--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have learnt that all our theories are…" description: "\"I have learnt that all our theories are not Truth itself, but resting places or stages on the way to the conquest of Truth, and that we must be content..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dac/justus-von-liebig-21659_already-won_i-have-learnt-that-all-our-theories-are_2288412.jpg" --- # I have learnt that all our theories are not Truth itself… ![“I have learnt that all our theories are not Truth itself, but resting places or stages on the way to the conquest of Truth, and that we must be contented to have obtained for the strivers after Truth such a resting place which, if it is on a mountain, permits us to view the provinces already won…” quote by Justus von Liebig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dac/justus-von-liebig-21659_already-won_i-have-learnt-that-all-our-theories-are_2288412.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dac/justus-von-liebig-21659_already-won_i-have-learnt-that-all-our-theories-are_2288412.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dac/justus-von-liebig-21659_already-won_i-have-learnt-that-all-our-theories-are_2288412.jpg) > “I have learnt that all our theories are not Truth itself, but resting places or stages on the way to the conquest of Truth, and that we must be contented to have obtained for the strivers after Truth such a resting place which, if it is on a mountain, permits us to view the provinces already won and those still to be conquered.” [Justus von Liebig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justus-von-liebig/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Theories are provisional steps toward ultimate truth, useful as viewpoints but not final answers. **In simple terms:** Theories guide us toward truth but aren't the truth. Key Takeaway Accept theories as guides, keep seeking deeper insight. Themes philosophy science epistemology Mood reflective inquisitive Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - academic research - personal belief formation - scientific inquiry - education Key Concepts relativism progress methodology Questions to Reflect On - How do you distinguish useful theories from limiting ones? - When should you abandon a long-held belief? A Different Perspective Theories may become outdated as knowledge advances. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Already won](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/already-won/) [Conquest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conquest/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) [Strivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strivers/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“Love is not about conquest. The truth is a man can only find true love when he surrenders to it. When he opens his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/love-is-not-about-conquest-the-truth-is-a-man-can-only-find-true-love/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [It is often assumed that science starts from facts and eschews counter-factual theories. Nothing could be further from the truth. What is one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feyerabend/it-is-often-assumed-that-science-starts-from-facts-and-eschews/) [Paul Feyerabend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feyerabend/) > [Professors in every branch of the sciences, prefer their own theories to truth: the reason is that their theories are private property, but truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/professors-in-every-branch-of-the-sciences-prefer-their-own-theories/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Thinking ahead, what really happens to us will depend on how many people we have who are of the great and sober and dynamic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-menzies/thinking-ahead-what-really-happens-to-us-will-depend-on-how-many/) [Robert Menzies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-menzies/) > [America is a nation of believers, dreamers and strivers that is being led by a group of censors, critics, and cynics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/america-is-a-nation-of-believers-dreamers-and-strivers-that-is-being/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [How can we expect young people to be rooted in things such as character, morality and honesty? How is one supposed to be at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/how-can-we-expect-young-people-to-be-rooted-in-things-such-as/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [Let the good service of well-deservers be never rewarded with loss. Let their thanks be such as may encourage more strivers for the like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i/let-the-good-service-of-well-deservers-be-never-rewarded-with-loss/) [Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i/) > [Washington is gripped by crab-in-the-bucket syndrome. And there's no cure in sight. Put a single crab in an uncovered bucket, and it will find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-malkin/washington-is-gripped-by-crab-in-the-bucket-syndrome-and-there-s-no/) [Michelle Malkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-malkin/) > [merica was middle-class for the very start - the people who came first were hyper-strivers from England. There were no vested interests, no ranks,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-morris/merica-was-middle-class-for-the-very-start-the-people-who-came-first/) [Charles R. Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-morris/) > [Of all the islands he'd visited, two stood out. The island of the past, he said, where the only time was past time and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/of-all-the-islands-he-d-visited-two-stood-out-the-island-of-the-past/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [So, let us, you and I, for the sake of our brother man, individually strive by example and influence to lift the standard of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ossian-everett-mills/so-let-us-you-and-i-for-the-sake-of-our-brother-man-individually/) Ossian Everett Mills > [“It is best to be the CEO; it is satisfactory to be an early employee, maybe the fifth or sixth or perhaps the tenth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/it-is-best-to-be-the-ceo-it-is-satisfactory-to-be-an-early-employee/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [The Tea Party people say they're angry about socialism, but maybe they're really angry about capitalism. If there's a sense of being looked down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-collins/the-tea-party-people-say-they-re-angry-about-socialism-but-maybe-they/) [Gail Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-collins/) > [Immigration keeps this country young, it keeps it dynamic, we have entrepreneurs and strivers who come here and are willing to take risks, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/immigration-keeps-this-country-young-it-keeps-it-dynamic-we-have/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Strivers achieve what dreamers believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/usher/strivers-achieve-what-dreamers-believe/) [Usher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/usher/) ## More by Justus von Liebig > [Receiving a new truth is like adding a new sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justus-von-liebig/receiving-a-new-truth-is-like-adding-a-new-sense/) [Justus von Liebig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justus-von-liebig/) > [By the deficiency or absence of one necessary constituent, all the others being present, the soil is rendered barren for all those crops to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justus-von-liebig/by-the-deficiency-or-absence-of-one-necessary-constituent-all-the/) [Justus von Liebig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justus-von-liebig/) > [I will now direct the attention of scientists to a previously unnoticed cause which brings about the metamorphosis and decomposition phenomena which are usually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justus-von-liebig/i-will-now-direct-the-attention-of-scientists-to-a-previously/) [Justus von Liebig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justus-von-liebig/) > [The loveliest theories are being overthrown by these damned experiments; it's no fun being a chemist anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justus-von-liebig/the-loveliest-theories-are-being-overthrown-by-these-damned/) [Justus von Liebig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justus-von-liebig/) > [The secret of all those who make discoveries is that they regard nothing as impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justus-von-liebig/the-secret-of-all-those-who-make-discoveries-is-that-they-regard/) [Justus von Liebig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justus-von-liebig/) > [If it is impossible to judge merit and guilt in the field of natural science, then it is not possible in any field, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justus-von-liebig/if-it-is-impossible-to-judge-merit-and-guilt-in-the-field-of-natural/) [Justus von Liebig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justus-von-liebig/) > [What struck me most in England was the perception that only those works which have a practical tendency awake attention and command respect, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justus-von-liebig/what-struck-me-most-in-england-was-the-perception-that-only-those/) [Justus von Liebig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justus-von-liebig/) > [There is in the chemist a form of thought by which all ideas become visible in the mind as strains of an imagined piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justus-von-liebig/there-is-in-the-chemist-a-form-of-thought-by-which-all-ideas-become/) [Justus von Liebig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justus-von-liebig/) > [Chemistry, in its application to animals and vegetables. Endeavours jointly with physiology to enlighten us respecting the mysterious processes and sources of organic life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justus-von-liebig/chemistry-in-its-application-to-animals-and-vegetables-endeavours/) [Justus von Liebig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justus-von-liebig/) > [The more fodder, the more flesh; the more flesh, the more manure; the more manure, the more grain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justus-von-liebig/the-more-fodder-the-more-flesh-the-more-flesh-the-more-manure-the/) [Justus von Liebig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justus-von-liebig/) > [But it must not be forgotten that ... glass and porcelain were manufactured, stuffs dyed and metals separated from their ores by mere empirical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justus-von-liebig/but-it-must-not-be-forgotten-that-glass-and-porcelain-were/) [Justus von Liebig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justus-von-liebig/) > [A time will come, when fields will be manured with a solution of glass (silicate of potash), with the ashes of burnt straw, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justus-von-liebig/a-time-will-come-when-fields-will-be-manured-with-a-solution-of-glass/) [Justus von Liebig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justus-von-liebig/) > [A manure containing several ingredients acts in this wise: The effect of all of them in the soil accommodates itself to that one among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justus-von-liebig/a-manure-containing-several-ingredients-acts-in-this-wise-the-effect/) [Justus von Liebig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justus-von-liebig/) > [Chocolate is a perfect food, as wholesome as it is delicious, a beneficent restorer of exhausted power...it is the best friend of those engaged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justus-von-liebig/chocolate-is-a-perfect-food-as-wholesome-as-it-is-delicious-a/) [Justus von Liebig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justus-von-liebig/) > [Since the discovery of oxygen the civilised world has undergone a revolution in manners and customs. The knowledge of the composition of the atmosphere,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justus-von-liebig/since-the-discovery-of-oxygen-the-civilised-world-has-undergone-a/) [Justus von Liebig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justus-von-liebig/) [Explore all 27 Justus von Liebig quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justus-von-liebig/) ## More Already won quotes > [I always say that if I end up in a relationship where I feel like seventy-five percent of what I was looking for is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-quin/i-always-say-that-if-i-end-up-in-a-relationship-where-i-feel-like/) [Sara Quin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-quin/) > [There is no doubt about it, Messi's clearly the best player in the world. He's a phenomenon who has already won everything, but is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-van-basten/there-is-no-doubt-about-it-messi-s-clearly-the-best-player-in-the/) [Marco van Basten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-van-basten/) > [We should think of those who were famous for their good deeds or their bad deeds; did their fame raise them one single degree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-hazm/we-should-think-of-those-who-were-famous-for-their-good-deeds-or/) [Ibn Hazm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-hazm/) > [I’m done with the winning cause I’ve already won.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sheen/i-m-done-with-the-winning-cause-i-ve-already-won/) [Charlie Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sheen/) > [First of all, who cares if people hate you? There's always a guarantee that certain people will dislike you. There's never any guarantee that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-handler/first-of-all-who-cares-if-people-hate-you-there-s-always-a-guarantee/) [Chelsea Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-handler/) > [The future is already won, and the more hostile the culture, the easier it is to communicate the difference of Christianity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/the-future-is-already-won-and-the-more-hostile-the-culture-the-easier/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [Whoever can find the answer to this question: "How can I say this to my dog" has already won the game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-von-stephanitz/whoever-can-find-the-answer-to-this-question-how-can-i-say-this-to-my/) [Max von Stephanitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-von-stephanitz/) > [I could be dramatic and go "He saved my life!", but sometimes you just need to see it again. Sometimes you need to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-drew/i-could-be-dramatic-and-go-he-saved-my-life-but-sometimes-you-just/) [Kevin Drew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-drew/) > [Over the last six months, I've seen what these two futures look like. And six months from now, we'll all be living in one,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-fluke/over-the-last-six-months-i-ve-seen-what-these-two-futures-look-like/) [Sandra Fluke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-fluke/) > [Terrorists in 6 weeks have been able to command 300 million North Americans to do away with the entirety of their civil liberties that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rocco-galati/terrorists-in-6-weeks-have-been-able-to-command-300-million-north/) Rocco Galati > [Life is a lottery that we've already won. But most people have not cashed in their tickets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hay/life-is-a-lottery-that-we-ve-already-won-but-most-people-have-not/) [Louise Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hay/) > [Any fool can blow something up. Any fool can destroy. But to see these guys, these firefighters and these policemen and people from all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/any-fool-can-blow-something-up-any-fool-can-destroy-but-to-see-these/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [History informs us of past mistakes from which we can learn without repeating them. It also inspires us and gives confidence and hope bred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-hastie/history-informs-us-of-past-mistakes-from-which-we-can-learn-without/) [William H. Hastie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-hastie/) > [It's that first step-getting out the door-that's the toughest. If you can do that, you've already won.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-j-blige/it-s-that-first-step-getting-out-the-door-that-s-the-toughest-if-you/) [Mary J. Blige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-j-blige/) > [If we take into account that women have had the right to vote only for some 100 years - in some countries even less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalia-grybauskaite/if-we-take-into-account-that-women-have-had-the-right-to-vote-only/) [Dalia Grybauskaite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalia-grybauskaite/) [Browse all 18 Already won quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/already-won/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have learnt that all our theories are not Truth itself, but resting places or stages on the way to the conquest of Truth, and that we must be contented to have obtained for the strivers after Truth such a resting place which, if it is on a mountain, permits us to view the provinces already won and those still to be conquered.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Justus von Liebig" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justus-von-liebig/i-have-learnt-that-all-our-theories-are-not-truth-itself-but-resting/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Already won" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justus-von-liebig/i-have-learnt-that-all-our-theories-are-not-truth-itself-but-resting/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dac/justus-von-liebig-21659_already-won_i-have-learnt-that-all-our-theories-are_2288412.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dac/justus-von-liebig-21659_already-won_i-have-learnt-that-all-our-theories-are_2288412.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dac/justus-von-liebig-21659_already-won_i-have-learnt-that-all-our-theories-are_2288412.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have learnt that all our theories are not Truth itself, but resting places or stages on the way to the…” — Justus von Liebig", "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": "Justus von Liebig", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justus-von-liebig/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I have learnt that all our...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justus-von-liebig/i-have-learnt-that-all-our-theories-are-not-truth-itself-but-resting/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justus-von-liebig/i-have-learnt-that-all-our-theories-are-not-truth-itself-but-resting/#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 } } ] } ```