--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The one thing we do not know is the limit…" description: "\"The one thing we do not know is the limit of the knowable.\" — Jean-Jacques Rousseau" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12e/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_knowledge_the-one-thing-we-do-not-know-is-the-limi_278369.png" --- # The one thing we do not know is the limit of the knowable. ![“The one thing we do not know is the limit of the knowable.” quote by Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12e/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_knowledge_the-one-thing-we-do-not-know-is-the-limi_278369.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12e/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_knowledge_the-one-thing-we-do-not-know-is-the-limi_278369.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12e/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_knowledge_the-one-thing-we-do-not-know-is-the-limi_278369.png) > “The one thing we do not know is the limit of the knowable.” [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote states that the unknown limit of what can be known is itself unknown, highlighting epistemic uncertainty. **In simple terms:** We don't know how much we can ever know. Key Takeaway Embrace curiosity and humility. Themes knowledge uncertainty philosophy Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - scientific research - philosophical debate - education planning Key Concepts epistemology limits of knowledge Questions to Reflect On - What boundaries might we be missing? - How can we expand what is knowable? A Different Perspective Accepting unknown limits can hinder ambition. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Know Limit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-limit-1781463/) [Knowable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowable-1188683/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Limit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limit/) [Limit Knowable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limit-knowable-2705567/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [One thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-thing/) [Thing Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-know/) ## Related quotes > [I know my limit. 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What would your great soul have thought, if to your own misfortune you had been called back to life and had seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/o-fabricius-what-would-your-great-soul-have-thought-if-to-your-own/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [“The sword wears out its sheath, as it is sometimes said. That is my story. My passions have made me live, and my passions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/the-sword-wears-out-its-sheath-as-it-is-sometimes-said-that-is-my/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [Whence do I get my rules of conduct? I find them in my heart. Whatever I feel to be good is good. 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Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [An enlightened awareness is within each one of us, right at this moment. This enlightened awareness is truly unborn and marvellously illuminating; and everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bankei-yotaku/an-enlightened-awareness-is-within-each-one-of-us-right-at-this/) [Bankei Yotaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bankei-yotaku/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I never knew any man who had once tasted the sweetness of experimental knowledge, that ever afterward fasted after ye Vapour garlick and onions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/i-never-knew-any-man-who-had-once-tasted-the-sweetness-of/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [I would rather excel others in the knowledge of what is excellent than in the extent of my powers and dominion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/i-would-rather-excel-others-in-the-knowledge-of-what-is-excellent/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [We know accurately only when we know little, with knowledge doubt increases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-know-accurately-only-when-we-know-little-with-knowledge-doubt/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I've always been a believer in research. 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