--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even the best institutions at the…" description: "\"“Even the best institutions at the university are apt to deteriorate and to become distorted. Thus the very translation of thought into teachable form ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/karl-jaspers-11518_success_even-the-best-institutions-at-the-univer_1774889.jpg" --- # Even the best institutions at the university are apt to… ![“Even the best institutions at the university are apt to deteriorate and to become distorted. Thus the very translation of thought into teachable form tends to impoverish its intellectual vitality. Once intellectual achievement is admitted into the body of accepted learning those achievements tend…” quote by Karl Jaspers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/karl-jaspers-11518_success_even-the-best-institutions-at-the-univer_1774889.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/karl-jaspers-11518_success_even-the-best-institutions-at-the-univer_1774889.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/karl-jaspers-11518_success_even-the-best-institutions-at-the-univer_1774889.jpg) > ““Even the best institutions at the university are apt to deteriorate and to become distorted. Thus the very translation of thought into teachable form tends to impoverish its intellectual vitality. Once intellectual achievement is admitted into the body of accepted learning those achievements tend to assume an air of finality. Thus, it is merely a matter of convention at what point one subject ends and the other begins. It is possible, moreover, that an excellent scholar may not be able to find a place for himself within the established departmental divisions. A mediocre scholar may be preferred to him simply because his work fits into the traditional scheme. Any institution tends to consider itself an end in itself.”” [Karl Jaspers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-jaspers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Institutions can become rigid, turning dynamic ideas into static doctrines, which may marginalize innovative scholars. **In simple terms:** Institutions can stifle fresh ideas and favor conformity. Key Takeaway Seek flexible structures that value originality. Themes institutional rigidity academic conformity intellectual vitality scholarship disciplinary boundaries Mood critical reflective concerned Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - university reform - interdisciplinary research - faculty hiring - curriculum design Key Concepts epistemology institutional theory academic politics Questions to Reflect On - How can we redesign academic departments to nurture novelty? - What safeguards prevent mediocrity from being favored? A Different Perspective Even flexible institutions can resist change due to entrenched interests. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Excellent Scholar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excellent-scholar-1811841/) [Intellectual Achievement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual-achievement-1001861/) [Intellectual Vitality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual-vitality-1811842/) [Mediocre Scholar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mediocre-scholar-1811840/) [Scholar Preferred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scholar-preferred-1811843/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) ## Related quotes > [Yale is a crucible in American life for the accommodation of intellectual achievement, of wisdom, of refinement, with the democratic ideals of openness, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benno-c-schmidt-jr/yale-is-a-crucible-in-american-life-for-the-accommodation-of/) [Benno C. 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(Hilda Doolittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-d-hilda-doolittle/) > [“If one has not a head of steel it will burst; if he has not within it a brain of liquid quicksilver, he will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ioannes-amos-commenius/if-one-has-not-a-head-of-steel-it-will-burst-if-he-has-not-within-it/) [Ioannes Amos Commenius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ioannes-amos-commenius/) > [“What's the best thing about being in college? Good teachers. They inspire you, they entertain you, and you end up learning a ton even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/what-s-the-best-thing-about-being-in-college-good-teachers-they/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [There's no authoritarian structure at Reed College, but the education is conservative. 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Otherwise the world would be full of millionaires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mwanandeke-kindembo/in-school-you-are-taught-to-obey-and-not-to-think-straight-for-your/) [Mwanandeke Kindembo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mwanandeke-kindembo/) > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) [Ted Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/) ## More by Karl Jaspers > [The more determinedly I exist, as myself, within the conditions of the time, the more clearly I shall hear the language of the past,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-jaspers/the-more-determinedly-i-exist-as-myself-within-the-conditions-of-the/) [Karl Jaspers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-jaspers/) > [Nietzsche's ideas and plans: for example, the idea of giving up the whole wretched academic world to form a secular monastic community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-jaspers/nietzsche-s-ideas-and-plans-for-example-the-idea-of-giving-up-the/) [Karl Jaspers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-jaspers/) > [What is meaningful cannot in fact be isolated…. 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