--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Properly speaking, there is no certainty…" description: "\"“Properly speaking, there is no certainty; there are only people who are certain. —CHARLES RENOUVIER, ESSAIS DE CRITIQUE GÉNÉRALE”\" — Kathryn Schulz" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed0/kathryn-schulz-7782_certainty_properly-speaking-there-is-no-certainty_2932978.png" --- # Properly speaking, there is no certainty; there are only… ![“Properly speaking, there is no certainty; there are only people who are certain. —CHARLES RENOUVIER, ESSAIS DE CRITIQUE GÉNÉRALE” quote by Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed0/kathryn-schulz-7782_certainty_properly-speaking-there-is-no-certainty_2932978.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed0/kathryn-schulz-7782_certainty_properly-speaking-there-is-no-certainty_2932978.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed0/kathryn-schulz-7782_certainty_properly-speaking-there-is-no-certainty_2932978.png) > ““Properly speaking, there is no certainty; there are only people who are certain. —CHARLES RENOUVIER, ESSAIS DE CRITIQUE GÉNÉRALE”” [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. Certainty is a human construct; only people claim it, not reality. **In simple terms:** No one can be truly certain. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty and question assumptions. Themes philosophy epistemology skepticism Mood thoughtful skeptical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - scientific research - decision making - critical thinking Key Concepts certainty human perception knowledge limits Questions to Reflect On - What do you claim with certainty? - How do you handle doubt? A Different Perspective Overconfidence can blind us. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Certainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) ## Related quotes > [I'm a member of that half of the human race which is inclined to divide the human race into two kinds of people. 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There is no learning without having to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/we-absolutely-must-leave-room-for-doubt-or-there-is-no-progress-and/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [“In fact, as I get older, I begin to feel that actually what we need more in the world is doubt; more skepticism, less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/in-fact-as-i-get-older-i-begin-to-feel-that-actually-what-we-need/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“You may say, But wasn't this the Sixties? Yes, but only for some people, only in certain parts of the country.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-may-say-but-wasn-t-this-the-sixties-yes-but-only-for-some-people/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [The young give us hope because young people are certain their best days still lie ahead - which explains why they're absolutely convinced they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-polman/the-young-give-us-hope-because-young-people-are-certain-their-best/) [Paul Polman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-polman/) > [Some people are more certain of everything than I am of anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rubin/some-people-are-more-certain-of-everything-than-i-am-of-anything-2/) [Robert Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rubin/) > [People have a certain mindset about me, they know me to be a very serious person as I don't party much nor am I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neha-pendse/people-have-a-certain-mindset-about-me-they-know-me-to-be-a-very/) [Neha Pendse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neha-pendse/) > [Family's number one; just, that's flat out it, and I think a lot of people, when they're put in a certain position, will come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cummins/family-s-number-one-just-that-s-flat-out-it-and-i-think-a-lot-of/) [Nick Cummins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cummins/) > [“Some people are more certain of everything than I am of anything. —ROBERT RUBIN, In an Uncertain World”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/some-people-are-more-certain-of-everything-than-i-am-of-anything/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [You meet lots of people in your life, and sometimes you think that people are a certain way, and then they reveal themselves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-arnett/you-meet-lots-of-people-in-your-life-and-sometimes-you-think-that/) [Will Arnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-arnett/) > [“The problem is that the people with the most ridiculous ideas are always the people who are most certain of them." ( The Decider , July 21, 2007)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/the-problem-is-that-the-people-with-the-most-ridiculous-ideas-are/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [I think that people get to a certain point in their life and they think that nothing can change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-smart/i-think-that-people-get-to-a-certain-point-in-their-life-and-they/) [Jean Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-smart/) ## 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. Regret doesen't remind us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/we-need-to-learn-to-love-the-flawed-imperfect-things-that-we-create/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [“I had, during many years, followed a golden rule, namely that whenever a published fact, a new observation or thought came across me, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/i-had-during-many-years-followed-a-golden-rule-namely-that-whenever-a/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [“It is often precisely these irresolvable issues that arouse our most impassioned certainty that we are right and our adversaries are wrong. To my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/it-is-often-precisely-these-irresolvable-issues-that-arouse-our-most/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [“The vast majority of our beliefs are really beliefs once removed. 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 Certainty quotes > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [Sometimes we have the absolute certainty there's something inside us that's so hideous and monstrous that if we ever search it out we won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-selby-jr/sometimes-we-have-the-absolute-certainty-there-s-something-inside-us/) [Hubert Selby, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-selby-jr/) > [The past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-past-and-the-future-become-unimportant-there-is-only-that-moment/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [In the mental disturbance and effort of writing, what sustains you is the certainty that on every page there is something left unsaid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/in-the-mental-disturbance-and-effort-of-writing-what-sustains-you-is/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Of course I doubt. I do not practice a certainty. I practice a faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/of-course-i-doubt-i-do-not-practice-a-certainty-i-practice-a-faith/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [The world is a wonderfully weird place, consensual reality is significantly flawed, no institution can be trusted, certainty is a mirage, security a delusion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-world-is-a-wonderfully-weird-place-consensual-reality-is/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [As a businessman, I know that businesses need certainty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-foster/as-a-businessman-i-know-that-businesses-need-certainty/) [Bill Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-foster/) > [It is suggested that in domestic violence at least the presence or absence of a firearm, or of any other type of weapon, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/it-is-suggested-that-in-domestic-violence-at-least-the-presence-or/) [Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/) > [Every single person who is a member of our party deserves to have certainty. They deserve to know that my attention and focus is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annamie-paul/every-single-person-who-is-a-member-of-our-party-deserves-to-have/) [Annamie Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annamie-paul/) > [The significance and volume of repairs that are needed across the country demand that we give state and local governments the long-term certainty they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-graves/the-significance-and-volume-of-repairs-that-are-needed-across-the/) [Sam Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-graves/) > [“Death is the one great certainty in life. That’s what my dad used to say. Nothing else is certain. Not love. Not happiness. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mila-gray/death-is-the-one-great-certainty-in-life-that-s-what-my-dad-used-to/) [Mila Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mila-gray/) > [ \[I\]f in other sciences we should arrive at certainty without doubt and truth without error, it behooves us to place the foundations of knowledge… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bacon/i-f-in-other-sciences-we-should-arrive-at-certainty-without-doubt-and/) [Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bacon/) > [Do not lose hope; St. Joseph also experienced moments of difficulty, but he never lost faith and was able to overcome them, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/do-not-lose-hope-st-joseph-also-experienced-moments-of-difficulty-but/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [As the future is never known with certainty, the evaluation of the prospective benefits requires the formation of expectations. An acceptable house, partner or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-t-mortensen/as-the-future-is-never-known-with-certainty-the-evaluation-of-the/) [Dale T. Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-t-mortensen/) > [Finding someone that trusted my vision helped me find certainty in who I was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd/finding-someone-that-trusted-my-vision-helped-me-find-certainty-in/) [Syd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd/) [Browse all 1,776 Certainty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Properly speaking, there is no certainty; there are only people who are certain. —CHARLES RENOUVIER, ESSAIS DE CRITIQUE GÉNÉRALE”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kathryn Schulz" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/properly-speaking-there-is-no-certainty-there-are-only-people-who-are/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Certainty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/properly-speaking-there-is-no-certainty-there-are-only-people-who-are/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed0/kathryn-schulz-7782_certainty_properly-speaking-there-is-no-certainty_2932978.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed0/kathryn-schulz-7782_certainty_properly-speaking-there-is-no-certainty_2932978.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed0/kathryn-schulz-7782_certainty_properly-speaking-there-is-no-certainty_2932978.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Properly speaking, there is no certainty; there are only people who are certain. —CHARLES RENOUVIER, ESSAIS…” — Kathryn Schulz", "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": "Kathryn Schulz", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Properly speaking, there is no certainty;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/properly-speaking-there-is-no-certainty-there-are-only-people-who-are/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/properly-speaking-there-is-no-certainty-there-are-only-people-who-are/#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 } } ] } ```