--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The growth of knowledge depends entirely…" description: "\"The growth of knowledge depends entirely upon disagreement.\" — Karl Popper" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/karl-popper-2167_depends_the-growth-of-knowledge-depends-entirely_2691732.jpg" --- # The growth of knowledge depends entirely upon disagreement. ![“The growth of knowledge depends entirely upon disagreement.” quote by Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/karl-popper-2167_depends_the-growth-of-knowledge-depends-entirely_2691732.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/karl-popper-2167_depends_the-growth-of-knowledge-depends-entirely_2691732.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/karl-popper-2167_depends_the-growth-of-knowledge-depends-entirely_2691732.jpg) > “The growth of knowledge depends entirely upon disagreement.” [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Knowledge grows through disagreement, as challenges force refinement and deeper understanding. **In simple terms:** Disagreement drives knowledge. Key Takeaway Embrace constructive conflict. Themes science philosophy critical thinking progress Mood analytical encouraging Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - academic debate - peer review - policy making Key Concepts epistemology dialectics innovation Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle opposing views? - When is disagreement most productive? A Different Perspective Conflict can become personal and unproductive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Depends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depends/) [Disagreement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disagreement/) [Entirely Disagreement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entirely-disagreement-2663843/) [Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [Growth Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth-knowledge-1618744/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Knowledge Depends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge-depends-1268359/) ## Related quotes > [The growth of our knowledge is the result of a process closely resembling what Darwin called 'natural selection'; that is, the natural selection of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/the-growth-of-our-knowledge-is-the-result-of-a-process-closely/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [Without a complex knowledge of one's place and without the faithfulness to one's place on which such knowledge depends, it is inevitable that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/without-a-complex-knowledge-of-one-s-place-and-without-the/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [All possible knowledge, then, depends on the validity of reasoning...Unless human reasoning is valid no science can be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-possible-knowledge-then-depends-on-the-validity-of-reasoning/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“knowledge depends on the mode of the knower; for what is known is in the knower according to the measure of his mode”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/knowledge-depends-on-the-mode-of-the-knower-for-what-is-known-is-in/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [I don't think eliminating the knowing-doing gap depends on the amount of knowledge around. It depends much more on people's attitudes and intentions -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-pfeffer/i-don-t-think-eliminating-the-knowing-doing-gap-depends-on-the-amount/) [Jeffrey Pfeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-pfeffer/) > [Truth is harder to bear than ignorance, and so ignorance is valued more--also because the status quo depends on it; but love depends on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/truth-is-harder-to-bear-than-ignorance-and-so-ignorance-is-valued/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [Surgical knowledge depends on long practice, not from speculations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcello-malpighi/surgical-knowledge-depends-on-long-practice-not-from-speculations/) [Marcello Malpighi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcello-malpighi/) > [“Finally, this book can — and should — be read as a story of growth from knowledge into wisdom, of intellectual and spiritual education.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-p-buford/finally-this-book-can-and-should-be-read-as-a-story-of-growth-from/) [Bob P. Buford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-p-buford/) > [Every mind was made for growth, for knowledge, and its nature is sinned against when it is doomed to ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/every-mind-was-made-for-growth-for-knowledge-and-its-nature-is-sinned/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [We live in a time of such rapid change and growth of knowledge that only he who is in a fundamental sense a scholar-that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-m-pusey/we-live-in-a-time-of-such-rapid-change-and-growth-of-knowledge-that/) [Nathan M. Pusey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-m-pusey/) > [With the growth of knowledge our ideas must from time to time be organized afresh. The change takes place usually in accordance with new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/with-the-growth-of-knowledge-our-ideas-must-from-time-to-time-be/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The close and thoughtful observer more and more learns to recognize his limitations. He realizes that with the steady growth of knowledge more and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-close-and-thoughtful-observer-more-and-more-learns-to-recognize/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Why should there be the method of science? There is not just one way to build a house, or even to grow tomatoes. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/why-should-there-be-the-method-of-science-there-is-not-just-one-way/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [My lord, lawyers are a dangerous species of animals till ha'e any dependence upon--they are always starting punctilios and deeficulties among friends. Why, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-macklin/my-lord-lawyers-are-a-dangerous-species-of-animals-till-ha-e-any/) [Charles Macklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-macklin/) > [Remember that the progress of the world depends on your knowing better than your elders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/remember-that-the-progress-of-the-world-depends-on-your-knowing/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More by Karl Popper > [Science is not a system of certain, or -established, statements; nor is it a system which steadily advances towards a state of finality... And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/science-is-not-a-system-of-certain-or-established-statements-nor-is/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [“As indicated by our example, methodological nominalism is nowadays fairly generally accepted in the natural sciences. The problems of the social sciences, on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/as-indicated-by-our-example-methodological-nominalism-is-nowadays/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [Science is perhaps the only human activity in which errors are systematically criticized and, in time, corrected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/science-is-perhaps-the-only-human-activity-in-which-errors-are/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [A system is empirical or scientific only if it is capable of being tested by experience. These considerations suggest that not the verifiability but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/a-system-is-empirical-or-scientific-only-if-it-is-capable-of-being/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [Bold ideas, unjustified anticipations, and speculative thought, are our only means for interpreting nature: our only organon, our only instrument, for grasping her. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/bold-ideas-unjustified-anticipations-and-speculative-thought-are-our/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [ \[The aim of science is\] to explain what so far has taken to be an explicans, such as a law of nature. The task… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/the-aim-of-science-is-to-explain-what-so-far-has-taken-to-be-an/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [There can be no ultimate statements science: there can be no statements in science which can not be tested, and therefore none which cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/there-can-be-no-ultimate-statements-science-there-can-be-no/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [Evolution is not a fact. Evolution doesn't even qualify as a theory or as a hypothesis. It is a metaphysical research program, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/evolution-is-not-a-fact-evolution-doesn-t-even-qualify-as-a-theory-or/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [I am opposed to looking upon logic as a kind of game. ... One might think that it is a matter of choice or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/i-am-opposed-to-looking-upon-logic-as-a-kind-of-game-one-might-think/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [The history of science, like the history of all human ideas, is a history of irresponsible dreams, of obstinacy, and of error.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/the-history-of-science-like-the-history-of-all-human-ideas-is-a/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [Good tests kill flawed theories; we remain alive to guess again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/good-tests-kill-flawed-theories-we-remain-alive-to-guess-again/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [There is no pure, disinterested, theory-free observation,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/there-is-no-pure-disinterested-theory-free-observation/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [We have the right not to tolerate the intolerant. We should tolerate even them whenever we can do so without running a great risk;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/we-have-the-right-not-to-tolerate-the-intolerant-we-should-tolerate/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [Better our hypotheses die for our errors than ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/better-our-hypotheses-die-for-our-errors-than-ourselves/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [“Every time we proceed to explain some conjectural law or theory by a new conjectural theory of a higher degree of universality, we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/every-time-we-proceed-to-explain-some-conjectural-law-or-theory-by-a/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) [Explore all 181 Karl Popper quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) ## More Depends quotes > [It all depends on you. You can go on sleeping forever, you can wake up right this moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/it-all-depends-on-you-you-can-go-on-sleeping-forever-you-can-wake-up/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Surely to root politics out of art is a highly necessary undertaking: for the freedom of art, like that of science, depends entirely upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/surely-to-root-politics-out-of-art-is-a-highly-necessary-undertaking/) [Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [The average condition of the people improving or deteriorating, depends upon whether population is advancing faster than improvement, or improvement than population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/the-average-condition-of-the-people-improving-or-deteriorating/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [India may be overtaking China as the world's most polluted country. Even now, which country is worse depends on the day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-inskeep/india-may-be-overtaking-china-as-the-world-s-most-polluted-country/) [Steve Inskeep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-inskeep/) > [What my day is like depends on where I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniela-pestova/what-my-day-is-like-depends-on-where-i-am/) [Daniela Pestova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniela-pestova/) > [Our security depends on having good relationships with our allies. Donald Trump mainly shows contempt for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-wolfowitz/our-security-depends-on-having-good-relationships-with-our-allies/) [Paul Wolfowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-wolfowitz/) > [Politics...You see, it depends on what kind of politics. What we did during my father's generation was a duty. And it was beautiful because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/politics-you-see-it-depends-on-what-kind-of-politics-what-we-did/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [A free society depends upon a high degree of mutual trust. The public will not give that trust to officials who are not seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-cox/a-free-society-depends-upon-a-high-degree-of-mutual-trust-the-public/) [Archibald Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-cox/) > [In proportion as our inward life fails, we go more constantly and desperately to the post office. You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Nothing will happen automatically. Change depends on what you and I do every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/nothing-will-happen-automatically-change-depends-on-what-you-and-i-do/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Every crucial experience can be regarded either as a setback, or the start of a wonderful new adventure, it depends on your perspective!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roberts-rinehart/every-crucial-experience-can-be-regarded-either-as-a-setback-or-the/) [Mary Roberts Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roberts-rinehart/) > [Unless we are prepared to search our souls to discover what to say, and then how to say it effectively, we cannot expect to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-case/unless-we-are-prepared-to-search-our-souls-to-discover-what-to-say/) [Everett Case](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-case/) > [What you can do and what it became the Depends are Only your Attitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/what-you-can-do-and-what-it-became-the-depends-are-only-your-attitude/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [Every man will have his own criterion in forming his judgment of others. I depend very much on the effect of affliction. 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