--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But progress in knowledge has made us…" description: "\"But progress in knowledge has made us aware of the superficiality of Plato's lumping of individuals and their original powers into a few sharply marked..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/528/john-dewey-545_capacity_but-progress-in-knowledge-has-made-us-aw_87932.jpg" --- # But progress in knowledge has made us aware of the… ![“But progress in knowledge has made us aware of the superficiality of Plato's lumping of individuals and their original powers into a few sharply marked-off classes; it has taught us that original capacities are indefinitely numerous and variable. It is but the other side of this fact to say that…” quote by John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/528/john-dewey-545_capacity_but-progress-in-knowledge-has-made-us-aw_87932.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/528/john-dewey-545_capacity_but-progress-in-knowledge-has-made-us-aw_87932.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/528/john-dewey-545_capacity_but-progress-in-knowledge-has-made-us-aw_87932.jpg) > “But progress in knowledge has made us aware of the superficiality of Plato's lumping of individuals and their original powers into a few sharply marked-off classes; it has taught us that original capacities are indefinitely numerous and variable. It is but the other side of this fact to say that in the degree in which society has become democratic, social organization means utilization of the specific and variable qualities of individuals, not stratification by classes.” [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Democratic societies should value each individual's unique abilities rather than forcing people into rigid social classes. **In simple terms:** Individuality over class. Key Takeaway Utilize diverse talents. Themes democracy individuality social organization equality Mood optimistic thoughtful Type philosophical statement social commentary When to use this quote - workplace team building - community planning Key Concepts political philosophy education Practical Applications - inclusive policy design - educational reform Questions to Reflect On - How can institutions recognize hidden talents? - What barriers prevent full utilization of individual capacities? A Different Perspective null ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Capacity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capacity/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Degrees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degrees/) [Democratic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratic/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Individuals Stratification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individuals-stratification-1101042/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Organization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organization/) [Originals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/originals/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plato/) [Plato s](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plato-s/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Sides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sides/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social organization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-organization/) [Society Democratic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society-democratic-1101041/) [Stratification Classes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stratification-classes-1101043/) [Superficiality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superficiality/) [Superficiality Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superficiality-plato-1101040/) [Taught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taught/) [Taught us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taught-us/) [Utilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/utilization/) [Variables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/variables/) ## Related quotes > [When we consider the close connection between science and industrial development on the one hand, and between literary and aesthetic cultivation and an aristocratic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/when-we-consider-the-close-connection-between-science-and-industrial/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [We, as citizens or members of people's organisations, can preserve and nourish basic principles needed for long-term efforts aimed at transforming a totalitarian and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katarina-kruhonja/we-as-citizens-or-members-of-people-s-organisations-can-preserve-and/) [Katarina Kruhonja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katarina-kruhonja/) > [The Electoral College needs to go, because it's made our society less and less democratic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-buttigieg/the-electoral-college-needs-to-go-because-it-s-made-our-society-less/) [Pete Buttigieg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-buttigieg/) > [“Scottish people have grasped the choice that they have to make directly  – unmediated by the political class - as an opportunity to imagine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ramsay/scottish-people-have-grasped-the-choice-that-they-have-to-make/) [Adam Ramsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ramsay/) > [If we desire a society without discrimination, then we must not discriminate against anyone in the process of building this society. 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Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/u-g-krishnamurti/) ## More by John Dewey > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [“Empirically, things are poignant, tragic, beautiful, humorous, settled, disturbed, comfortable, annoying, barren, harsh, consoling, splendid, fearful; are such immediately and in their own right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/empirically-things-are-poignant-tragic-beautiful-humorous-settled/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [A good aim surveys the present state of experience of pupils, and forming a tentative plan of treatment, keeps the plan constantly in view…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/a-good-aim-surveys-the-present-state-of-experience-of-pupils-and/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [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/) > [A tribe, let us say, is warlike. 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