--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The scientific value of truth is not…" description: "\"The scientific value of truth is not, however, ultimate or absolute. It rests partly on practical, partly on aesthetic interests. As our ideas are grad..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef9/george-santayana-478_absolutes_the-scientific-value-of-truth-is-not-how_2666170.jpg" --- # The scientific value of truth is not, however, ultimate or… ![“The scientific value of truth is not, however, ultimate or absolute. It rests partly on practical, partly on aesthetic interests. As our ideas are gradually brought into conformity with the facts by the painful process of selection,-for intuition runs equally into truth and into error, and can…” quote by George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef9/george-santayana-478_absolutes_the-scientific-value-of-truth-is-not-how_2666170.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef9/george-santayana-478_absolutes_the-scientific-value-of-truth-is-not-how_2666170.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef9/george-santayana-478_absolutes_the-scientific-value-of-truth-is-not-how_2666170.jpg) > “The scientific value of truth is not, however, ultimate or absolute. It rests partly on practical, partly on aesthetic interests. As our ideas are gradually brought into conformity with the facts by the painful process of selection,-for intuition runs equally into truth and into error, and can settle nothing if not controlled by experience,-we gain vastly in our command over our environment. This is the fundamental value of natural science” [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Science values truth not as absolute but as useful, shaped by practical and aesthetic concerns and guided by experience. **In simple terms:** Science seeks useful truth, not ultimate. Key Takeaway Balance utility and beauty in inquiry. Themes science truth practicality Mood analytical inquisitive Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - research design - technology development - education curricula Key Concepts philosophy of science aesthetics Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance usefulness and accuracy? - What role does aesthetics play in science? A Different Perspective May undervalue absolute truths. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutes/) [Aesthetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aesthetic/) [Conformity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformity/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Intuition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intuition/) [Natural science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-science/) [Our environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-environment/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) ## Related quotes > [“The wealth of time is actually of more value than natural resources.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-wealth-of-time-is-actually-of-more-value-than-natural-resources/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Bad times have a scientific value, these are the occasions a good learner would not miss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/bad-times-have-a-scientific-value-these-are-the-occasions-a-good/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Is it indeed from the experience of beauty and happiness, from the occasional harmony between our nature and our environment, that we draw our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/is-it-indeed-from-the-experience-of-beauty-and-happiness-from-the/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [The challenge today is to convince people of the value of truth, honesty, compassion and a concern for others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/the-challenge-today-is-to-convince-people-of-the-value-of-truth/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [“Intentional leadership ads value and truth to people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alin-sav/intentional-leadership-ads-value-and-truth-to-people/) [Alin Sav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alin-sav/) > [We should not be ashamed to acknowledge truth from whatever source it comes to us, even if it is brought to us by former…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-kindi/we-should-not-be-ashamed-to-acknowledge-truth-from-whatever-source-it-2/) Al-Kindi > [“Dear Daughter, Never allow anyone who does not value the truth to bring you down with their lie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gift-gugu-mona/dear-daughter-never-allow-anyone-who-does-not-value-the-truth-to/) [Gift Gugu Mona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gift-gugu-mona/) > [The music of the soul is also the music of salesmanship. Exchange value, not truth value counts. On it centers the rationality of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-marcuse/the-music-of-the-soul-is-also-the-music-of-salesmanship-exchange/) [Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-marcuse/) > [Maybe the social value of truth is as a destination - so long as we do not assume we have arrived there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-de-bono/maybe-the-social-value-of-truth-is-as-a-destination-so-long-as-we-do/) [Edward de Bono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-de-bono/) > [“Do you believe in the value of truth, my dear, or don’t you?” “Of course I believe in the truth,” said Rhoda, staring. “Yes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/do-you-believe-in-the-value-of-truth-my-dear-or-don-t-you-of-course-i-2/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [When you place a high value on truth, you have to think for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/when-you-place-a-high-value-on-truth-you-have-to-think-for-yourself/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [“We should not be ashamed to acknowledge truth from whatever source it comes to us, even if it is brought to us by former…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-kindi-muammad-ibn-ysuf/we-should-not-be-ashamed-to-acknowledge-truth-from-whatever-source-it/) al-Kindi Muammad ibn Ysuf > [If mass communications blend together harmoniously, and often unnoticeably, art, politics, religion, and philosophy with commercials, they bring these realms of culture to their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-marcuse/if-mass-communications-blend-together-harmoniously-and-often/) [Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-marcuse/) > [Do you believe in the value of truth, my dear, or don’t you?” “Of course I believe in the truth,” said Rhoda, staring. “Yes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/do-you-believe-in-the-value-of-truth-my-dear-or-don-t-you-of-course-i/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [In the end, religion teaches us to value truth, justice and freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/in-the-end-religion-teaches-us-to-value-truth-justice-and-freedom/) [F. Sionil Jose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) ## More by George Santayana > [Perhaps the universe is nothing but an equilibrium of idiocies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/perhaps-the-universe-is-nothing-but-an-equilibrium-of-idiocies/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [The combative instinct is a savage prompting by which one man's good is found in another's evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-combative-instinct-is-a-savage-prompting-by-which-one-man-s-good/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Sanctity and genius are as rebellious as vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/sanctity-and-genius-are-as-rebellious-as-vice/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [To attempt to be religious without practicing a specific religion is as possible as attempting to speak without a specific language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/to-attempt-to-be-religious-without-practicing-a-specific-religion-is/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [“The contemporary world has turned its back on the attempt and even on the desire to live reasonably.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-contemporary-world-has-turned-its-back-on-the-attempt-and-even-on/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [The pride of the artisan in his art and its uses is pride in himself...It is in his skill and ability to make things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-pride-of-the-artisan-in-his-art-and-its-uses-is-pride-in-himself/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [If pain could have cured us we should long ago have been saved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/if-pain-could-have-cured-us-we-should-long-ago-have-been-saved/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Towers in a modern town are a frill and a survival; they seem like the raised hands of the various churches, afraid of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/towers-in-a-modern-town-are-a-frill-and-a-survival-they-seem-like-the/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Wealth, religion, military victory have more rhetorical than efficacious worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/wealth-religion-military-victory-have-more-rhetorical-than/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Whoever it was who searched the heavens with a telescope and found no God would not have found the human mind if he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/whoever-it-was-who-searched-the-heavens-with-a-telescope-and-found-no/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [It is easier to make a saint out of a libertine than out of a prig.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/it-is-easier-to-make-a-saint-out-of-a-libertine-than-out-of-a-prig/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Experience is a mere whiff or rumble, produced by enormously complex and ill-deciphered causes of experience; and in the other direction, experience is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/experience-is-a-mere-whiff-or-rumble-produced-by-enormously-complex/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Miracles are propitious accidents, the natural causes of which are too complicated to be readily understood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/miracles-are-propitious-accidents-the-natural-causes-of-which-are-too/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Memory itself is an internal rumour; and when to this hearsay within the mind we add the falsified echoes that reach us from others,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/memory-itself-is-an-internal-rumour-and-when-to-this-hearsay-within/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Familiarity breeds contempt only when it breeds inattention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/familiarity-breeds-contempt-only-when-it-breeds-inattention/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) [Explore all 530 George Santayana quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) ## More Absolutes quotes > [At the centre of the human heart is the longing for an absolute good, a longing which is always there and is never appeased…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/at-the-centre-of-the-human-heart-is-the-longing-for-an-absolute-good/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [There is no perfect justice, just as there is no absolute in ethics. But there is perfect injustice, and we know it when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/there-is-no-perfect-justice-just-as-there-is-no-absolute-in-ethics/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [If you live in a material universe where acquiring things is very important to you, then family is an absolute deterrent to maintaining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/if-you-live-in-a-material-universe-where-acquiring-things-is-very/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [ Their \[the U.S.’s\] defense budget in absolute figures is almost 25 times bigger than Russia’s. This is what in defense is referred to as… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/their-the-u-s-s-defense-budget-in-absolute-figures-is-almost-25-times/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Conservative political opinion in America cleaves to the tradition of the judge as passive interpreter, believing that his absolute loyalty to authoritative law is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/conservative-political-opinion-in-america-cleaves-to-the-tradition-of/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [So many times we come to Jesus in worship and ask Him for things that He already IS and has already done... What a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-nockels/so-many-times-we-come-to-jesus-in-worship-and-ask-him-for-things-that/) Christy Nockels > [Those are decisions only the Lord will make. I believe the love of God is absolute. He said he gave his son for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/those-are-decisions-only-the-lord-will-make-i-believe-the-love-of-god/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [“The Gods know what it is to be eternal, and they love to toy with mortals who use absolutes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-angelini/the-gods-know-what-it-is-to-be-eternal-and-they-love-to-toy-with/) [Josephine Angelini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-angelini/) > [Anarchy is the stepping stone to absolute power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/anarchy-is-the-stepping-stone-to-absolute-power/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [I was asked the other day if I would be interested in the Nobel Prize, but I think that for me it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/i-was-asked-the-other-day-if-i-would-be-interested-in-the-nobel-prize/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [The only "definitive truth" for Buddhism is the absolute negation of any one truth as the Definitive Truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/the-only-definitive-truth-for-buddhism-is-the-absolute-negation-of/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [The nature of the Absolute is neither perceptible nor imperceptible; and with phenomena it is just the same. But to one who has discovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huangbo-xiyun/the-nature-of-the-absolute-is-neither-perceptible-nor-imperceptible/) [Huangbo Xiyun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huangbo-xiyun/) > [Joining a company is an act that calls for absolute loyalty in big matters and little ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-watson/joining-a-company-is-an-act-that-calls-for-absolute-loyalty-in-big/) [Thomas Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-watson/) > [In fine, a life of good or evil, the hope of Heaven or the despair of Hell, Faustus stands as a reminder that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-fine-a-life-of-good-or-evil-the-hope-of-heaven-or-the-despair-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 2,016 Absolutes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The scientific value of truth is not, however, ultimate or absolute. It rests partly on practical, partly on aesthetic interests. As our ideas are gradually brought into conformity with the facts by the painful process of selection,-for intuition runs equally into truth and into error, and can settle nothing if not controlled by experience,-we gain vastly in our command over our environment. This is the fundamental value of natural science", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Santayana" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-scientific-value-of-truth-is-not-however-ultimate-or-absolute-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absolutes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-scientific-value-of-truth-is-not-however-ultimate-or-absolute-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef9/george-santayana-478_absolutes_the-scientific-value-of-truth-is-not-how_2666170.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef9/george-santayana-478_absolutes_the-scientific-value-of-truth-is-not-how_2666170.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef9/george-santayana-478_absolutes_the-scientific-value-of-truth-is-not-how_2666170.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The scientific value of truth is not, however, ultimate or absolute. It rests partly on practical, partly on…” — George Santayana", "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": "George Santayana", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The scientific value of truth is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-scientific-value-of-truth-is-not-however-ultimate-or-absolute-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-scientific-value-of-truth-is-not-however-ultimate-or-absolute-it/#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 } } ] } ```