--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are most of us governed by…" description: "\"We are most of us governed by epistemologies that we know to be wrong\" — Gregory Bateson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc4/gregory-bateson-7135_epistemology_we-are-most-of-us-governed-by-epistemolo_1881139.png" --- # We are most of us governed by epistemologies that we know… ![“We are most of us governed by epistemologies that we know to be wrong” quote by Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc4/gregory-bateson-7135_epistemology_we-are-most-of-us-governed-by-epistemolo_1881139.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc4/gregory-bateson-7135_epistemology_we-are-most-of-us-governed-by-epistemolo_1881139.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc4/gregory-bateson-7135_epistemology_we-are-most-of-us-governed-by-epistemolo_1881139.png) > “We are most of us governed by epistemologies that we know to be wrong” [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our actions are guided by false beliefs we accept as truth. **In simple terms:** Wrong beliefs steer behavior. Key Takeaway Question and revise your underlying assumptions. Themes beliefs epistemology governance Mood analytical provocative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - politics - education - personal decision‑making Key Concepts critical thinking philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What belief might you be holding onto unknowingly? - How can you test its validity? A Different Perspective Changing deep‑seated beliefs is difficult and uncomfortable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Epistemologies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epistemologies-2656667/) [Epistemologies Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epistemologies-know-2656665/) [Epistemology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epistemology/) [Governed Epistemologies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/governed-epistemologies-2656666/) [Know Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-wrong/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrong/) ## Related quotes > [Dickens didn't have access to any other epistemologies other than those prevailing in Britain. But a novelist today cannot plausibly claim ignorance of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/dickens-didn-t-have-access-to-any-other-epistemologies-other-than/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [“Media are epistemologies. Every medium implies a particular way of thinking about things, influences to great extent what things we will think about, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-k-fallon/media-are-epistemologies-every-medium-implies-a-particular-way-of/) [Peter K. Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-k-fallon/) > [But epistemology is always and inevitably personal. The point of the probe is always in the heart of the explorer: What is my answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/but-epistemology-is-always-and-inevitably-personal-the-point-of-the/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [“Is it so bad to want something that you know is wrong?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-cook/is-it-so-bad-to-want-something-that-you-know-is-wrong/) [Eileen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-cook/) > [I know it is wrong, but that does not mean I am not in favor of it in the](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dhaval/i-know-it-is-wrong-but-that-does-not-mean-i-am-not-in-favor-of-it-in/) [Dhaval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dhaval/) > [“I know something must be very wrong, or just possibly very right?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-grant/i-know-something-must-be-very-wrong-or-just-possibly-very-right/) [Michael Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-grant/) > [Most of what we know or assume to know is wrong one way or another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-adams/most-of-what-we-know-or-assume-to-know-is-wrong-one-way-or-another/) [Neal Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-adams/) > [But it remains the case that you know what is wrong with a lot more confidence than you know what is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/but-it-remains-the-case-that-you-know-what-is-wrong-with-a-lot-more/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [You will know when its right, you will know when its wrong, you will have a distressed life, but don't lose your hope, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prabhav-gautam/you-will-know-when-its-right-you-will-know-when-its-wrong-you-will/) [Prabhav Gautam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prabhav-gautam/) > [I know it's wrong, but I'm weak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hoyt-axton/i-know-it-s-wrong-but-i-m-weak/) [Hoyt Axton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hoyt-axton/) > [People recognize me from everything and as soon as I think I know where they know me from, I'm always wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niecy-nash/people-recognize-me-from-everything-and-as-soon-as-i-think-i-know/) [Niecy Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niecy-nash/) > [Since no one can ever know for certain whether or not his own view of life is the correct one, it is absolutely impossible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/since-no-one-can-ever-know-for-certain-whether-or-not-his-own-view-of/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Underwear is everything because we all know that if we have on the wrong pair of underwear it ruins your day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-webb/underwear-is-everything-because-we-all-know-that-if-we-have-on-the/) [Veronica Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-webb/) > [Most times, it's just a lot easier not to let the world know what's wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/most-times-it-s-just-a-lot-easier-not-to-let-the-world-know-what-s/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“There should not be opinion regarding anything. Opinion means you are supporting it. ‘Know’ the wrong as wrong, ‘Know’ right as right. There should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/there-should-not-be-opinion-regarding-anything-opinion-means-you-are/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) ## More by Gregory Bateson > [Number is different from quantity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/number-is-different-from-quantity/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [We do not know enough about how the present will lead into the future. We shall never be able to say, "Ha! My perception,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/we-do-not-know-enough-about-how-the-present-will-lead-into-the-future/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [Synaptic summation is the technical term used in neurophysiology for those instances in which some neuron C is fired only by a combination of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/synaptic-summation-is-the-technical-term-used-in-neurophysiology-for/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [Somebody was saying to Picasso that he ought to make pictures of things the way they are-objective pictures. He mumbled that he wasn't quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/somebody-was-saying-to-picasso-that-he-ought-to-make-pictures-of/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [Still more astonishing is that world of rigorous fantasy which we call mathematics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/still-more-astonishing-is-that-world-of-rigorous-fantasy-which-we/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [What is true is that the idea of power corrupts. Power corrupts most rapidly those who believe in it, and it is they who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/what-is-true-is-that-the-idea-of-power-corrupts-power-corrupts-most/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [“A little hypocrisy and a little compromise oils the wheels of social life”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/a-little-hypocrisy-and-a-little-compromise-oils-the-wheels-of-social/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [Science, like art, religion, commerce, warfare, and even sleep, is based on presuppositions. It differs, however, from most other branches of human activity in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/science-like-art-religion-commerce-warfare-and-even-sleep-is-based-on/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [Desired substance, things, patterns, or sequences of experience that are in some sense "good" for the organism - items of diet, conditions of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/desired-substance-things-patterns-or-sequences-of-experience-that-are/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [No organism can afford to be conscious of matters with which it could deal at unconscious levels. Broadly, we can afford to sink those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/no-organism-can-afford-to-be-conscious-of-matters-with-which-it-could/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [Wisdom is the intelligence of the system as a whole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/wisdom-is-the-intelligence-of-the-system-as-a-whole/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [Still more astonishing is that world of rigorous fantasy we call mathematics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/still-more-astonishing-is-that-world-of-rigorous-fantasy-we-call/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [The pathology is to want control, not that you ever get it, because of course you never do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/the-pathology-is-to-want-control-not-that-you-ever-get-it-because-of/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [Our initial sensory data are always "first derivatives," statements about differences which exist among external objects or statements about changes which occur either in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/our-initial-sensory-data-are-always-first-derivatives-statements/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [Multiple descriptions are better than one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/multiple-descriptions-are-better-than-one/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) [Explore all 94 Gregory Bateson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) ## More Epistemology quotes > [If man has learned to see and know what really is, he will act in accordance with truth, Epistemology is in itself ethics, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-marcuse/if-man-has-learned-to-see-and-know-what-really-is-he-will-act-in/) [Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-marcuse/) > [“Why is it so difficult for us to think in relative terms? Well, for the good reason that human nature loves absoluteness, and erroneously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-alba-juez/why-is-it-so-difficult-for-us-to-think-in-relative-terms-well-for-the/) [Felix Alba-Juez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-alba-juez/) > [It is the faithfulness of God that allows epistemology to model ontology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-polkinghorne/it-is-the-faithfulness-of-god-that-allows-epistemology-to-model/) [John Polkinghorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-polkinghorne/) > [“English: "From a certain degree of freedom, understanding is impossible." Česky: „Od určité míry svobody je dorozumění nemožné.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebasti-n-wortys/english-from-a-certain-degree-of-freedom-understanding-is-impossible/) [Sebastián Wortys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebasti-n-wortys/) > [What we're starting to see is a quantum biology, it being applied in biology and cosmology and a host of other sciences, because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/what-we-re-starting-to-see-is-a-quantum-biology-it-being-applied-in/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [“Thought and science are therefore raising problems which their terms of study can never answer, many of which are doubtless problems only for thought.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/thought-and-science-are-therefore-raising-problems-which-their-terms/) [Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/) > [The principal agent is the object itself and not the instruction given by the teacher. It is the child who uses the objects; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/the-principal-agent-is-the-object-itself-and-not-the-instruction/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [One might get the impression that I recommend a new methodology which replaces induction by counterinduction and uses a multiplicity of theories, metaphysical views,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feyerabend/one-might-get-the-impression-that-i-recommend-a-new-methodology-which/) [Paul Feyerabend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feyerabend/) > [Philosophers need not much use the word 'intuition' or the concept of intuition, except when they happen to be working on the epistemology of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-sosa/philosophers-need-not-much-use-the-word-intuition-or-the-concept-of/) [Ernest Sosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-sosa/) > [“Huxley grasped, as Orwell did not, that it is not necessary to conceal anything from a public insensible to contradiction and narcotized by technological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/huxley-grasped-as-orwell-did-not-that-it-is-not-necessary-to-conceal/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“What is gained by the transcendence of the object is the identifiability of the object in a plurality of acts and the identifiability of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-scheler/what-is-gained-by-the-transcendence-of-the-object-is-the/) [Max Scheler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-scheler/) > [“the main problem of any epistemology is in fact to understand how the mind succeeds in constructing necessary relationships, which appear to be independent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrich-m-ller/the-main-problem-of-any-epistemology-is-in-fact-to-understand-how-the/) [Ulrich Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrich-m-ller/) > [There should be no element of slavery in learning. Enforced exercise does no harm to the body, but enforced learning will not stay in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/there-should-be-no-element-of-slavery-in-learning-enforced-exercise/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“I do not think there is a demonstrative proof (like Euclid) of Christianity, nor of the existence of matter, nor of the good will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/i-do-not-think-there-is-a-demonstrative-proof-like-euclid-of/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“First stage is knowing the truth, second is not knowing the truth, third is realizing the paradox.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-k-brown/first-stage-is-knowing-the-truth-second-is-not-knowing-the-truth/) [John K. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-k-brown/) [Browse all 167 Epistemology quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epistemology/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are most of us governed by epistemologies that we know to be wrong", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gregory Bateson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/we-are-most-of-us-governed-by-epistemologies-that-we-know-to-be-wrong/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Epistemology" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/we-are-most-of-us-governed-by-epistemologies-that-we-know-to-be-wrong/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc4/gregory-bateson-7135_epistemology_we-are-most-of-us-governed-by-epistemolo_1881139.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc4/gregory-bateson-7135_epistemology_we-are-most-of-us-governed-by-epistemolo_1881139.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc4/gregory-bateson-7135_epistemology_we-are-most-of-us-governed-by-epistemolo_1881139.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We are most of us governed by epistemologies that we know to be wrong” — Gregory Bateson", "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": "Gregory Bateson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We are most of us governed...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/we-are-most-of-us-governed-by-epistemologies-that-we-know-to-be-wrong/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/we-are-most-of-us-governed-by-epistemologies-that-we-know-to-be-wrong/#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 } } ] } ```