--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is by no means certain that we advance…" description: "\"It is by no means certain that we advance our philosophical quest by reading Plato or Aristotle. It may increase our knowledge of history but not of th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2b/jostein-gaarder-676_certain_it-is-by-no-means-certain-that-we-advanc_2758546.png" --- # It is by no means certain that we advance our… ![“It is by no means certain that we advance our philosophical quest by reading Plato or Aristotle. It may increase our knowledge of history but not of the world.” quote by Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2b/jostein-gaarder-676_certain_it-is-by-no-means-certain-that-we-advanc_2758546.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2b/jostein-gaarder-676_certain_it-is-by-no-means-certain-that-we-advanc_2758546.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2b/jostein-gaarder-676_certain_it-is-by-no-means-certain-that-we-advanc_2758546.png) > “It is by no means certain that we advance our philosophical quest by reading Plato or Aristotle. It may increase our knowledge of history but not of the world.” [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading ancient philosophers may teach history but not practical understanding of the world’s current reality. **In simple terms:** Philosophy books teach history, not real-world insight. Key Takeaway Seek practical experience alongside theory. Themes education philosophy practicality Mood inquisitive thoughtful Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - curriculum design - self‑study - critical thinking workshops Key Concepts Plato Aristotle world knowledge Questions to Reflect On - How can philosophy inform modern problems? - What balance between theory and practice works for you? A Different Perspective May undervalue foundational ideas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Advance Philosophical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advance-philosophical-3152142/) [Aristotle Increase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aristotle-increase-3152144/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Increase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/increase/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Philosophical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophical/) [Philosophical Quest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophical-quest-3152143/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plato/) [Quests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quests/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-plato-2968955/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Reading Plato should be easy; understanding Plato can be difficult.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-waterfield/reading-plato-should-be-easy-understanding-plato-can-be-difficult/) [Robin Waterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-waterfield/) > [I was reading Plato's 'The Republic' at age 18, and I can't account fully the electricity that had for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-moody/i-was-reading-plato-s-the-republic-at-age-18-and-i-can-t-account/) [Raymond Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-moody/) > [In the Phaedrus, Plato argued that the new arrival of writing would revolutionize culture for the worst. He suggested that it would substitute reminiscence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/in-the-phaedrus-plato-argued-that-the-new-arrival-of-writing-would/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [“However, he did say that a state that does not educate and train women is like a man who only trains his right arm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/however-he-did-say-that-a-state-that-does-not-educate-and-train-women/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“It is Plato's portrait of Socrates that has inspired thinkers in the Western world for nearly 2.500 years.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/it-is-plato-s-portrait-of-socrates-that-has-inspired-thinkers-in-the/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“Plato's point is that we can never have true knowledge of anything that is in a constant state of change. We can only have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/plato-s-point-is-that-we-can-never-have-true-knowledge-of-anything/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“Plato found mathematics very absorbing because mathematical states never change.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/plato-found-mathematics-very-absorbing-because-mathematical-states/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [What Plato was really asking was perhaps why a horse was a horse, and not, for example, a cross between a horse and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/what-plato-was-really-asking-was-perhaps-why-a-horse-was-a-horse-and/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“What she's learned is what she always learns. Plato was right. We're all of us immortal. We couldn't die if we wanted to. Every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/what-she-s-learned-is-what-she-always-learns-plato-was-right-we-re/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [But I still has enough longing for that concept that I didn't want to dispel it completely. Meaning: I didn't want to tell Lily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/but-i-still-has-enough-longing-for-that-concept-that-i-didn-t-want-to/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [During the 2300 years since Plato, very little opposition has been registered to his ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/during-the-2300-years-since-plato-very-little-opposition-has-been/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Any city, however small, is in fact divided into two, one the city of the poor, the other of the rich; these are at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/any-city-however-small-is-in-fact-divided-into-two-one-the-city-of/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Plato compared the intellect to a charioteer guiding the powerful horses of the passions, i.e., he gave it both the power of perception and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-cattell/plato-compared-the-intellect-to-a-charioteer-guiding-the-powerful/) [Raymond Cattell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-cattell/) > [I don't want my kids growing up with the image of God that I had -- Plato's white grandfatherly god -- because that god…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-p-young/i-don-t-want-my-kids-growing-up-with-the-image-of-god-that-i-had/) [William P. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-p-young/) > [According to Plato, we don't learn anything. Our soul has lived so many lives that we know everything. Teachers and education can only remind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/according-to-plato-we-don-t-learn-anything-our-soul-has-lived-so-many/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) ## More by Jostein Gaarder > [“I no longer feel the need to see and sense more than I've already experienced. I just want so desperately to hang on what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/i-no-longer-feel-the-need-to-see-and-sense-more-than-i-ve-already/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [The most subversive people are those who ask questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/the-most-subversive-people-are-those-who-ask-questions/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [The sophists were as a rule men who had traveled widely and seen different forms of government. Both conventions and local laws in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/the-sophists-were-as-a-rule-men-who-had-traveled-widely-and-seen/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [Where did the world come from? The question has an answer, even though I cannot get to it. It is a good question. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/where-did-the-world-come-from-the-question-has-an-answer-even-though/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“As soon as she concentrated on being alive now, the thought of dying also came into her mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/as-soon-as-she-concentrated-on-being-alive-now-the-thought-of-dying/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“Po haljini sam mogao da vidim kako njeno telo diše, jer se haljina dizala i spuštala, dizala i spuštala, skoro kao da morski talasi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/po-haljini-sam-mogao-da-vidim-kako-njeno-telo-di-e-jer-se-haljina/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [Since the Renaissance, people have had to get used to living their life on a random planet in the vast galaxy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/since-the-renaissance-people-have-had-to-get-used-to-living-their/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“without imagination, nothing really new will ever be created.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/without-imagination-nothing-really-new-will-ever-be-created/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“The German poet Goethe once said that "he who cannot draw on three thousand years is living from hand to mouth." I don't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/the-german-poet-goethe-once-said-that-he-who-cannot-draw-on-three/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“Sophie left the den and wandered about in the large garden. She tried to forget what she had learned at school, especially in science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/sophie-left-the-den-and-wandered-about-in-the-large-garden-she-tried/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [...long before the child learns to talk properly-and long before it learns to think philosophically-the world will have become a habit. A pity, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/long-before-the-child-learns-to-talk-properly-and-long-before-it/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“any one question can be more explosive than a thousand answers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/any-one-question-can-be-more-explosive-than-a-thousand-answers/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“We can't own each other's past. The question is whether we have a future together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/we-can-t-own-each-other-s-past-the-question-is-whether-we-have-a/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“Uno no muere en medio del quinto acto.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/uno-no-muere-en-medio-del-quinto-acto/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“Wer das Schicksal durchschauen will, muss es überleben.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/wer-das-schicksal-durchschauen-will-muss-es-berleben/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) [Explore all 305 Jostein Gaarder quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) ## More Certain quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [One can put some trust in the gratitude of a sovereign, and also in that of his family; under certain conditions, one can even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/one-can-put-some-trust-in-the-gratitude-of-a-sovereign-and-also-in/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [People don't always realize that a record is forever. It'll always be there under your name. You've got to be certain that it's right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-iero/people-don-t-always-realize-that-a-record-is-forever-it-ll-always-be/) [Frank Iero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-iero/) > [Faith gives you a certain structure and meaning to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riffat-hassan/faith-gives-you-a-certain-structure-and-meaning-to-your-life/) [Riffat Hassan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riffat-hassan/) > [I started out dancing on a reality TV show, but always with the intention of making my way over to film. I transitioned into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-hough/i-started-out-dancing-on-a-reality-tv-show-but-always-with-the/) [Julianne Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-hough/) > [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/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I mean those people who are interested in good government will certainly contribute in order to make certain there's some counter-balance to those whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-breyer/i-mean-those-people-who-are-interested-in-good-government-will/) [Stephen Breyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-breyer/) > [Why do we love certain homes, and why do they seem to love us? It is the warmth of our individual hearts reflected in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-h-robsjohn-gibbings/why-do-we-love-certain-homes-and-why-do-they-seem-to-love-us-it-is/) [T. H. 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