--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By doubting we come to inquiry. By…" description: "\"By doubting we come to inquiry. By inquiry we come to Truth.\" — Peter Abelard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81c/peter-abelard-18595_doubt_by-doubting-we-come-to-inquiry-by-inquir_214937.jpg" --- # By doubting we come to inquiry. By inquiry we come to Truth. ![“By doubting we come to inquiry. By inquiry we come to Truth.” quote by Peter Abelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81c/peter-abelard-18595_doubt_by-doubting-we-come-to-inquiry-by-inquir_214937.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81c/peter-abelard-18595_doubt_by-doubting-we-come-to-inquiry-by-inquir_214937.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81c/peter-abelard-18595_doubt_by-doubting-we-come-to-inquiry-by-inquir_214937.jpg) > “By doubting we come to inquiry. By inquiry we come to Truth.” [Peter Abelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abelard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Questioning leads to investigation, which ultimately reveals truth. **In simple terms:** Doubt sparks inquiry, inquiry finds truth. Key Takeaway Embrace doubt to discover truth. Themes philosophy epistemology critical thinking Mood curious reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - academic research - personal belief examination - scientific method Key Concepts Socratic method truth seeking Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions are you questioning today? - How does inquiry change your perspective? A Different Perspective Doubt can paralyze if not followed by action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Inquiry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inquiry/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [In doubting we come to inquiry; by inquiry we perceive the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-abelard/in-doubting-we-come-to-inquiry-by-inquiry-we-perceive-the-truth/) [Peter Abelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abelard/) > [It is by doubting that we come to investigate, and by investigating that we recognize the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-abelard/it-is-by-doubting-that-we-come-to-investigate-and-by-investigating/) [Peter Abelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abelard/) > [By doubting we come to questioning, and by questioning we perceive the truth,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-abelard/by-doubting-we-come-to-questioning-and-by-questioning-we-perceive-the/) [Peter Abelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abelard/) > [“By doubting we come to enquiry, and through enquiry we perceive truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-abelard/by-doubting-we-come-to-enquiry-and-through-enquiry-we-perceive-truth/) [Peter Abelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abelard/) > [Difference of opinion leads to inquiry, and inquiry to the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/difference-of-opinion-leads-to-inquiry-and-inquiry-to-the-truth/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [By doubting we come at truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/by-doubting-we-come-at-truth/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [The beginning of wisdom is found in doubting; by doubting we come to the question, and by seeking we may come upon the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-beginning-of-wisdom-is-found-in-doubting-by-doubting-we-come-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“By doubting we come to the question, and by questioning we may come upon the truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-ab-lard/by-doubting-we-come-to-the-question-and-by-questioning-we-may-come/) Pierre Abélard > [I am very self-doubting; it has come out of experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahira-khan/i-am-very-self-doubting-it-has-come-out-of-experience/) [Mahira Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahira-khan/) > [“By doubting we are led to enquiry, and by enquiry we discern the truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-abelard/by-doubting-we-are-led-to-enquiry-and-by-enquiry-we-discern-the-truth/) [Peter Abelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abelard/) > [By doubting we are led to enquire, and by enquiry we perceive the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-abelard/by-doubting-we-are-led-to-enquire-and-by-enquiry-we-perceive-the-truth/) [Peter Abelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abelard/) > [The inquiry into Nature having thus been pursued nearly two thousand years theologically, we find by the middle of the sixteenth century some promising…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-dickson-white/the-inquiry-into-nature-having-thus-been-pursued-nearly-two-thousand/) [Andrew Dickson White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-dickson-white/) > [What the world needs is not dogma but an attitude of scientific inquiry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/what-the-world-needs-is-not-dogma-but-an-attitude-of-scientific/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [The greater the interest involved in a truth the more careful, self-distrustful, and patient should be the inquiry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/the-greater-the-interest-involved-in-a-truth-the-more-careful-self/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [“Assiduous and frequent questioning is indeed the first key to wisdom... for by doubting we come to inquiry; through inquiring we perceive the truth...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-abelard/assiduous-and-frequent-questioning-is-indeed-the-first-key-to-wisdom/) [Peter Abelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abelard/) ## More by Peter Abelard > [“Assiduous and frequent questioning is indeed the first key to wisdom... for by doubting we come to inquiry; through inquiring we perceive the truth...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-abelard/assiduous-and-frequent-questioning-is-indeed-the-first-key-to-wisdom/) [Peter Abelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abelard/) > [The key to wisdom is this - constant and frequent questioning, for by doubting we are led to question and by questioning we arrive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-abelard/the-key-to-wisdom-is-this-constant-and-frequent-questioning-for-by/) [Peter Abelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abelard/) > [I had wished to find in philosophy and religion a remedy for my disgrace; I searched out an asylum to secure me from love...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-abelard/i-had-wished-to-find-in-philosophy-and-religion-a-remedy-for-my/) [Peter Abelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abelard/) > [“By doubting we are led to enquiry, and by enquiry we discern the truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-abelard/by-doubting-we-are-led-to-enquiry-and-by-enquiry-we-discern-the-truth/) [Peter Abelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abelard/) > [In comparing your sorrows with mine, you may discover that yours are in truth nought.. and so shall you come to bear them the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-abelard/in-comparing-your-sorrows-with-mine-you-may-discover-that-yours-are/) [Peter Abelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abelard/) > [Chess is a good way to learn, to keep your brain fit and the ego in check, a mental form of your local gymnasium.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-abelard/chess-is-a-good-way-to-learn-to-keep-your-brain-fit-and-the-ego-in/) [Peter Abelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abelard/) > [I preferred the weapons of dialectic to all the other teachings of philosophy, and armed with these, I chose the conflicts of disputation rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-abelard/i-preferred-the-weapons-of-dialectic-to-all-the-other-teachings-of/) [Peter Abelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abelard/) > [“We do many things carelessly or unwillingly, but nothing studiously unless we are willing and apply ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-abelard/we-do-many-things-carelessly-or-unwillingly-but-nothing-studiously/) [Peter Abelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abelard/) > [The purpose and cause of the incarnation was that He might illuminate the world by His wisdom and excite it to the love of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-abelard/the-purpose-and-cause-of-the-incarnation-was-that-he-might-illuminate/) [Peter Abelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abelard/) > [Are you not moved to tears and bitter compassion, when you behold the only Son of God seized by the most impious, dragged away,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-abelard/are-you-not-moved-to-tears-and-bitter-compassion-when-you-behold-the/) [Peter Abelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abelard/) > [We call an intention good which is right in itself, but the action is good, not because it contains within it some good, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-abelard/we-call-an-intention-good-which-is-right-in-itself-but-the-action-is/) [Peter Abelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abelard/) > [“By doubting we come to enquiry, and through enquiry we perceive truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-abelard/by-doubting-we-come-to-enquiry-and-through-enquiry-we-perceive-truth/) [Peter Abelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abelard/) > [Language is generated by the intellect and generates the intellect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-abelard/language-is-generated-by-the-intellect-and-generates-the-intellect/) [Peter Abelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abelard/) > [“The master key of knowledge is, indeed, a persistent and frequent questioning. Aristotle, the most clear-sighted of all the philosophers, was desirous above all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-abelard/the-master-key-of-knowledge-is-indeed-a-persistent-and-frequent/) [Peter Abelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abelard/) > [Alone thou goest forth, O Lord, in sacrifice to die; is this thy sorrow naught to us who pass unheeding by? Our sins, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-abelard/alone-thou-goest-forth-o-lord-in-sacrifice-to-die-is-this-thy-sorrow/) [Peter Abelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abelard/) [Explore all 34 Peter Abelard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abelard/) ## More Doubt quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I don't doubt that straight white men have identity issues and identity complexes and struggle with defining themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-simien/i-don-t-doubt-that-straight-white-men-have-identity-issues-and/) [Justin Simien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-simien/) > [“Where there is doubt (shanka), there is misery. The moment one begins to doubt the knowledge that, 'I am Chandubhai,' misery arises. Once one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-is-doubt-shanka-there-is-misery-the-moment-one-begins-to/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [We know accurately only when we know little, with knowledge doubt increases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-know-accurately-only-when-we-know-little-with-knowledge-doubt/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [There is no doubt in my mind and I know in my time, there will be a Canadian basketball player playing for Toronto Raptors, 100%](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masai-ujiri/there-is-no-doubt-in-my-mind-and-i-know-in-my-time-there-will-be-a/) [Masai Ujiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masai-ujiri/) > [How could you feel worthless when God has honoured you by creating you and choosing you to be with Him, in this life and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/how-could-you-feel-worthless-when-god-has-honoured-you-by-creating/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [“Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. On the contrary, the deep, inexpressible certitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/let-no-one-hope-to-find-in-contemplation-an-escape-from-conflict-from/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [“Two powerful, little words I've learned to use when facing challenges, fears, and doubts— so what? ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/two-powerful-little-words-i-ve-learned-to-use-when-facing-challenges/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [For diplomacy to be effective, words must be credible - and no one can now doubt the word of America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/for-diplomacy-to-be-effective-words-must-be-credible-and-no-one-can/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Vision motivates, sustains and dispels doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-young/vision-motivates-sustains-and-dispels-doubt/) [Thomas Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-young/) > [One may not doubt that, somehow Good Shall come of Water and of Mud; And sure, the reverent eye must see A purpose in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-brooke/one-may-not-doubt-that-somehow-good-shall-come-of-water-and-of-mud/) [Rupert Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-brooke/) > [Let smiles overshadow sadness. Let faith make you believe. Let confidence wash away doubts. Let love complete your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/let-smiles-overshadow-sadness-let-faith-make-you-believe-let/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [When in doubt, suggest that a subcommittee be appointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapman/when-in-doubt-suggest-that-a-subcommittee-be-appointed/) Harry Chapman > [“Those who contemplate never escape the doubt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/those-who-contemplate-never-escape-the-doubt/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) [Browse all 9,582 Doubt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "By doubting we come to inquiry. 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