--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The term ignorant is indeed perhaps an…" description: "\"The term ignorant is indeed perhaps an overstatement, implying as it does that something is known somewhere, whereas in reality we are not even sure of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/729/john-ashbery-3600_attitude_the-term-ignorant-is-indeed-perhaps-an-o_3123801.png" --- # The term ignorant is indeed perhaps an overstatement… ![“The term ignorant is indeed perhaps an overstatement, implying as it does that something is known somewhere, whereas in reality we are not even sure of this: we in fact cannot aver with any degree of certainty that we are ignorant. Yet this is not so bad; we have at any rate kept our…” quote by John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/729/john-ashbery-3600_attitude_the-term-ignorant-is-indeed-perhaps-an-o_3123801.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/729/john-ashbery-3600_attitude_the-term-ignorant-is-indeed-perhaps-an-o_3123801.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/729/john-ashbery-3600_attitude_the-term-ignorant-is-indeed-perhaps-an-o_3123801.png) > “The term ignorant is indeed perhaps an overstatement, implying as it does that something is known somewhere, whereas in reality we are not even sure of this: we in fact cannot aver with any degree of certainty that we are ignorant. Yet this is not so bad; we have at any rate kept our open-mindedness -- that, at least, we may be sure that we have -- and are not in any danger, or so it seems, of freezing into the pious attitudes of those true spiritual bigots whose faces are turned toward eternity and who therefore can see nothing.” [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Acknowledging uncertainty about what we truly know keeps us open‑minded, preventing dogmatic certainty and spiritual rigidity. **In simple terms:** Admitting we don’t know keeps us open. Key Takeaway Stay humble and open‑minded. Themes philosophy epistemology humility Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal meditation - academic debate - cross‑cultural dialogue Key Concepts critical thinking spiritual openness Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to be truly open‑minded? - How can we balance humility with confident action? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on uncertainty can lead to indecision. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude/) [Certainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty/) [Certainty Ignorant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty-ignorant-5495384/) [Danger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/danger/) [Degrees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degrees/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Ignorant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorant/) [Ignorant Overstatement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorant-overstatement-5495383/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Open mindedness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/open-mindedness/) [Overstatement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overstatement/) [Pious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pious/) [Rate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rate/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) [Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term/) [Term Ignorant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term-ignorant-3536435/) ## Related quotes > [“He had that feeling he remembered from childhood when he opened a new textbook at the beginning of the term, ignorant of its contents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/he-had-that-feeling-he-remembered-from-childhood-when-he-opened-a-new/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Reserve is strength; overstatement is weakness. No one cares to hear the singer's topmost notes when the voice is 'nigh onto breaking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-carlson/reserve-is-strength-overstatement-is-weakness-no-one-cares-to-hear/) [John F. Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-carlson/) > [What's on your mind, if you will allow the overstatement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/what-s-on-your-mind-if-you-will-allow-the-overstatement/) [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) > [It is a gross overstatement, but in chess, it can be said I play against my opponent over the board and against myself on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-korchnoi/it-is-a-gross-overstatement-but-in-chess-it-can-be-said-i-play/) [Viktor Korchnoi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-korchnoi/) > [The chief error in philosophy is overstatement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-chief-error-in-philosophy-is-overstatement/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The physicists have known sin; and this is a knowledge which they cannot lose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/the-physicists-have-known-sin-and-this-is-a-knowledge-which-they/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [A single overstatement, wherever or however it occurs, diminishes the whole, and a carefree superlative has the power to destroy, for the reader, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-single-overstatement-wherever-or-however-it-occurs-diminishes-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Leaving out the gamblers, the burglars, and the plumbers, perhaps we do put our trust in God after a fashion. But, after all, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/leaving-out-the-gamblers-the-burglars-and-the-plumbers-perhaps-we-do/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There's been this attempt to block Donald Trump, in primary candidates and Democrats, that - to try to make everything he says some sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-sessions/there-s-been-this-attempt-to-block-donald-trump-in-primary-candidates/) [Jeff Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-sessions/) > [“Strunk and White wrote in Elements of Style, “Do not overstate…a single overstatement, wherever or however it occurs, diminishes the whole.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/strunk-and-white-wrote-in-elements-of-style-do-not-overstate-a-single/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > ["Simpler is always better" is an overstatement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-sober/simpler-is-always-better-is-an-overstatement/) [Elliott Sober](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-sober/) > [“If you treat every situation as a life and death matter, you'll die a lot of times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-smith/if-you-treat-every-situation-as-a-life-and-death-matter-you-ll-die-a/) [Dean Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-smith/) > [Jay Mohr saved my life. That's not an overstatement either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralphie-may/jay-mohr-saved-my-life-that-s-not-an-overstatement-either/) [Ralphie May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralphie-may/) > [Saying I took my clean water for granted is an overstatement. To tell you the truth, I didn't even think about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlan-gorse-cousteau/saying-i-took-my-clean-water-for-granted-is-an-overstatement-to-tell/) [Ashlan Gorse Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlan-gorse-cousteau/) > [The term itself--my life--is a desperate overstatement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-term-itself-my-life-is-a-desperate-overstatement/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## More by John Ashbery > [“It was always November there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/it-was-always-november-there/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [“Yes, they are alive and can have those colors, But I, in my soul, am alive too. I feel I must sing and dance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/yes-they-are-alive-and-can-have-those-colors-but-i-in-my-soul-am/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [How many people came and stayed a certain time, Uttered light or dark speech that became part of you Like light behind windblown fog…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/how-many-people-came-and-stayed-a-certain-time-uttered-light-or-dark/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [Some certified nut Will try to tell you it's poetry, (It's extraordinary, it makes a great deal of sense) But watch out or he'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/some-certified-nut-will-try-to-tell-you-it-s-poetry-it-s/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [The ellipse is as aimless as that, Stretching invisibly into the future so as to reappear In our present. Its flexing is its account,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-ellipse-is-as-aimless-as-that-stretching-invisibly-into-the/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [Somewhere someone is traveling furiously toward you, At incredible speed, traveling day and night…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/somewhere-someone-is-traveling-furiously-toward-you-at-incredible/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [The facts of history have been too well rehearsed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-facts-of-history-have-been-too-well-rehearsed/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [“The genius of Cornell is that he sees and enables us to see with the eyes of childhood, before our vision got clouded by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-genius-of-cornell-is-that-he-sees-and-enables-us-to-see-with-the/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [The mind Is so hospitable, taking in everything Like boarders, and you don't see until It's all over how little there was to learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-mind-is-so-hospitable-taking-in-everything-like-boarders-and-you/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [In the increasingly convincing darkness The words become palpable, like a fruit That is too beautiful to eat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/in-the-increasingly-convincing-darkness-the-words-become-palpable/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [What I like about music is its ability to be convincing, to carry an argument through successfully to the finish, though the terms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/what-i-like-about-music-is-its-ability-to-be-convincing-to-carry-an/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [“The Unknown Travelers Lugged to the gray arbor, I have climbed this snow-stone on my face, My stick, but what, snapped the avalanche The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-unknown-travelers-lugged-to-the-gray-arbor-i-have-climbed-this/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [I don't look on poetry as closed works. I feel they're going on all the time in my head and I occasionally snip off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/i-don-t-look-on-poetry-as-closed-works-i-feel-they-re-going-on-all/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [Somewhere someone is traveling furiously toward you, At incredible speed, traveling day and night, Through blizzards and desert heat, across torrents, through narrow passes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/somewhere-someone-is-traveling-furiously-toward-you-at-incredible-2/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [The promise of learning is a delusion… Tomorrow would alter the sense of what had already been learned, that the learning process is extended…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-promise-of-learning-is-a-delusion-tomorrow-would-alter-the-sense/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) [Explore all 126 John Ashbery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) ## More Attitude quotes > [“WE CAN'T ALWAYS CONTROL OUR CIRCUMSTANCES BUT WE CAN CONTROL OUR ATTITUDE. WE MUST BE MORE CONCERNED WITH WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT HAPPENS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-j-ashton/we-can-t-always-control-our-circumstances-but-we-can-control-our/) [MARVIN J. ASHTON](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-j-ashton/) > [It's not the method, it's the mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-gilbert/it-s-not-the-method-it-s-the-mindset/) [Andy Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-gilbert/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Changes before your eyes, things you can do and things you can't. My attitude is always let it keep rolling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-malick/changes-before-your-eyes-things-you-can-do-and-things-you-can-t-my/) [Terrence Malick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-malick/) > [Vow to be valiant. Resolve to be radiant. Determine to be dynamic. Strive to be sincere. Aspire to be attuned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-arthur-ward/vow-to-be-valiant-resolve-to-be-radiant-determine-to-be-dynamic/) [William Arthur Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-arthur-ward/) > [Don't judge me because I'm stupid. Don't judge me because I'm, mean. Don't judge me because I'm weird. Don't judge me for mistakes. Because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-harden-me/don-t-judge-me-because-i-m-stupid-don-t-judge-me-because-i-m-mean-don/) [Isaiah Harden (Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-harden-me/) > [Your feelings (mood) dictate your thought, your thought determines your attitude (reactions) and your attitude describes your lifestyle, so: be careful how you feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheye-hassan/your-feelings-mood-dictate-your-thought-your-thought-determines-your/) [Sheye Hassan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheye-hassan/) > [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [“Good Seeds! Gratitude is the Greatest Attitude that has no Substitute.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-kelvin-clive/good-seeds-gratitude-is-the-greatest-attitude-that-has-no-substitute/) [Bernard Kelvin Clive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-kelvin-clive/) > [Jeff Chu's pilgrimage across America to discover his own place as a gay man in the Christian church as well as attitudes about being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-freitas/jeff-chu-s-pilgrimage-across-america-to-discover-his-own-place-as-a/) [Donna Freitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-freitas/) > [One genuine reason to feel jealous of my parents:-) I will never ever have a kid as awesome as their's...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-genuine-reason-to-feel-jealous-of-my-parents-i-will-never-ever/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm optimistic Hong Kong will achieve universal suffrage - no matter the attitude of Beijing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wong/i-m-optimistic-hong-kong-will-achieve-universal-suffrage-no-matter/) [Joshua Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wong/) > [My attitude it that you don't give in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-taylor/my-attitude-it-that-you-don-t-give-in/) [Phil Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-taylor/) > [Transparency pertains to impartial behavior, implies openness, communication, and accountability. Inculcate transparency in attitude and experience a life free of controversy and blame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-anil-kr-sinha/transparency-pertains-to-impartial-behavior-implies-openness/) [Dr Anil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-anil-kr-sinha/) > [And if the mind thinks with a believing attitude one can do amazing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/and-if-the-mind-thinks-with-a-believing-attitude-one-can-do-amazing/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) [Browse all 9,543 Attitude quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The term ignorant is indeed perhaps an overstatement, implying as it does that something is known somewhere, whereas in reality we are not even sure of this: we in fact cannot aver with any degree of certainty that we are ignorant. 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