--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ... the scientist would maintain that…" description: "\"... the scientist would maintain that knowledge in of itself is wholly good, and that there should be and are methods of dealing with misuses of knowle..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f1/percy-williams-bridgman-26709_bully_the-scientist-would-maintain-that-knowle_3153591.jpg" --- # ... the scientist would maintain that knowledge in of… ![“... the scientist would maintain that knowledge in of itself is wholly good, and that there should be and are methods of dealing with misuses of knowledge by the ruffian or the bully other than by suppressing the knowledge.” quote by Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f1/percy-williams-bridgman-26709_bully_the-scientist-would-maintain-that-knowle_3153591.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f1/percy-williams-bridgman-26709_bully_the-scientist-would-maintain-that-knowle_3153591.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f1/percy-williams-bridgman-26709_bully_the-scientist-would-maintain-that-knowle_3153591.jpg) > “... the scientist would maintain that knowledge in of itself is wholly good, and that there should be and are methods of dealing with misuses of knowledge by the ruffian or the bully other than by suppressing the knowledge.” [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Knowledge is inherently good, but its misuse by malicious actors requires control, not suppression of the knowledge itself. **In simple terms:** Knowledge is good; misuse must be managed, not the knowledge banned. Key Takeaway Focus on regulating misuse, not restricting knowledge. Themes ethics knowledge power control Mood serious thoughtful Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - education - policy making - technology development - law enforcement Key Concepts moral responsibility information ethics Questions to Reflect On - How can societies prevent misuse without stifling discovery? - What safeguards balance knowledge freedom and safety? A Different Perspective Suppressing knowledge can hinder progress and innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bully/) [Ruffian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruffian/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist/) ## Related quotes > [“That was the glory of man - to nurture and maintain knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/that-was-the-glory-of-man-to-nurture-and-maintain-knowledge/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“It is important for an understanding of Plato to make a distinction at this point. Plato does not maintain that one must have knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-important-for-an-understanding-of-plato-to-make-a-distinction/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If one does not make human knowledge wholly dependent upon the original self-knowledge and consequent revelation of God to man, then man will have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelius-van-til/if-one-does-not-make-human-knowledge-wholly-dependent-upon-the/) [Cornelius Van Til](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelius-van-til/) > [“The man who is ready to prove that metaphysical knowledge is wholly impossible has no right here to any answer. He must be referred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-h-bradley-2/the-man-who-is-ready-to-prove-that-metaphysical-knowledge-is-wholly/) F.H. Bradley > [While tacit knowledge can be possessed by itself, explicit knowledge must rely on being tacitly understood and applied. Hence all knowledge is either tacit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-polanyi/while-tacit-knowledge-can-be-possessed-by-itself-explicit-knowledge/) [Michael Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-polanyi/) > [There ambush here relentless ruffians lay, And here the fell attorney prowls for prey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/there-ambush-here-relentless-ruffians-lay-and-here-the-fell-attorney/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Mediocrity is no answer to violence. In fact, it probably invites violence. At least the mediocre and the violent appear together as in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/mediocrity-is-no-answer-to-violence-in-fact-it-probably-invites/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [The rescue of a person, who is assaulted, or restrained of his liberty, without authority of law, is not only morally, but legally, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/the-rescue-of-a-person-who-is-assaulted-or-restrained-of-his-liberty/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [He who outrages benevolence is called a ruffian: he who outrages righteousness is called a villain. I have heard of the cutting off of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/he-who-outrages-benevolence-is-called-a-ruffian-he-who-outrages/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [He had risked his life and now it was walking away from him, hand-in-hand with a Ruffian prince.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/he-had-risked-his-life-and-now-it-was-walking-away-from-him-hand-in/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) > [... No photograph ever was good, yet, of anybody - hunger and thirst and utter wretchedness overtake the outlaw who invented it! It transforms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/no-photograph-ever-was-good-yet-of-anybody-hunger-and-thirst-and/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“Madrid. It was that time, the story of Don Zana 'The Marionette,' he with the hair of cream-colored string, he with the large and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-s-nchez-ferlosio/madrid-it-was-that-time-the-story-of-don-zana-the-marionette-he-with/) Rafael Sánchez Ferlosio > [Madam Life's a piece in bloom Death goes dogging everywhere: she's the tenant of the room, he's the ruffian on the stair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ernest-henley/madam-life-s-a-piece-in-bloom-death-goes-dogging-everywhere-she-s-the/) [William Ernest Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ernest-henley/) > [Be mild with the mild, shrewd with the crafty, confiding to the honest, rough to the ruffian, and a thunderbolt to the liar. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brown/be-mild-with-the-mild-shrewd-with-the-crafty-confiding-to-the-honest/) [John Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brown/) > [Thousands are the children of poor foreigners who have permitted them to grow up without school, education, or religion. All the neglect and bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-loring-brace/thousands-are-the-children-of-poor-foreigners-who-have-permitted-them/) Charles Loring Brace ## More by Percy Williams Bridgman > [To find the length of an object, we have to perform certain physical operations. The concept of length is therefore fixed when the operations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/to-find-the-length-of-an-object-we-have-to-perform-certain-physical/) [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) > [The true meaning of a term is to be found by observing what a man does with it, not by what he says about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/the-true-meaning-of-a-term-is-to-be-found-by-observing-what-a-man/) [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) > [It seems to me that there is a good deal of ballyhoo about scientific method. I venture to think that the people who talk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/it-seems-to-me-that-there-is-a-good-deal-of-ballyhoo-about-scientific/) [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) > [Coincidence is what you have left over when you apply a bad theory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/coincidence-is-what-you-have-left-over-when-you-apply-a-bad-theory/) [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) > [I can see no justification whatever for the attitude which refuses on purely a priori grounds to accept action at a distance ... Such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/i-can-see-no-justification-whatever-for-the-attitude-which-refuses-on/) [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) > [My point of view is that science is essentially private, whereas the almost universal counter point of view, explicitly stated in many of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/my-point-of-view-is-that-science-is-essentially-private-whereas-the/) [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) > [The first business of a man of science is to proclaim the truth as he finds it, and let the world adjust itself as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/the-first-business-of-a-man-of-science-is-to-proclaim-the-truth-as-he/) [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) > [But ... the working scientist ... is not consciously following any prescribed course of action, but feels complete freedom to utilize any method or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/but-the-working-scientist-is-not-consciously-following-any-prescribed/) [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) > [The result is that a generation of physicists is growing up who have never exercised any particular degree of individual initiative, who have had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/the-result-is-that-a-generation-of-physicists-is-growing-up-who-have/) [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) > [“The attitude which the man in the street unconsciously adopts towards science is capricious and varied. At one moment he scorns the scientist for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/the-attitude-which-the-man-in-the-street-unconsciously-adopts-towards/) [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) > [There is no adequate defense, except stupidity, against the impact of a new idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/there-is-no-adequate-defense-except-stupidity-against-the-impact-of-a/) [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) > [In general, we mean by any concept nothing more than a set of operations; the concept is synonymous with the corresponding set of operations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/in-general-we-mean-by-any-concept-nothing-more-than-a-set-of/) [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) > [The operational approach demands that we make our reports and do our thinking in the freshest terms of which we are capable, in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/the-operational-approach-demands-that-we-make-our-reports-and-do-our/) [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) > [“Not only are there meaningless questions, but many of the problems with which the human intellect has tortured itself turn out to be only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/not-only-are-there-meaningless-questions-but-many-of-the-problems/) [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) > [If a specific question has meaning, it must be possible to find operations by which an answer may be given to it ... I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/if-a-specific-question-has-meaning-it-must-be-possible-to-find/) [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) [Explore all 21 Percy Williams Bridgman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) ## More Bully quotes > [I never caught on to being a bully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nolte/i-never-caught-on-to-being-a-bully/) [Nick Nolte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-nolte/) > [There was no mistake in us making abortion legal and available on demand. That was what we call progress. Just like it was no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/there-was-no-mistake-in-us-making-abortion-legal-and-available-on/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [ \[Putin\] is a bully. And bullies only understand when we punch them in the nose, but we need to do that economically. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ayotte/putin-is-a-bully-and-bullies-only-understand-when-we-punch-them-in/) [Kelly Ayotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ayotte/) > [Bullies enjoy dark happiness; these are the blank parts that eventually fill their minds with nothingness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-shanks/bullies-enjoy-dark-happiness-these-are-the-blank-parts-that/) Emily Shanks > [“You fed us, washed us, forced that vile medicine down our throats. By sheer force of will you made some of us live who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-osborne/you-fed-us-washed-us-forced-that-vile-medicine-down-our-throats-by/) [Maggie Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-osborne/) > [Nothing can prepare you for living or working with a sociopathic serial bully. It is the most devastating, draining, misunderstood, and ultimately futile experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-field/nothing-can-prepare-you-for-living-or-working-with-a-sociopathic/) [Tim Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-field/) > [John McCain is a liar and flip-flopper and panderer and bully and whiner. And it seems to be working.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tomasky/john-mccain-is-a-liar-and-flip-flopper-and-panderer-and-bully-and/) Michael Tomasky > [Democracy becomes a government of bullies tempered by editors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/democracy-becomes-a-government-of-bullies-tempered-by-editors/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I daydreamed that when you grow up there are more bullies and how wonderful that would be if it were true, but, it's not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-daydreamed-that-when-you-grow-up-there-are-more-bullies-and-how/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [The real problem with Donald Trump is, if you engage him, it will only make things worse. 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