--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For at least a century, psychologists and…" description: "\"“For at least a century, psychologists and philosophers have suggested that our urge to explain the world is analogous to our urge to populate it. Like..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ea/kathryn-schulz-7782_motivation_for-at-least-a-century-psychologists-and_644724.jpg" --- # For at least a century, psychologists and philosophers… ![“For at least a century, psychologists and philosophers have suggested that our urge to explain the world is analogous to our urge to populate it. Like making babies, they argue, making theories is so crucial to our survival that we have a natural drive to do so - what William James called a…” quote by Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ea/kathryn-schulz-7782_motivation_for-at-least-a-century-psychologists-and_644724.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ea/kathryn-schulz-7782_motivation_for-at-least-a-century-psychologists-and_644724.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ea/kathryn-schulz-7782_motivation_for-at-least-a-century-psychologists-and_644724.jpg) > ““For at least a century, psychologists and philosophers have suggested that our urge to explain the world is analogous to our urge to populate it. Like making babies, they argue, making theories is so crucial to our survival that we have a natural drive to do so - what William James called a "theoretic instinct." (p.96)”” [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans have an innate drive to create explanations, similar to a biological urge to reproduce, fueling scientific and philosophical theorizing. **In simple terms:** People naturally generate theories to understand the world. Key Takeaway Cultivate curiosity and critical thinking. Themes curiosity theory human nature science Mood inquisitive thoughtful Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - research projects - education - problem solving - innovation Key Concepts Epistemology evolutionary psychology creative drive Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions underlie your explanations? - When does theorizing become counterproductive? A Different Perspective The drive to theorize can lead to overcomplication or false certainty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Making Theories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-theories-594637/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) [Philosophers Suggested](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophers-suggested-5169442/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Theoretic Instinct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theoretic-instinct-5169440/) [Urge Explain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/urge-explain-5169441/) [Urge Populate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/urge-populate-5169443/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/william-james/) ## Related quotes > [In making theories, always keep a window open so that you can throw one out if necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bela-lugosi/in-making-theories-always-keep-a-window-open-so-that-you-can-throw/) [Bela Lugosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bela-lugosi/) > [Belief creates the actual fact. --William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/belief-creates-the-actual-fact-william-james/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“All our life,” William James told us in the prologue, “so far as it has definite form, is but a mass of habits—practical, emotional,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-duhigg/all-our-life-william-james-told-us-in-the-prologue-so-far-as-it-has/) [Charles Duhigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-duhigg/) > [“The border between personal and transpersonal experience is a complex region. 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Borden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-borden/) > [This life is worth living, we can say, since it is what we make it. --William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/this-life-is-worth-living-we-can-say-since-it-is-what-we-make-it/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“Alice James Books is a nonprofit cooperative poetry press, founded in 1973 by five women and two men: Patricia Cumming, Marjorie Fletcher, Jean Pedrick,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-james-books/alice-james-books-is-a-nonprofit-cooperative-poetry-press-founded-in/) [Alice James Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-james-books/) > [It would be wrong of me to suppose that just because I can form private mental images, that everyone can. 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Nu am putut sa nu tin minte aceasta scena: in cursul unei…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/o-intalnire-cu-filozoful-william-james-mi-a-lasat-o-impresie-de/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“Ultra god Scott Jurek summed up the Young Guns’ unofficial creed with a quote from William James he stuck on the end of every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-mcdougall/ultra-god-scott-jurek-summed-up-the-young-guns-unofficial-creed-with/) [Christopher McDougall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-mcdougall/) > [“-“The greatest discovery of this generation is the knowledge that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitude of mind” William James…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sekou-obadias/the-greatest-discovery-of-this-generation-is-the-knowledge-that-human/) [Sekou Obadias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sekou-obadias/) > [“As to Gurdjieff's power to renew his own energies, its essence had been understood by psychologists of the nineteenth century, decades before the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/as-to-gurdjieff-s-power-to-renew-his-own-energies-its-essence-had/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [“When we speak of living environments and their effects on us, then, we are often speaking too broadly—of the city, the countryside, and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wu/when-we-speak-of-living-environments-and-their-effects-on-us-then-we/) [Tim Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wu/) > [“Psychologist William James said that possibly the deepest human need is the need to feel appreciated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-chapman/psychologist-william-james-said-that-possibly-the-deepest-human-need/) [Gary Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-chapman/) > [“William James said, ‘We don’t laugh because we are happy. We are happy because we laugh.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-s-sharma/william-james-said-we-don-t-laugh-because-we-are-happy-we-are-happy/) [Robin S. Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-s-sharma/) > [“All our life, so far as it has definite form, is but a mass of habits - practical, emotional, and intellectual - systematically organized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-duhigg/all-our-life-so-far-as-it-has-definite-form-is-but-a-mass-of-habits/) [Charles Duhigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-duhigg/) ## More by Kathryn Schulz > [“Our failure to understand another being's inner reality doesn't make that reality any less real, or any less valuable to that being. (p.255)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/our-failure-to-understand-another-being-s-inner-reality-doesn-t-make/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [Error ... is less an intellectual problem than an existential one - a crisis not in what we know, but in who we are.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/error-is-less-an-intellectual-problem-than-an-existential-one-a/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [“Even a committed realist will concede that there are many situations where an absolute standard of truth is unavailable. And yet, confronted with such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/even-a-committed-realist-will-concede-that-there-are-many-situations/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [We need to learn to love the flawed, imperfect things that we create, and to forgive ourselves for creating them. 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Our faith that we are right is faith that someone else is right.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/the-vast-majority-of-our-beliefs-are-really-beliefs-once-removed-our/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [We're terrified of not having the answers, and we would sometimes rather assert an incorrect answer than make our peace with the fact that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/we-re-terrified-of-not-having-the-answers-and-we-would-sometimes/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [“When one admists that nothing is certain", proposed the philosopher Betrand Russell, "one must, I think, also add that some things are much more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/when-one-admists-that-nothing-is-certain-proposed-the-philosopher/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [“It’s as if we regard other people as psychological crystals, with everything important refracted to the visible surface, while regarding ourselves as psychological icebergs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/it-s-as-if-we-regard-other-people-as-psychological-crystals-with/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [To err is to wander, and wandering is the way we discover the world; and, lost in thought, it is also the way we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/to-err-is-to-wander-and-wandering-is-the-way-we-discover-the-world/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [“As all this suggests our relationship with evidence is seldom purely a cognitive one. Vilifying menstruating women bolstering anti-Muslim stereotypes murdering innocent citizens of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/as-all-this-suggests-our-relationship-with-evidence-is-seldom-purely/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [“We are more alarmed by leaders who waver than by those who screw up. (p.174)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/we-are-more-alarmed-by-leaders-who-waver-than-by-those-who-screw-up-p/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [“Plato (...) defined knowledge as "justified true belief". To his mind, you could only claim to know something if A) it was true; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/plato-defined-knowledge-as-justified-true-belief-to-his-mind-you/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [Thirty-three percent of all of our regrets pertain to decisions we made about education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/thirty-three-percent-of-all-of-our-regrets-pertain-to-decisions-we/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) [Explore all 87 Kathryn Schulz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) ## More Motivation quotes > [Some people give you that motivation to work harder simply to get the hell away from wherever they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/some-people-give-you-that-motivation-to-work-harder-simply-to-get-the/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. 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Fear of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/fear-of-seeing-a-police-car-pull-into-the-drive-fear-of-falling/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-not-willing-to-learn-no-one-can-help-you-if-you-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Have a Blast; Life wont last! Make the best of the journey before it is over!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/have-a-blast-life-wont-last-make-the-best-of-the-journey-before-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is like riding on a bus. God is the driver and I am the passenger. Have faith God knows which route to take.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefroy-hanson/life-is-like-riding-on-a-bus-god-is-the-driver-and-i-am-the-passenger/) [Jefroy Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefroy-hanson/) > [“Friction is necessary. Ease of life leads to complacency and the atrophy of the human will and spirit. Within our struggles lives our strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-versey/friction-is-necessary-ease-of-life-leads-to-complacency-and-the/) [Jason Versey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-versey/) > [When you heed the calling of your heart, you are following your purpose. Having purpose in your life gives you the courage to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-britten/when-you-heed-the-calling-of-your-heart-you-are-following-your/) [Rhonda Britten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-britten/) > [Needs cause motivation. 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