---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Probability but no truth, facility but no…"
description: "\"Probability but no truth, facility but no freedom--it is owing to these two fruits that the tree of knowledge cannot be confused with the tree of life...."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/friedrich-nietzsche-15_confused_probability-but-no-truth-facility-but-no_2448265.jpg"
---

#  Probability but no truth, facility but no freedom--it is…

![“Probability but no truth, facility but no freedom--it is owing to these two fruits that the tree of knowledge cannot be confused with the tree of life.” quote by Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/friedrich-nietzsche-15_confused_probability-but-no-truth-facility-but-no_2448265.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/friedrich-nietzsche-15_confused_probability-but-no-truth-facility-but-no_2448265.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/friedrich-nietzsche-15_confused_probability-but-no-truth-facility-but-no_2448265.jpg)

> “Probability but no truth, facility but no freedom--it is owing to these two fruits that the tree of knowledge cannot be confused with the tree of life.”

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

## About This Quote

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

Distinguishes knowledge (information) from wisdom (freedom), warning that factual knowledge alone can be oppressive without the liberty to apply it.

**In simple terms:** Knowledge without freedom is oppressive.

Key Takeaway

Seek freedom alongside learning.

Themes

knowledge freedom wisdom ethics

Mood

critical philosophical

Type

analytical provocative

When to use this quote

- education policy
- media consumption
- personal growth

Key Concepts

Epistemology existentialism

Questions to Reflect On

- How does freedom shape the use of knowledge?
- Can knowledge exist without freedom?

A Different Perspective

Freedom may be limited by societal constraints.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Fruit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fruit/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Probability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/probability/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Tree of knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree-of-knowledge/) [Tree of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree-of-life/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-of-life/)

## Related quotes

> [The fruits of the tree of Knowledge are various; he must be strong indeed who can digest all of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-elizabeth-coleridge/the-fruits-of-the-tree-of-knowledge-are-various-he-must-be-strong/)

[Mary Elizabeth Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-elizabeth-coleridge/)

> [The state mankind are in today, is the direct inheritance of the fruits from the 'Tree of Knowledge' of Good and Evil; EGO! And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-vermaak/the-state-mankind-are-in-today-is-the-direct-inheritance-of-the/)

[Geraldine Vermaak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-vermaak/)

> [Even facts, like leaves on the Tree of Knowledge, have their season](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-ruthman/even-facts-like-leaves-on-the-tree-of-knowledge-have-their-season/)

[Rex Ruthman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-ruthman/)

> [Sin, guilt, neurosis; they are one and the same, the fruit of the tree of knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/sin-guilt-neurosis-they-are-one-and-the-same-the-fruit-of-the-tree-of/)

[Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/)

> [The tree of knowledge is not the tree of life! And yet can we cast out of our spirits all the good or evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-rard-de-nerval/the-tree-of-knowledge-is-not-the-tree-of-life-and-yet-can-we-cast-out/)

[Gerard De Nerval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-rard-de-nerval/)

> [“God had banished man from the Garden of Eden for daring to trespass upon the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. - But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-rollins/god-had-banished-man-from-the-garden-of-eden-for-daring-to-trespass/)

[James Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-rollins/)

> [Okay, it was the Tree of Knowledge. "You eat this apple; you're going to be as smart as God." We can't have that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/okay-it-was-the-tree-of-knowledge-you-eat-this-apple-you-re-going-to/)

[Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/)

> [Education is only a ladder to gather fruit from the tree of knowledge, not the fruit itself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/education-is-only-a-ladder-to-gather-fruit-from-the-tree-of-knowledge/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [“And one thing you would never want to do is keep your children away from any Tree of Knowledge. How could you punish someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aron-ra/and-one-thing-you-would-never-want-to-do-is-keep-your-children-away/)

[Aron Ra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aron-ra/)

> [The Tree of Knowledge grew fast by, Knowledge of Good bought dear by knowing ill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/the-tree-of-knowledge-grew-fast-by-knowledge-of-good-bought-dear-by/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [The tree of Knowledge is a Tree of Knowledge of good and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-tree-of-knowledge-is-a-tree-of-knowledge-of-good-and-evil/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [“There may come a time when you will wish you had never tasted the fruit from the tree of knowledge. There may even come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hawes/there-may-come-a-time-when-you-will-wish-you-had-never-tasted-the/)

Louise Hawes

> [Henceforth the leaves of the tree of knowledge were for women, and for the healing of the nations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-stone/henceforth-the-leaves-of-the-tree-of-knowledge-were-for-women-and-for/)

[Lucy Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-stone/)

> [“When I'm in yoga class, and I'm in the Tree Pose, I always pretend I'm the Tree of Knowledge. To help further the fantasy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/when-i-m-in-yoga-class-and-i-m-in-the-tree-pose-i-always-pretend-i-m/)

[Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/)

> [From principles is derived probability, but truth or certainty is obtained only from facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/from-principles-is-derived-probability-but-truth-or-certainty-is/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

## More by Friedrich Nietzsche

> [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“Every select man strives instinctively for a citadel and a privacy, where he is FREE from the crowd, the many, the majority-- where he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-select-man-strives-instinctively-for-a-citadel-and-a-privacy/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“It breaks my heart. Better than your words, your eye tells me all your peril. You are not yet free, you still search for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-breaks-my-heart-better-than-your-words-your-eye-tells-me-all-your/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“79. A soul which knows that it is loved, but does not itself love, betrays its sediment: its dregs come up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/79-a-soul-which-knows-that-it-is-loved-but-does-not-itself-love/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [We deceive ourselves when giving respect to the person for whom we have surrendered ourselves, when we respectively expect them to be as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-deceive-ourselves-when-giving-respect-to-the-person-for-whom-we/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“The great periods of our life occur when we gain the courage to rechristen what is bad about us as what is best.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-great-periods-of-our-life-occur-when-we-gain-the-courage-to/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“What is life? Life - that is: continually shedding something that wants to die. Life - that is: being cruel and inexorable against everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-is-life-life-that-is-continually-shedding-something-that-wants/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [It is thus only this personal feeling of misery that we get rid of by acts of pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-is-thus-only-this-personal-feeling-of-misery-that-we-get-rid-of-by/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“Writers whose thoughts are expressed with clarity and precision are assumed by readers to be superficial. Where the meaning is obscured, then readers give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/writers-whose-thoughts-are-expressed-with-clarity-and-precision-are/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“he does not wear a twitching, mobile, human face, but rather a mask, as it were, with its features in dignified equilibrium; he does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/he-does-not-wear-a-twitching-mobile-human-face-but-rather-a-mask-as/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Chastity is a virtue with some, but with many it is almost a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/chastity-is-a-virtue-with-some-but-with-many-it-is-almost-a-vice/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [The earth is like the breasts of a woman: useful as well as pleasing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-earth-is-like-the-breasts-of-a-woman-useful-as-well-as-pleasing/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“Of all that is written I love only what a man has written in his own blood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/of-all-that-is-written-i-love-only-what-a-man-has-written-in-his-own/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-shepherd-and-one-herd-everybody-wants-the-same-everybody-is-the/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Pain makes hens and poets cackle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/pain-makes-hens-and-poets-cackle/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

[Explore all 3,486 Friedrich Nietzsche quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

## More Confused quotes

> [The fact -- not theory -- that evolution has occurred and the Darwinian theory as to how it occurred have become so confused in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gaylord-simpson/the-fact-not-theory-that-evolution-has-occurred-and-the-darwinian/)

[George Gaylord Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gaylord-simpson/)

> [Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/throughout-human-history-as-our-species-has-faced-the-frightening/)

[Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/)

> [It is true that from a behavioral economics perspective we are fallible, easily confused, not that smart, and often irrational. We are more like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/it-is-true-that-from-a-behavioral-economics-perspective-we-are/)

[Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/)

> [I was a very protected and confused kid till 24. It was after then, that I started taking my life seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddharth-shukla/i-was-a-very-protected-and-confused-kid-till-24-it-was-after-then/)

[Siddharth Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddharth-shukla/)

> [I can picture certain things in my mind, while writing the script, but then I can also tell that everyone else might be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-zombie/i-can-picture-certain-things-in-my-mind-while-writing-the-script-but/)

[Rob Zombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-zombie/)

> [America today is a confused society, caught up in a terror war, a culture war, and a media war, where honesty and professional standards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/america-today-is-a-confused-society-caught-up-in-a-terror-war-a/)

[Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/)

> [Well I'm trying to think what I put in... I think I put in 'why?' to see if I'd confuse the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/well-i-m-trying-to-think-what-i-put-in-i-think-i-put-in-why-to-see-if/)

[Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/)

> [Time is the nervous system of narration, whether factual or fictive. If it gets confused some of the minutiae of human nature are certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenway-wescott/time-is-the-nervous-system-of-narration-whether-factual-or-fictive-if/)

[Glenway Wescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenway-wescott/)

> [What a wonderfully exciting cough,' said the little man, quite startled by it, 'do you mind if I join you?' And with that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/what-a-wonderfully-exciting-cough-said-the-little-man-quite-startled/)

[Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/)

> [I am still searching for the expression of those confused sensations that we bring with us at birth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/i-am-still-searching-for-the-expression-of-those-confused-sensations/)

[Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/)

> [If I look confused it is because I am thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-goldwyn/if-i-look-confused-it-is-because-i-am-thinking/)

[Samuel Goldwyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-goldwyn/)

> [Rage is exciting, but leaves me confused and exhausted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/rage-is-exciting-but-leaves-me-confused-and-exhausted/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [I believe that much of Hollywood is confused about Israel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-pellegrino/i-believe-that-much-of-hollywood-is-confused-about-israel/)

[Mark Pellegrino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-pellegrino/)

> [My senior thesis was a documentary. By the time I graduated from college, I thought I was going to make films, and my interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaby-hoffmann/my-senior-thesis-was-a-documentary-by-the-time-i-graduated-from/)

[Gaby Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaby-hoffmann/)

> [“Hold the freaking phone! I am clearly missing something here,” Lori said, still holding a confused expression.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay-chamberlin/hold-the-freaking-phone-i-am-clearly-missing-something-here-lori-said/)

[Lindsay Chamberlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsay-chamberlin/)

Browse all 1,772 Confused quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Probability but no truth, facility but no freedom--it is owing to these two fruits that the tree of knowledge cannot be confused with the tree of life.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Friedrich Nietzsche"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/probability-but-no-truth-facility-but-no-freedom-it-is-owing-to-these/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Confused"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/probability-but-no-truth-facility-but-no-freedom-it-is-owing-to-these/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/friedrich-nietzsche-15_confused_probability-but-no-truth-facility-but-no_2448265.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/friedrich-nietzsche-15_confused_probability-but-no-truth-facility-but-no_2448265.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/friedrich-nietzsche-15_confused_probability-but-no-truth-facility-but-no_2448265.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Probability but no truth, facility but no freedom--it is owing to these two fruits that the tree of…” — Friedrich Nietzsche",
                "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": "Friedrich Nietzsche",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Probability but no truth, facility but...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/probability-but-no-truth-facility-but-no-freedom-it-is-owing-to-these/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/probability-but-no-truth-facility-but-no-freedom-it-is-owing-to-these/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
