--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The longing for certainty... is in every…" description: "\"The longing for certainty... is in every human mind. But certainty is generally illusion.\" — Oliver Wendell Holmes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c38/oliver-wendell-holmes-12756_doubt_the-longing-for-certainty-is-in-every-hu_1759751.jpg" --- # The longing for certainty... is in every human mind. But… ![“The longing for certainty... is in every human mind. But certainty is generally illusion.” quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c38/oliver-wendell-holmes-12756_doubt_the-longing-for-certainty-is-in-every-hu_1759751.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c38/oliver-wendell-holmes-12756_doubt_the-longing-for-certainty-is-in-every-hu_1759751.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c38/oliver-wendell-holmes-12756_doubt_the-longing-for-certainty-is-in-every-hu_1759751.jpg) > “The longing for certainty... is in every human mind. But certainty is generally illusion.” [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human desire for absolute certainty is a universal illusion; we must accept uncertainty as part of life. **In simple terms:** We all want certainty, but it's an illusion. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty and stay adaptable. Themes certainty human nature illusion Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - decision making - scientific research - personal growth - risk assessment Key Concepts philosophy psychology epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How does uncertainty affect your choices? - What can you learn from embracing the unknown? A Different Perspective Overreliance on certainty can lead to fear of change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Certainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty/) [Certainty Generally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty-generally-1682168/) [Certainty Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty-human-1021003/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Human mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-mind/) [Longing Certainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing-certainty-1682166/) [Mind Certainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-certainty-1682167/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) ## Related quotes > [The language of judicial decision is mainly the language of logic. And the logical method and form flatter that longing for certainty and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/the-language-of-judicial-decision-is-mainly-the-language-of-logic-and/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [“Questioning anything within doubt, will just bring mind to no certainty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/questioning-anything-within-doubt-will-just-bring-mind-to-no-certainty/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [Certainty generally is illusion, and repose is not the destiny of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/certainty-generally-is-illusion-and-repose-is-not-the-destiny-of-man/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [“It was not a matter, mind you, of the certainty I had of being more intelligent than everyone else. Besides, such certainty is of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/it-was-not-a-matter-mind-you-of-the-certainty-i-had-of-being-more/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [People have a need for certainty - and that need for certainty is in every human being, certainty that you can avoid pain, certainty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/people-have-a-need-for-certainty-and-that-need-for-certainty-is-in/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [“I could boast that I was a man, but I could not claim with equal certainty that I was a human being.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-knight/i-could-boast-that-i-was-a-man-but-i-could-not-claim-with-equal/) [John Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-knight/) > [“God is love:' this, … supreme dictum of Christianity, … expresses the certainty which human feeling has of itself, … that the inmost wishes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-feuerbach/god-is-love-this-supreme-dictum-of-christianity-expresses-the/) [Ludwig Feuerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-feuerbach/) > [“But there is something delusional nonetheless in his optimistic certainty that human beings will wish to choose altruistic values without invoking transcendent principles. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/but-there-is-something-delusional-nonetheless-in-his-optimistic/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [From this bestial view that the human mind consists of only sense certainty, pleasure and pain, Locke developed an equally bestial theory of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-trout/from-this-bestial-view-that-the-human-mind-consists-of-only-sense/) [Robert Trout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-trout/) > [“We ought to regard the present state of the universe as the effect of its antecedent state and as the cause of the state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-simon-de-laplace/we-ought-to-regard-the-present-state-of-the-universe-as-the-effect-of/) [Pierre Simon de Laplace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-simon-de-laplace/) > [Nothing is more painful to the human mind than, after the feelings have been worked up by a quick succession of events, the dead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-is-more-painful-to-the-human-mind-than-after-the-feelings/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The more that the human mind is enlightened, the more desirous it becomes of farther acquisitions in knowledge. The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-stewart/the-more-that-the-human-mind-is-enlightened-the-more-desirous-it/) [Alexander Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-stewart/) > [Dogma is a powerful way of closing human mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-marley/dogma-is-a-powerful-way-of-closing-human-mind/) [Peter Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-marley/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) ## More by Oliver Wendell Holmes > [Even a dog knows the difference between being kicked and being stumbled over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/even-a-dog-knows-the-difference-between-being-kicked-and-being/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [There are a good many real miseries in life that we cannot help smiling at, but they are the smiles that make wrinkles and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/there-are-a-good-many-real-miseries-in-life-that-we-cannot-help/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [The great thing in this world is not so much where you stand, as in what direction you are moving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/the-great-thing-in-this-world-is-not-so-much-where-you-stand-as-in/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [A man's mind stretched by a new idea can never go back to its original dimensions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/a-man-s-mind-stretched-by-a-new-idea-can-never-go-back-to-its/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [Husband and wife come to look alike at last](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/husband-and-wife-come-to-look-alike-at-last/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [To brag little - to show well - to crow gently, if in luck - to pay up, to own up, and to shut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/to-brag-little-to-show-well-to-crow-gently-if-in-luck-to-pay-up-to/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [Beauty is only skin deep... but dont tell an ugly person that](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/beauty-is-only-skin-deep-but-dont-tell-an-ugly-person-that/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [The mind, once expanded to the dimensions of larger ideas, never returns to its original size.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/the-mind-once-expanded-to-the-dimensions-of-larger-ideas-never/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul, As the swift seasons roll! Leave thy low-vaulted past! Let each new temple, nobler than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/build-thee-more-stately-mansions-o-my-soul-as-the-swift-seasons-roll/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [Alas for those that never sing, but die with all their music in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/alas-for-those-that-never-sing-but-die-with-all-their-music-in-them/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [When men have realized that time has upset many fighting faiths, they may come to believe... that the ultimate good desired is better reached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/when-men-have-realized-that-time-has-upset-many-fighting-faiths-they/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [Don't be consistent but be simple true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/don-t-be-consistent-but-be-simple-true/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [When I think of talking, it is of course with a woman. For talking at its best being an inspiration, it wants a corresponding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/when-i-think-of-talking-it-is-of-course-with-a-woman-for-talking-at/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [If I had a formula for bypassing trouble, I would not pass it round. Trouble creates a capacity to handle it. I don't embrace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/if-i-had-a-formula-for-bypassing-trouble-i-would-not-pass-it-round/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [The woman cries before the wedding; the man afterward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/the-woman-cries-before-the-wedding-the-man-afterward/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) [Explore all 53 Oliver Wendell Holmes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) ## 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": "The longing for certainty... is in every human mind. 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