--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What Copernicus really achieved was not…" description: "\"What Copernicus really achieved was not the discovery of a true theory but of a fertile new point of view.\" — Ludwig Wittgenstein" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/441/ludwig-wittgenstein-582_copernicus_what-copernicus-really-achieved-was-not_2311873.png" --- # What Copernicus really achieved was not the discovery of a… ![“What Copernicus really achieved was not the discovery of a true theory but of a fertile new point of view.” quote by Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/441/ludwig-wittgenstein-582_copernicus_what-copernicus-really-achieved-was-not_2311873.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/441/ludwig-wittgenstein-582_copernicus_what-copernicus-really-achieved-was-not_2311873.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/441/ludwig-wittgenstein-582_copernicus_what-copernicus-really-achieved-was-not_2311873.png) > “What Copernicus really achieved was not the discovery of a true theory but of a fertile new point of view.” [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A paradigm shift creates fertile ground for new theories, more than a single discovery. **In simple terms:** New perspectives enable further discoveries. Key Takeaway Embrace fresh viewpoints. Themes innovation paradigm shift science Mood curious analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - research - education - technology development Key Concepts epistemology philosophy of science Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions limit your current perspective? - How can you foster a fertile mindset? A Different Perspective New ideas may be resisted by established thinking. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Point of view](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/point-of-view/) ## Related quotes > [The best discovery true friends can make is growing up without growing apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-discovery-true-friends-can-make-is-growing-up-without/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The discovery of what is true and the practice of that which is good are the two most important aims of philosophy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/the-discovery-of-what-is-true-and-the-practice-of-that-which-is-good/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Harvey , Galileo , Copernicus do not seem occult to us, but they did so to their contemporaries, hierophants of the mysteries of Natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/harvey-galileo-copernicus-do-not-seem-occult-to-us-but-they-did-so-to/) [Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/) > [ “There is talk of a new astrologer \[Nicolaus Copernicus\] who wants to prove that the earth moves and goes around instead of the sky,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/there-is-talk-of-a-new-astrologer-nicolaus-copernicus-who-wants-to/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [“Some of the men to whom Copernicus communicated his theory were German Lutherans, but when Luther came to know of it, he was profoundly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/some-of-the-men-to-whom-copernicus-communicated-his-theory-were/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“Misunderstood! It is a right fool's word. Is it so bad then to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/misunderstood-it-is-a-right-fool-s-word-is-it-so-bad-then-to-be/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“The Christians who engaged in infamous persecutions and shameful inquisitions were not evil men but misguided men. The churchmen who felt they had an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/the-christians-who-engaged-in-infamous-persecutions-and-shameful-2/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [Modern neurosis began with the discoveries of Copernicus. Science made men feel small by showing him that the earth was not the center of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/modern-neurosis-began-with-the-discoveries-of-copernicus-science-made/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [No one can read the history of astronomy without perceiving that Copernicus, Newton, Laplace, are not new men, or a new kind of men,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-one-can-read-the-history-of-astronomy-without-perceiving-that/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“So this is where all the vapid talk about the 'soul' of the universe is actually headed. 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It is no exaggeration to call Lobachevsky the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-temple-bell/the-full-impact-of-the-lobachevskian-method-of-challenging-axioms-has/) [Eric Temple Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-temple-bell/) > [This excerpt is presented as reproduced by Copernicus in the preface to De Revolutionibus: "Some think that the earth remains at rest. But Philolaus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/this-excerpt-is-presented-as-reproduced-by-copernicus-in-the-preface/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [Just as the line of astronomical thinkers from Copernicus to Newton had destroyed the old astronomy, in which the earth was the center, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-dickson-white/just-as-the-line-of-astronomical-thinkers-from-copernicus-to-newton/) [Andrew Dickson White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-dickson-white/) ## More by Ludwig Wittgenstein > [“But some of the greatest achievements in philosophy could only be compared with taking up some books which seemed to belong together, and putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/but-some-of-the-greatest-achievements-in-philosophy-could-only-be/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [What can be shown, cannot be said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/what-can-be-shown-cannot-be-said/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [“This is connected with the conception of naming as a process that is, so to speak, occult. Naming seems to be a \_strange\_ connection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/this-is-connected-with-the-conception-of-naming-as-a-process-that-is/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [If a lion could talk, we could not understand him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/if-a-lion-could-talk-we-could-not-understand-him/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [White must be the lightest color in a picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/white-must-be-the-lightest-color-in-a-picture/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [Freud's fanciful pseudo-explanations (precisely because they are brilliant) perform a disservice. Now any ass has these pictures available to use in "explaining" symptoms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/freud-s-fanciful-pseudo-explanations-precisely-because-they-are/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [In order to be able to set a limit to thought, we should have to find both sides of the limit thinkable (i.e. we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/in-order-to-be-able-to-set-a-limit-to-thought-we-should-have-to-find/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [A teacher who can show good, or indeed astounding results while he is teaching, is still not on that account a good teacher, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/a-teacher-who-can-show-good-or-indeed-astounding-results-while-he-is/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [One often makes a remark and only later sees how true it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/one-often-makes-a-remark-and-only-later-sees-how-true-it-is/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [Where does our investigation get its importance from, since it seems only to destroy everything interesting, that is, all that is great and important?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/where-does-our-investigation-get-its-importance-from-since-it-seems/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [There is such a thing as the impression of luminosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/there-is-such-a-thing-as-the-impression-of-luminosity/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [Death is not an event in life: we do not live to experience death. If we take eternity to mean not infinite temporal duration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/death-is-not-an-event-in-life-we-do-not-live-to-experience-death-if/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [I Once wrote: "In mathematics process and result are equivalent."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/i-once-wrote-in-mathematics-process-and-result-are-equivalent/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [Philosophy aims at the logical clarification of thoughts. Philosophy is not a body of doctrine but an activity. A philosophical work consists essentially of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/philosophy-aims-at-the-logical-clarification-of-thoughts-philosophy/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [“It is clear that ethics cannot be expressed. Ethics are transcendental. (Ethics and æsthetics are one.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/it-is-clear-that-ethics-cannot-be-expressed-ethics-are-transcendental/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) [Explore all 454 Ludwig Wittgenstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) ## More Copernicus quotes > [Just as the line of astronomical thinkers from Copernicus to Newton had destroyed the old astronomy, in which the earth was the center, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-dickson-white/just-as-the-line-of-astronomical-thinkers-from-copernicus-to-newton/) [Andrew Dickson White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-dickson-white/) > [This excerpt is presented as reproduced by Copernicus in the preface to De Revolutionibus: "Some think that the earth remains at rest. But Philolaus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/this-excerpt-is-presented-as-reproduced-by-copernicus-in-the-preface/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [The full impact of the Lobachevskian method of challenging axioms has probably yet to be felt. It is no exaggeration to call Lobachevsky the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-temple-bell/the-full-impact-of-the-lobachevskian-method-of-challenging-axioms-has/) [Eric Temple Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-temple-bell/) > [I live on the other side of Copernicus and Galileo; I can no longer conceive of God as sort of above the sky, looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-live-on-the-other-side-of-copernicus-and-galileo-i-can-no-longer/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [Who will venture to place the authority of Copernicus above that of the Holy Spirit?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/who-will-venture-to-place-the-authority-of-copernicus-above-that-of/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [“So this is where all the vapid talk about the 'soul' of the universe is actually headed. Once the hard-won principles of reason and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/so-this-is-where-all-the-vapid-talk-about-the-soul-of-the-universe-is/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [No one can read the history of astronomy without perceiving that Copernicus, Newton, Laplace, are not new men, or a new kind of men,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-one-can-read-the-history-of-astronomy-without-perceiving-that/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Modern neurosis began with the discoveries of Copernicus. Science made men feel small by showing him that the earth was not the center of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/modern-neurosis-began-with-the-discoveries-of-copernicus-science-made/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [“The Christians who engaged in infamous persecutions and shameful inquisitions were not evil men but misguided men. The churchmen who felt they had an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/the-christians-who-engaged-in-infamous-persecutions-and-shameful-2/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“Misunderstood! It is a right fool's word. Is it so bad then to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/misunderstood-it-is-a-right-fool-s-word-is-it-so-bad-then-to-be/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“Some of the men to whom Copernicus communicated his theory were German Lutherans, but when Luther came to know of it, he was profoundly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/some-of-the-men-to-whom-copernicus-communicated-his-theory-were/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [ “There is talk of a new astrologer \[Nicolaus Copernicus\] who wants to prove that the earth moves and goes around instead of the sky,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/there-is-talk-of-a-new-astrologer-nicolaus-copernicus-who-wants-to/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [Harvey , Galileo , Copernicus do not seem occult to us, but they did so to their contemporaries, hierophants of the mysteries of Natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/harvey-galileo-copernicus-do-not-seem-occult-to-us-but-they-did-so-to/) [Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/) > [“Every individual spends a lifetime trying to disprove Copernicus by placing him- or herself at the heart of existence, but a small core of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-connolly/every-individual-spends-a-lifetime-trying-to-disprove-copernicus-by/) [John Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-connolly/) > [Matter is real to my senses, but they aren't trustworthy. If Galileo or Copernicus had accepted what they saw, they would never have discovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/matter-is-real-to-my-senses-but-they-aren-t-trustworthy-if-galileo-or/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) Browse all 59 Copernicus quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What Copernicus really achieved was not the discovery of a true theory but of a fertile new point of view.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ludwig Wittgenstein" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/what-copernicus-really-achieved-was-not-the-discovery-of-a-true/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Copernicus" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/what-copernicus-really-achieved-was-not-the-discovery-of-a-true/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/441/ludwig-wittgenstein-582_copernicus_what-copernicus-really-achieved-was-not_2311873.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/441/ludwig-wittgenstein-582_copernicus_what-copernicus-really-achieved-was-not_2311873.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/441/ludwig-wittgenstein-582_copernicus_what-copernicus-really-achieved-was-not_2311873.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What Copernicus really achieved was not the discovery of a true theory but of a fertile new point of view.” — Ludwig Wittgenstein", "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": "Ludwig Wittgenstein", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What Copernicus really achieved was not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/what-copernicus-really-achieved-was-not-the-discovery-of-a-true/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/what-copernicus-really-achieved-was-not-the-discovery-of-a-true/#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 } } ] } ```