--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The proper study of mankind is the…" description: "\"The proper study of mankind is the science of design.\" — Herbert Simon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/120/herbert-simon-15495_design_the-proper-study-of-mankind-is-the-scien_2442214.png" --- # The proper study of mankind is the science of design. ![“The proper study of mankind is the science of design.” quote by Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/120/herbert-simon-15495_design_the-proper-study-of-mankind-is-the-scien_2442214.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/120/herbert-simon-15495_design_the-proper-study-of-mankind-is-the-scien_2442214.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/120/herbert-simon-15495_design_the-proper-study-of-mankind-is-the-scien_2442214.png) > “The proper study of mankind is the science of design.” [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Design is the systematic study of human behavior and artifacts, revealing how we shape the world. **In simple terms:** Design studies human behavior and artifacts. Key Takeaway Apply systematic design thinking. Themes design human behavior systems thinking Mood analytical thoughtful Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - product development - urban planning - education - policy making Key Concepts Cognitive science engineering problem solving Questions to Reflect On - How does design influence daily life? - What ethical considerations arise in design? A Different Perspective Design solutions may overlook cultural nuances. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Engineering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engineering/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [Know then thyself, presume not God to scan; The proper study of mankind is man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/know-then-thyself-presume-not-god-to-scan-the-proper-study-of-mankind-3/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [The proper study of mankind is books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-proper-study-of-mankind-is-books/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [If, presume not to God to scan; The proper study of Mankind is Man. Plac'd on this isthmus of a middle state, a being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/if-presume-not-to-god-to-scan-the-proper-study-of-mankind-is-man-plac/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [The proper study of mankind is woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/the-proper-study-of-mankind-is-woman/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [The proper study of Mankind is Everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-proper-study-of-mankind-is-everything/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Know thyself, presume not God to scan; The proper study of mankind is man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/know-thyself-presume-not-god-to-scan-the-proper-study-of-mankind-is/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [The proper study of Mankind is Man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/the-proper-study-of-mankind-is-man/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [The proper study of mankind is man in his relation to his deity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/the-proper-study-of-mankind-is-man-in-his-relation-to-his-deity/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [The central activity of engineering, as distinguished from science, is the design of new devices, processes and systems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myron-tribus/the-central-activity-of-engineering-as-distinguished-from-science-is/) [Myron Tribus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myron-tribus/) > [The science of design, or of line-drawing, if you like to use this term, is the source and very essence of painting, sculpture, architecture...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/the-science-of-design-or-of-line-drawing-if-you-like-to-use-this-term/) [Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/) > [They who study mankind with a whip in their hands will always go wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/they-who-study-mankind-with-a-whip-in-their-hands-will-always-go-wrong/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [Anything you dream is fiction, and anything you accomplish is science, the whole history of mankind is nothing but science fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/anything-you-dream-is-fiction-and-anything-you-accomplish-is-science/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Mankind is a science that defies definitions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/mankind-is-a-science-that-defies-definitions/) [Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/) > [Mankind has only one science… its the science of discontent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/mankind-has-only-one-science-its-the-science-of-discontent/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [For mankind, science is the only real candle in this dark universe; all other candles are fake! Science is our only real hope; all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/for-mankind-science-is-the-only-real-candle-in-this-dark-universe-all/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) ## More by Herbert Simon > [Engineering, medicine, business, architecture and painting are concerned not with the necessary but with the contingent - not with how things are but with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/engineering-medicine-business-architecture-and-painting-are-concerned/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [Technology may create a condition, but the questions are what do we do about ourselves. We better understand ourselves pretty clearly and we better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/technology-may-create-a-condition-but-the-questions-are-what-do-we-do/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [The world is vast, beautiful, and fascinating, even awe-inspiring - but impersonal. It demands nothing of me, and allows me to demand nothing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/the-world-is-vast-beautiful-and-fascinating-even-awe-inspiring-but/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [Innovation has a lot to do with your ability to recognise surprising and unusual phenomena.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/innovation-has-a-lot-to-do-with-your-ability-to-recognise-surprising/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [All correct reasoning is a grand system of tautologies, but only God can make direct use of that fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/all-correct-reasoning-is-a-grand-system-of-tautologies-but-only-god/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [“We see that reason is wholly instrumental. It cannot tell us where to go; at best it can tell us how to get there.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/we-see-that-reason-is-wholly-instrumental-it-cannot-tell-us-where-to/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [“It is not my aim to surprise or shock you—but the simplest way I can summarize is to say that there are now in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/it-is-not-my-aim-to-surprise-or-shock-you-but-the-simplest-way-i-can/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [No one has characterized market mechanisms better than Friedrich von Hayek.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/no-one-has-characterized-market-mechanisms-better-than-friedrich-von/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [One of the first rules of science is if somebody delivers a secret weapon to you, you better use it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/one-of-the-first-rules-of-science-is-if-somebody-delivers-a-secret/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [The engineer, and more generally the designer, is concerned with how things ought to be - how they ought to be in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/the-engineer-and-more-generally-the-designer-is-concerned-with-how/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [ “\[Stated in 1965:\] Machines will be capable, within 20 years, of doing any work a man can do.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/stated-in-1965-machines-will-be-capable-within-20-years-of-doing-any/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [“Reason, then, goes to work only after it has been supplied with a suitable set of inputs, or premises. If reason is to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/reason-then-goes-to-work-only-after-it-has-been-supplied-with-a/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [The aim ... is to provide a clear and rigorous basis for determining when a causal ordering can be said to hold between two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/the-aim-is-to-provide-a-clear-and-rigorous-basis-for-determining-when/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvious-it-consumes-the-attention/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [Most of us really aren't horribly unique. There are 6 billion of us. Put 'em all in one room and very few would stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/most-of-us-really-aren-t-horribly-unique-there-are-6-billion-of-us/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) [Explore all 43 Herbert Simon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) ## More Design quotes > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Plenty of white space and generous line spacing,and don't make the type size too miserly. Then you will be assured of a product fit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giambattista-bodoni/plenty-of-white-space-and-generous-line-spacing-and-don-t-make-the/) Giambattista Bodoni > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [The market may never coalesce around one basic design, or even around two or three dominant devices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/the-market-may-never-coalesce-around-one-basic-design-or-even-around/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [The display is the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-hsun-huang/the-display-is-the-computer/) Jen-Hsun Huang > [Design is not making beauty, beauty emerges from selection, affinities, integration, love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-kahn/design-is-not-making-beauty-beauty-emerges-from-selection-affinities/) [Louis Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-kahn/) > [The beauty of New York is unintentional; it arose independent of human design, like a stalagmite cavern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-beauty-of-new-york-is-unintentional-it-arose-independent-of-human/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Like many other scientists who hold the Catholic faith, I see the Creator's plan and purpose fulfilled in our universe. I see a planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/like-many-other-scientists-who-hold-the-catholic-faith-i-see-the/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [I design some of my own clothes now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiernan-shipka/i-design-some-of-my-own-clothes-now/) [Kiernan Shipka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiernan-shipka/) > [Programmers are always surrounded by complexity; we cannot avoid it… If our basic tool, the language in which we design and code our programs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hoare/programmers-are-always-surrounded-by-complexity-we-cannot-avoid-it-if/) [Tony Hoare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hoare/) > [Design is a very personal thing. It's like art. Your personal choice plays a big role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gauri-khan/design-is-a-very-personal-thing-it-s-like-art-your-personal-choice/) [Gauri Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gauri-khan/) > [“Designing posters, for me, is not only a commercial pursuit but also a philosophical endeavor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fang-chen/designing-posters-for-me-is-not-only-a-commercial-pursuit-but-also-a/) Fang Chen > [I am not a great believer in dialectical struggle. I am much more of a fusion person. I see it as a dialogue, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/i-am-not-a-great-believer-in-dialectical-struggle-i-am-much-more-of-a/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [Users are not designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-nielsen/users-are-not-designers/) [Jakob Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-nielsen/) > [I write the way you might arrange flowers. Not every try works, but each one launches another. Every constraint, even dullness, frees up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/i-write-the-way-you-might-arrange-flowers-not-every-try-works-but/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) [Browse all 5,563 Design quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The proper study of mankind is the science of design.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Herbert Simon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/the-proper-study-of-mankind-is-the-science-of-design/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Design" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/the-proper-study-of-mankind-is-the-science-of-design/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/120/herbert-simon-15495_design_the-proper-study-of-mankind-is-the-scien_2442214.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/120/herbert-simon-15495_design_the-proper-study-of-mankind-is-the-scien_2442214.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/120/herbert-simon-15495_design_the-proper-study-of-mankind-is-the-scien_2442214.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The proper study of mankind is the science of design.” — Herbert Simon", "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": "Herbert Simon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The proper study of mankind is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/the-proper-study-of-mankind-is-the-science-of-design/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/the-proper-study-of-mankind-is-the-science-of-design/#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 } } ] } ```