--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The chief end of science is to make…" description: "\"The chief end of science is to make things clear, the educative aim is to foster the inquisitive spirit.\" — J. Arthur Thomson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5b/j-arthur-thomson-47211_accounts_the-chief-end-of-science-is-to-make-thin_2147107.jpg" --- # The chief end of science is to make things clear, the… ![“The chief end of science is to make things clear, the educative aim is to foster the inquisitive spirit.” quote by J. Arthur Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5b/j-arthur-thomson-47211_accounts_the-chief-end-of-science-is-to-make-thin_2147107.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5b/j-arthur-thomson-47211_accounts_the-chief-end-of-science-is-to-make-thin_2147107.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5b/j-arthur-thomson-47211_accounts_the-chief-end-of-science-is-to-make-thin_2147107.jpg) > “The chief end of science is to make things clear, the educative aim is to foster the inquisitive spirit.” [J. Arthur Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-arthur-thomson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Science aims to clarify, while education should nurture curiosity and inquiry. **In simple terms:** Science clarifies; education sparks curiosity. Key Takeaway Encourage questioning. Themes education science inquiry Mood inquisitive encouraging Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - classroom teaching - research labs - public talks Key Concepts epistemology pedagogy Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance clarity with mystery? - What methods foster inquisitive learning? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on clarity may stifle wonder. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chiefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chiefs/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Inquisitive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inquisitive/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) ## Related quotes > [Experiences in order to be educative must lead out into an expanding world of subject matter, a subject matter of facts or information and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/experiences-in-order-to-be-educative-must-lead-out-into-an-expanding/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [“Build your wealth with wisdom, invest in knowledge, and let the dividends of financial education shape the chapters of your prosperous life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omotoso-omotayo-olawande/build-your-wealth-with-wisdom-invest-in-knowledge-and-let-the/) Omotoso Omotayo Olawande > [The result of the educative process is capacity for further education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-result-of-the-educative-process-is-capacity-for-further-education/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Purposeful action is thus the goal of all that is truly educative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/purposeful-action-is-thus-the-goal-of-all-that-is-truly-educative/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [“There is more to life than what we know and there is more to sex than what we know.Life was designed by God for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oladepo-olatunbosun/there-is-more-to-life-than-what-we-know-and-there-is-more-to-sex-than/) Oladepo Olatunbosun > [Education is one thing and instruction, however worthy, necessary and incidentally or monetarily educative, another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/education-is-one-thing-and-instruction-however-worthy-necessary-and/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [Some experiences are mis-educative. Any experience is mis-educative that has the effect of arresting or distorting the growth of further experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/some-experiences-are-mis-educative-any-experience-is-mis-educative/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In the end, science as we know it has two basic types of practitioners. One is the educated man who still has a controlled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/in-the-end-science-as-we-know-it-has-two-basic-types-of-practitioners/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [Therefore, the good of man must be the end of the science of politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/therefore-the-good-of-man-must-be-the-end-of-the-science-of-politics/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [In art, truth is a means to an end; in science, it is the only end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-whewell/in-art-truth-is-a-means-to-an-end-in-science-it-is-the-only-end/) [William Whewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-whewell/) > [“If, then, there is some end of the things we do, which we desire for its own sake (everything else being desired for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/if-then-there-is-some-end-of-the-things-we-do-which-we-desire-for-its-2/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“The end of surprise would be the end of science. To this extent, the scientist must constantly seek and hope for surprise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-friedel/the-end-of-surprise-would-be-the-end-of-science-to-this-extent-the/) Robert Friedel > [In the end, science offers us the only way out of politics. And if we allow science to become politicized, then we are lost.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/in-the-end-science-offers-us-the-only-way-out-of-politics-and-if-we/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [Much sooner than we think, comes the end! Science is the only master who can change this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/much-sooner-than-we-think-comes-the-end-science-is-the-only-master/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [The universal and lasting establishment of peace constitutes not merely a part, but the whole final purpose and end of the science of right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/the-universal-and-lasting-establishment-of-peace-constitutes-not/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) ## More by J. Arthur Thomson > [The most powerful factors in the world are clear ideas in the minds of energetic men of good will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-arthur-thomson/the-most-powerful-factors-in-the-world-are-clear-ideas-in-the-minds/) [J. Arthur Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-arthur-thomson/) > [A prolonged war in which a nation takes part is bound to impoverish the breed, since the character of the breed depends on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-arthur-thomson/a-prolonged-war-in-which-a-nation-takes-part-is-bound-to-impoverish/) [J. Arthur Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-arthur-thomson/) > [The Doctrine of Evolution states the fact that the present is the child of the past and the parent of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-arthur-thomson/the-doctrine-of-evolution-states-the-fact-that-the-present-is-the/) [J. Arthur Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-arthur-thomson/) > [All Nature bristles with the marks of interrogation-among the grass and the petals of flowers, amidst the feathers of birds and the hairs of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-arthur-thomson/all-nature-bristles-with-the-marks-of-interrogation-among-the-grass/) [J. Arthur Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-arthur-thomson/) > [Was it not the great philosopher and mathematician Leibnitz who said that the more knowledge advances the more it becomes possible to condense it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-arthur-thomson/was-it-not-the-great-philosopher-and-mathematician-leibnitz-who-said/) [J. Arthur Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-arthur-thomson/) > [There is no counting the unsolved problems of Natural History.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-arthur-thomson/there-is-no-counting-the-unsolved-problems-of-natural-history/) [J. Arthur Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-arthur-thomson/) > [The man who has grit enough to bring about the afforestation or the irrigation of a country is not less worthy of honor than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-arthur-thomson/the-man-who-has-grit-enough-to-bring-about-the-afforestation-or-the/) [J. Arthur Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-arthur-thomson/) [Explore all 8 J. Arthur Thomson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-arthur-thomson/) ## More Accounts quotes > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [Think of these things, whence you came, where you are going, and to whom you must account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/think-of-these-things-whence-you-came-where-you-are-going-and-to-whom/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [The Hindus have a peculiar slovenliness in business matters, not being sufficiently methodical and strict in keeping accounts etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-hindus-have-a-peculiar-slovenliness-in-business-matters-not-being/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [With the Truman book, I wrote the entire account of his experiences in World War I before going over to Europe to follow his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/with-the-truman-book-i-wrote-the-entire-account-of-his-experiences-in/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [A great read; an exciting, frightening account of organized crime today. But like all important works of nonfiction, it goes further… This book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-ly-hayslip/a-great-read-an-exciting-frightening-account-of-organized-crime-today/) [Le Ly Hayslip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-ly-hayslip/) > [I had a very blessed journey with the upbringing I had. When you're working on sets as a stuntman, you have a firsthand account…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ric-roman-waugh/i-had-a-very-blessed-journey-with-the-upbringing-i-had-when-you-re/) [Ric Roman Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ric-roman-waugh/) > [The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion or in politics, but it is not the path to knowledge; it has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-suppression-of-uncomfortable-ideas-may-be-common-in-religion-or/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [You've got to exercise. Your health account, your bank account, they're the same thing. The more you put in, the more you can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lalanne/you-ve-got-to-exercise-your-health-account-your-bank-account-they-re/) [Jack LaLanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lalanne/) > [No physiologist who calmly considers the question in connection with the general truths of his science, can long resist the conviction that different parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-physiologist-who-calmly-considers-the-question-in-connection-with/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [God puts you where God needs you. You are where you are supposed to be. The job you are doing may not be any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kushner/god-puts-you-where-god-needs-you-you-are-where-you-are-supposed-to-be/) [Lawrence Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kushner/) > [Stop trying to treat music like it's a tennis shoe, something to be branded. If the music industry wants to save money, they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-tweedy/stop-trying-to-treat-music-like-it-s-a-tennis-shoe-something-to-be/) [Jeff Tweedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-tweedy/) > [Anyone who thinks science is trying to make human life easier or more pleasant is utterly mistaken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/anyone-who-thinks-science-is-trying-to-make-human-life-easier-or-more/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [That surely must be a concern to anyone who decides this drug must be given to stop transmissions, again from mother to child, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabo-mbeki/that-surely-must-be-a-concern-to-anyone-who-decides-this-drug-must-be/) [Thabo Mbeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabo-mbeki/) Browse all 2,677 Accounts quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The chief end of science is to make things clear, the educative aim is to foster the inquisitive spirit.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "J. Arthur Thomson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-arthur-thomson/the-chief-end-of-science-is-to-make-things-clear-the-educative-aim-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accounts" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-arthur-thomson/the-chief-end-of-science-is-to-make-things-clear-the-educative-aim-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5b/j-arthur-thomson-47211_accounts_the-chief-end-of-science-is-to-make-thin_2147107.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5b/j-arthur-thomson-47211_accounts_the-chief-end-of-science-is-to-make-thin_2147107.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5b/j-arthur-thomson-47211_accounts_the-chief-end-of-science-is-to-make-thin_2147107.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The chief end of science is to make things clear, the educative aim is to foster the inquisitive spirit.” — J. Arthur Thomson", "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": "J. Arthur Thomson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-arthur-thomson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The chief end of science is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-arthur-thomson/the-chief-end-of-science-is-to-make-things-clear-the-educative-aim-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-arthur-thomson/the-chief-end-of-science-is-to-make-things-clear-the-educative-aim-is/#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 } } ] } ```