--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are three kinds of explanation in…" description: "\"There are three kinds of explanation in science: explanations which throw a light upon, or give a hint at a matter; explanations which do not explain a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afd/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlege_explanation_there-are-three-kinds-of-explanation-in_2882518.png" --- # There are three kinds of explanation in science… ![“There are three kinds of explanation in science: explanations which throw a light upon, or give a hint at a matter; explanations which do not explain anything; and explanations which obscure everything.” quote by Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afd/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlege_explanation_there-are-three-kinds-of-explanation-in_2882518.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afd/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlege_explanation_there-are-three-kinds-of-explanation-in_2882518.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afd/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlege_explanation_there-are-three-kinds-of-explanation-in_2882518.png) > “There are three kinds of explanation in science: explanations which throw a light upon, or give a hint at a matter; explanations which do not explain anything; and explanations which obscure everything.” [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Science offers three explanation types: illuminating, meaningless, and obfuscating. **In simple terms:** Three kinds of scientific explanations. Key Takeaway Seek clear, illuminating explanations. Themes science philosophy explanation clarity Mood analytical inquisitive critical Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - research - education - policy making - public understanding - media Key Concepts epistemology critical thinking methodology communication Questions to Reflect On - How to identify vague explanations? - What makes an explanation truly illuminating? A Different Perspective Obfuscating explanations can mislead. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [“Sometimes you gotta just take things for what they are and appreciate them, not try to label it or explain it. Explanations take the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ockler/sometimes-you-gotta-just-take-things-for-what-they-are-and-appreciate/) [Sarah Ockler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ockler/) > [Alternative explanations are always welcome in science, if they are better and explain more. Alternative explanations that explain nothing are not welcome... Note how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/alternative-explanations-are-always-welcome-in-science-if-they-are/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) > [It is characteristic of science that the full explanations are often seized in their essence by the percipient scientist long in advance of any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-desmond-bernal/it-is-characteristic-of-science-that-the-full-explanations-are-often/) [John Desmond Bernal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-desmond-bernal/) > [Anything that we can destroy, but are unable to make is, in a sense, sacred, and all our 'explanations' of it do not explain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-schumacher/anything-that-we-can-destroy-but-are-unable-to-make-is-in-a-sense/) [E. F. Schumacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-schumacher/) > [Science needs the intuition and metaphorical power of the arts, and the arts need the fresh blood of science ... Interpretation is the logical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/science-needs-the-intuition-and-metaphorical-power-of-the-arts-and/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [I would teach the world that science is the best way to understand the world and that for any set of observations, there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-wolpert/i-would-teach-the-world-that-science-is-the-best-way-to-understand/) [Lewis Wolpert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-wolpert/) > [there have been too many events in my life, and in the lives of my friends, which have defied any kind of scientific explanation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/there-have-been-too-many-events-in-my-life-and-in-the-lives-of-my/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [With old inflation riding the headlines, I have read till I am bleary-eyed, and I can't get head from tails of the whole thing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/with-old-inflation-riding-the-headlines-i-have-read-till-i-am-bleary/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [But the stupidity which is common to all such "explanations" is, of course, simply that of proceeding as though the merits of a theory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-stove/but-the-stupidity-which-is-common-to-all-such-explanations-is-of/) [David Stove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-stove/) > [Explanations don't comfort. You won't feel better if you know why. It won't hurt any less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/explanations-don-t-comfort-you-won-t-feel-better-if-you-know-why-it/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [“The easiest explanations are often the right ones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanya-yanagihara/the-easiest-explanations-are-often-the-right-ones/) [Hanya Yanagihara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanya-yanagihara/) > [I loved Sherlock Holmes as a kid, but I remember being disappointed when he'd come up with these simple explanations for these complex mysteries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-weir/i-loved-sherlock-holmes-as-a-kid-but-i-remember-being-disappointed/) [Peter Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-weir/) > [“Your explanation is good, but your herring doesn't fry, as we say in Ramaldah," he exploded.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-ashling/your-explanation-is-good-but-your-herring-doesn-t-fry-as-we-say-in/) [Andrew Ashling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-ashling/) > [There are situations when all answers and explanations fade. When you fully accept that you do not know, you give up struggling to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/there-are-situations-when-all-answers-and-explanations-fade-when-you/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“You understand how much you know about a subject the moment you give explanations to someone who doesn't know anything about it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luigina-sgarro/you-understand-how-much-you-know-about-a-subject-the-moment-you-give/) [Luigina Sgarro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luigina-sgarro/) ## More by Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel > [The symmetry and organization of history teaches us that mankind, during its existence and development, genuinely was and became an individual, a person. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/the-symmetry-and-organization-of-history-teaches-us-that-mankind/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [Both in their origins and effects, boredom and stuffy air resemble each other. They are usually generated whenever a large number of people gather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/both-in-their-origins-and-effects-boredom-and-stuffy-air-resemble/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [Every good man progressively becomes God. To become God, to be man, and to educate oneself, are expressions that are synonymous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/every-good-man-progressively-becomes-god-to-become-god-to-be-man-and/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [The naive is what is or appears to be natural, individual, or classical to the point of irony or to the point of continuous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/the-naive-is-what-is-or-appears-to-be-natural-individual-or-classical/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [Women are treated as unjustly in poetry as in life. The feminine ones are not idealistic, and the idealistic not feminine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/women-are-treated-as-unjustly-in-poetry-as-in-life-the-feminine-ones/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [In every good poem everything must be both deliberate and instinctive. That is how the poem becomes ideal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/in-every-good-poem-everything-must-be-both-deliberate-and-instinctive/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [Only he who possesses a personal religion, an original view of infinity, can be an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/only-he-who-possesses-a-personal-religion-an-original-view-of/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [Wit as an instrument of revenge is as infamous as art is as a means of sensual titillation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/wit-as-an-instrument-of-revenge-is-as-infamous-as-art-is-as-a-means/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [Where philosophy ends, poetry must commence. There should not be a common point of view, a natural manner of thinking which standsin contrast to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/where-philosophy-ends-poetry-must-commence-there-should-not-be-a/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [Wit is an explosion of the compound spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/wit-is-an-explosion-of-the-compound-spirit/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [Life is writing. The sole purpose of mankind is to engrave the thoughts of divinity onto the tablets of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/life-is-writing-the-sole-purpose-of-mankind-is-to-engrave-the/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [Religion can emerge in all forms of feeling: here wild anger, there the sweetest pain; here consuming hatred, there the childlike smile of serene…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/religion-can-emerge-in-all-forms-of-feeling-here-wild-anger-there-the/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [Women do not have as great a need for poetry because their own essence is poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/women-do-not-have-as-great-a-need-for-poetry-because-their-own/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [When the author has no idea of what to reply to a critic, he then likes to say: you could not do it better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/when-the-author-has-no-idea-of-what-to-reply-to-a-critic-he-then/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [One mentions many artists who are actually art works of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/one-mentions-many-artists-who-are-actually-art-works-of-nature/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) [Explore all 186 Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) ## More Explanation quotes > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [Yesterday's truth is today's bullshit. Even yesterday's liberating insight is today's jail of stale explanation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-blanton/yesterday-s-truth-is-today-s-bullshit-even-yesterday-s-liberating/) [Brad Blanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-blanton/) > [Before I had kids, I thought you should never lie to a kid. But now I've had them, I realize you almost lie to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-donoghue/before-i-had-kids-i-thought-you-should-never-lie-to-a-kid-but-now-i/) [Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) > [To prevent discussion of any other explanations of human origins is hardly what I would expect from open-minded educators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-campolo/to-prevent-discussion-of-any-other-explanations-of-human-origins-is/) [Tony Campolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-campolo/) > [ They \[scientists of centuries past\] call on God only from the lonely and precarious edge of incomprehension. Where they feel certain about their explanations,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/they-scientists-of-centuries-past-call-on-god-only-from-the-lonely/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [What most needs explanation is not why some people are criminals, but why most people are not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-q-wilson/what-most-needs-explanation-is-not-why-some-people-are-criminals-but/) [James Q. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-q-wilson/) > [In his anti-Darwinian book... (and eponymously named The Neck of the Giraffe ), Francis Hitching tells the story... "The need to survive by reaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/in-his-anti-darwinian-book-and-eponymously-named-the-neck-of-the/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The goal of faithfulness is not that we will do work for God, but that He will be free to do His work through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/the-goal-of-faithfulness-is-not-that-we-will-do-work-for-god-but-that/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [“But let the wise be warned against too great readiness at explanation: it multiplies the sources of mistake, lengthening the sum for reckoners sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-let-the-wise-be-warned-against-too-great-readiness-at-explanation/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [ \[Barack Obama\] will spend long periods of time explaining to people why he won't use it. At the end of the explanation, nobody knows… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/barack-obama-will-spend-long-periods-of-time-explaining-to-people-why/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Being a moral realist I see normative ethics as a search of the truth about our obligations and a search of explanation; the idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/being-a-moral-realist-i-see-normative-ethics-as-a-search-of-the-truth/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [Take the story of Cain and Abel. Why were we given that story? Scientifically, you may have an explanation for it, but I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/take-the-story-of-cain-and-abel-why-were-we-given-that-story/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [It is amazing how soon one becomes accustomed to the sound of ones voice, when forced to repeat a speech five or six times…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/it-is-amazing-how-soon-one-becomes-accustomed-to-the-sound-of-ones/) [J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) > [I don't listen to music. I know it's weird, and I have no explanation for that. But I never do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leila-slimani/i-don-t-listen-to-music-i-know-it-s-weird-and-i-have-no-explanation/) [Leila Slimani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leila-slimani/) > [There are situations when all answers and explanations fade. When you fully accept that you do not know, you give up struggling to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/there-are-situations-when-all-answers-and-explanations-fade-when-you/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) Browse all 1,440 Explanation quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There are three kinds of explanation in science: explanations which throw a light upon, or give a hint at a matter; explanations which do not explain anything; and explanations which obscure everything.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/there-are-three-kinds-of-explanation-in-science-explanations-which/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Explanation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/there-are-three-kinds-of-explanation-in-science-explanations-which/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afd/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlege_explanation_there-are-three-kinds-of-explanation-in_2882518.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afd/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlege_explanation_there-are-three-kinds-of-explanation-in_2882518.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afd/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlege_explanation_there-are-three-kinds-of-explanation-in_2882518.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There are three kinds of explanation in science: explanations which throw a light upon, or give a hint at a…” — Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel", "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": "Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There are three kinds of explanation...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/there-are-three-kinds-of-explanation-in-science-explanations-which/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/there-are-three-kinds-of-explanation-in-science-explanations-which/#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 } } ] } ```