--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It requires an act of extreme arrogance…" description: "\"“It requires an act of extreme arrogance to think that we can - through God or science - learn even the most fundamental secrets of the universe. To sa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a18/michel-templet-11969_arrogance_it-requires-an-act-of-extreme-arrogance_3029742.jpg" --- # It requires an act of extreme arrogance to think that we… ![“It requires an act of extreme arrogance to think that we can - through God or science - learn even the most fundamental secrets of the universe. To say as much claims that we are somehow greater than the universe in which we live, its masters, when in fact it is master of us.” quote by Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a18/michel-templet-11969_arrogance_it-requires-an-act-of-extreme-arrogance_3029742.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a18/michel-templet-11969_arrogance_it-requires-an-act-of-extreme-arrogance_3029742.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a18/michel-templet-11969_arrogance_it-requires-an-act-of-extreme-arrogance_3029742.jpg) > ““It requires an act of extreme arrogance to think that we can - through God or science - learn even the most fundamental secrets of the universe. To say as much claims that we are somehow greater than the universe in which we live, its masters, when in fact it is master of us.”” [Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Thinking we can master the universe shows extreme arrogance, ignoring we are its servants. **In simple terms:** Believing we can master the universe is arrogant. Key Takeaway Embrace humility before unknown. Themes philosophy science humility Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - academic discourse - public lectures - science communication Key Concepts epistemology human limits Questions to Reflect On - How does humility drive scientific inquiry? - What are the ethical bounds of knowledge? A Different Perspective Science still advances despite humility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arrogance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogance/) [Arrogance Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogance-think-2176701/) [Extreme Arrogance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extreme-arrogance-3701196/) [God Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-science/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Universe Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe-say-394278/) ## Related quotes > [It is extreme arrogance for one to think he is the only one who can govern his country and nobody else can do it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/it-is-extreme-arrogance-for-one-to-think-he-is-the-only-one-who-can/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [It is extreme arrogance for one to think he...and it's usually he, is the only one who can govern his country and nobody else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/it-is-extreme-arrogance-for-one-to-think-he-and-it-s-usually-he-is/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [There's arrogance for you. I think all artists insert themselves into their subject matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-blackall/there-s-arrogance-for-you-i-think-all-artists-insert-themselves-into/) [Sophie Blackall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-blackall/) > [“Much self-condemnation is a cloak for arrogance. Those who think they overcome pride by condemning themselves could well ponder Spinoza's remark "One who despises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/much-self-condemnation-is-a-cloak-for-arrogance-those-who-think-they/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [“It's utter arrogance to think that we can know what god ought to be or do. If we don't understand we must continue our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/it-s-utter-arrogance-to-think-that-we-can-know-what-god-ought-to-be/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [There are some men who, in a spirit of arrogance, think they are superior to women. They do not seem to realize that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley-2/there-are-some-men-who-in-a-spirit-of-arrogance-think-they-are/) [Gordon B Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley-2/) > [“Being rich means seeing all that's ugly and having the arrogance to think you can change things. All you have to do is pay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gr-goire-delacourt/being-rich-means-seeing-all-that-s-ugly-and-having-the-arrogance-to/) [Grégoire Delacourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gr-goire-delacourt/) > [Memory of our good works makes us negligent and leads to arrogance. Do not think of your good deeds, so that God may remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-john-chrysostom/memory-of-our-good-works-makes-us-negligent-and-leads-to-arrogance-do/) [Saint John Chrysostom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-john-chrysostom/) > [You can have a certain arrogance, and I think that's fine, but what you should never lose is the respect for the others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steffi-graf/you-can-have-a-certain-arrogance-and-i-think-that-s-fine-but-what-you/) [Steffi Graf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steffi-graf/) > [Worry is a form of arrogance, who am I to think I can fix my problems without God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-franklin/worry-is-a-form-of-arrogance-who-am-i-to-think-i-can-fix-my-problems/) [Kirk Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-franklin/) > [To be a star and stay a star, I think you've got to have a certain air of arrogance about you, a cockiness, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-morgan/to-be-a-star-and-stay-a-star-i-think-you-ve-got-to-have-a-certain-air/) [Joe Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-morgan/) > [“It takes a kind of arrogance to think everything in the world can be measured and weighed with our scientific instruments.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eowyn-ivey/it-takes-a-kind-of-arrogance-to-think-everything-in-the-world-can-be/) [Eowyn Ivey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eowyn-ivey/) > [“At the end of the walkway is a cat. It struts with arrogance. You'd think it just won the Nobel Prize. But it didn't.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-scott/at-the-end-of-the-walkway-is-a-cat-it-struts-with-arrogance-you-d/) [Victoria Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-scott/) > [“Words lose their meaning when you look at them too long. ‘God.’ ‘Science.’ Meaning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-frost/words-lose-their-meaning-when-you-look-at-them-too-long-god-science/) [Mark Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-frost/) > [There is always one true thing to believe in…God,Science,Karma or fate...one of this always judge u.So.. try to be good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jewel/there-is-always-one-true-thing-to-believe-in-god-science-karma-or/) [Jewel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jewel/) ## More by Michel Templet > [“Every adversity is just another opportunity to excel a little more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-templet/every-adversity-is-just-another-opportunity-to-excel-a-little-more/) [Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/) > [“To speak only one language is to do yourself a great injustice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-templet/to-speak-only-one-language-is-to-do-yourself-a-great-injustice/) [Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/) > [“There is no such thing as a victimless crime, and people should be allowed to do as they please with their own bodies and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-templet/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-victimless-crime-and-people-should-be/) [Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/) > [“Presidents are not elected anymore; they are hired.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-templet/presidents-are-not-elected-anymore-they-are-hired/) [Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/) > [“We have a problem when the same people who make the law get to decide whether or not they themselves have broken the law.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-templet/we-have-a-problem-when-the-same-people-who-make-the-law-get-to-decide/) [Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/) > [“I find it significant that most military veterans become pacifists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-templet/i-find-it-significant-that-most-military-veterans-become-pacifists/) [Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/) > [“We live in a nation where education and free thought are tantamount to treason, and I have to ask, under these circumstances, is treason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-templet/we-live-in-a-nation-where-education-and-free-thought-are-tantamount/) [Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/) > [“Patriotism is racism for the modern era.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-templet/patriotism-is-racism-for-the-modern-era/) [Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/) > [“Obama's plan for "change": Let's do everything Bush did, only with more suck! Because it just didn't suck badly enough the first time!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-templet/obama-s-plan-for-change-let-s-do-everything-bush-did-only-with-more/) [Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/) > [“Always remember, if you have been diagnosed with PTSD, it is not a sign of weakness; rather, it is proof of your strength, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-templet/always-remember-if-you-have-been-diagnosed-with-ptsd-it-is-not-a-sign/) [Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/) > [“Why am I a socialist? Simple: Because I believe in freedom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-templet/why-am-i-a-socialist-simple-because-i-believe-in-freedom/) [Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/) > [“On 11 September 2001, a bunch of Saudis killed almost 3000 US civilians, which led to the construction of a monument in New York…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-templet/on-11-september-2001-a-bunch-of-saudis-killed-almost-3000-us/) [Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/) > [“Is it morally acceptable to murder one hundred innocent people in the process of catching a serial killer who has murdered ten people? If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-templet/is-it-morally-acceptable-to-murder-one-hundred-innocent-people-in-the/) [Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/) > [“Barack Obama is an even worse president than George W. Bush, because an evil bastard who knows what he's doing is far more dangerous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-templet/barack-obama-is-an-even-worse-president-than-george-w-bush-because-an/) [Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/) > [“Presenting a rational argument to a person who has forsaken the use of reason is like asking a vegetarian to eat a cheeseburger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-templet/presenting-a-rational-argument-to-a-person-who-has-forsaken-the-use/) [Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/) [Explore all 57 Michel Templet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/) ## More Arrogance quotes > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [wishes for sons by Lucille Clifton i wish them cramps. i wish them a strange town and the last tampon. I wish them no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucille-clifton/wishes-for-sons-by-lucille-clifton-i-wish-them-cramps-i-wish-them-a/) [Lucille Clifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucille-clifton/) > [The structure of the Swiss ruling class is rock-hard, and unchanged since the time of Napoleon. They sit on their mountains and lecture the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ziegler/the-structure-of-the-swiss-ruling-class-is-rock-hard-and-unchanged/) [Jean Ziegler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ziegler/) > [What you see of me on TV and all of that, that is me - that's truly how I feel. I'm just multiplying it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-corbin/what-you-see-of-me-on-tv-and-all-of-that-that-is-me-that-s-truly-how/) [Baron Corbin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-corbin/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Never mistake someones quietness for their arrogance as you can surely miss out on an awsome personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-mistake-someones-quietness-for-their-arrogance-as-you-can/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/most-of-us-think-of-pride-as-self-centeredness-conceit-boastfulness/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [“I was consumed by a selfishness and arrogance that I didn't dare let go of until I found a new persona to hide behind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-koomson/i-was-consumed-by-a-selfishness-and-arrogance-that-i-didn-t-dare-let/) [Dorothy Koomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-koomson/) > [Arrogance is the outgrowth of prosperity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/arrogance-is-the-outgrowth-of-prosperity/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [Timing and arrogance are decisive factors in the successful use of talent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-mannes/timing-and-arrogance-are-decisive-factors-in-the-successful-use-of/) [Marya Mannes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-mannes/) > [Some say work smarter, not harder, but the wisest are both. Whether you're more of a hard worker or a smart worker, if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colby-tatem/some-say-work-smarter-not-harder-but-the-wisest-are-both-whether-you/) [Colby Tatem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colby-tatem/) > [Closed some doors, not because of pride, incapacity or arrogance, but simply because they no longer lead somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frenz-jeffrey/closed-some-doors-not-because-of-pride-incapacity-or-arrogance-but/) [Frenz Jeffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frenz-jeffrey/) > [My success isn't a result of arrogance - it's a result of belief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-mcgregor/my-success-isn-t-a-result-of-arrogance-it-s-a-result-of-belief/) [Conor McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-mcgregor/) > [“...a great man who is vicious will only be a great doer of evil, and a rich man who is not liberal will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-cervantes/a-great-man-who-is-vicious-will-only-be-a-great-doer-of-evil-and-a/) [Miguel Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-cervantes/) > [An increasing number of people are growing uncomfortable with the gulf between the world's rich and the poor. Ostentatiously splashing your money around simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalle-lasn/an-increasing-number-of-people-are-growing-uncomfortable-with-the/) [Kalle Lasn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kalle-lasn/) [Browse all 1,418 Arrogance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It requires an act of extreme arrogance to think that we can - through God or science - learn even the most fundamental secrets of the universe. 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