't make any demands of them, and I don't try to shape them or their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-chua/my-dogs-can-t-do-anything-and-what-a-relief-i-don-t-make-any-demands/) [Amy Chua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-chua/) > [The trouble is. . .that everybody sneers at restrictions and demands freedom, till something annoying happens; then they demand angrily what has become of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/the-trouble-is-that-everybody-sneers-at-restrictions-and-demands/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [You be greater than your feelings. I don't demand this of you - life does. Otherwise you'll be washed away by feelings. You'll be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/you-be-greater-than-your-feelings-i-don-t-demand-this-of-you-life/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [It is an interesting law of romance that a truly strong woman will choose a strong man who disagrees with her over a weak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-is-an-interesting-law-of-romance-that-a-truly-strong-woman-will/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [If we get better our customers will demand we get bigger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-truett-cathy/if-we-get-better-our-customers-will-demand-we-get-bigger/) [S. Truett Cathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-truett-cathy/) > [If our faith in God is not the veriest sham, it demands, and will produce, the abandonment sometimes, the subordination always, of external helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/if-our-faith-in-god-is-not-the-veriest-sham-it-demands-and-will/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) > [Money should be ones demand and command one should not become slave of money..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/money-should-be-ones-demand-and-command-one-should-not-become-slave/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [There was no mistake in us making abortion legal and available on demand. That was what we call progress. Just like it was no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/there-was-no-mistake-in-us-making-abortion-legal-and-available-on/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [Most enjoyable activities are not natural; they demand an effort that initially one is reluctant to make. But once the interaction starts to provide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/most-enjoyable-activities-are-not-natural-they-demand-an-effort-that/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [Azerbaijan unleashed the war, and was defeated in that war; Azerbaijan asked for truce (including from the Commander of Karabakh's forces) and later started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serzh-sargsyan/azerbaijan-unleashed-the-war-and-was-defeated-in-that-war-azerbaijan/) [Serzh Sargsyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serzh-sargsyan/) [Browse all 3,809 Demand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It seems plain and self-evident, yet it needs to be said: the isolated knowledge obtained by a group of specialists in a narrow field has in itself no value whatsoever, but only in its synthesis with all the rest of knowledge and only inasmuch as it really contributes in this synthesis toward answering the demand, \"Who are we?\"", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Erwin Schrodinger" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/it-seems-plain-and-self-evident-yet-it-needs-to-be-said-the-isolated/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Demand" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/it-seems-plain-and-self-evident-yet-it-needs-to-be-said-the-isolated/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/erwin-schrodinger-8450_demand_it-seems-plain-and-self-evident-yet-it-n_2477617.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/erwin-schrodinger-8450_demand_it-seems-plain-and-self-evident-yet-it-n_2477617.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/erwin-schrodinger-8450_demand_it-seems-plain-and-self-evident-yet-it-n_2477617.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It seems plain and self-evident, yet it needs to be said: the isolated knowledge obtained by a group of…” — Erwin Schrodinger", "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": "Erwin Schrodinger", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It seems plain and self-evident, yet...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/it-seems-plain-and-self-evident-yet-it-needs-to-be-said-the-isolated/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/it-seems-plain-and-self-evident-yet-it-needs-to-be-said-the-isolated/#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 } } ] } ```