--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Scientists disagree among themselves but…" description: "\"Scientists disagree among themselves but they never fight over their disagreements. They argue about evidence or go out and seek new evidence. Much the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a3/richard-dawkins-115_arguing_scientists-disagree-among-themselves-but_1626480.jpg" --- # Scientists disagree among themselves but they never fight… ![“Scientists disagree among themselves but they never fight over their disagreements. They argue about evidence or go out and seek new evidence. Much the same is true of philosophers, historians and literary critics.” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a3/richard-dawkins-115_arguing_scientists-disagree-among-themselves-but_1626480.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a3/richard-dawkins-115_arguing_scientists-disagree-among-themselves-but_1626480.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a3/richard-dawkins-115_arguing_scientists-disagree-among-themselves-but_1626480.jpg) > “Scientists disagree among themselves but they never fight over their disagreements. They argue about evidence or go out and seek new evidence. Much the same is true of philosophers, historians and literary critics.” [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Scientists may hold opposing views but resolve them through evidence and research, not personal conflict. **In simple terms:** Scientists argue with data, not fights. Key Takeaway Focus on evidence, not ego. Themes science debate collaboration Mood thoughtful analytical Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - research labs - academic conferences - peer review - policy discussions Key Concepts epistemology critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How can we foster respectful scientific discourse? - What role does humility play in research? A Different Perspective Disagreements can still become personal or politicized. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arguing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arguing/) [Critics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critics/) [Disagree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disagree/) [Disagree Fight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disagree-fight-342302/) [Disagreement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disagreement/) [Disagreements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disagreements/) [Disagreements Argue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disagreements-argue-342300/) [Evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evidence/) [Fight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fight/) [Fight Disagreements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fight-disagreements-342301/) [Fighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting/) [Historian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historian/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never/) [New](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new/) [Philosopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosopher/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist/) [Scientists Disagree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientists-disagree-342299/) [True](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true/) ## Related quotes > [A delusion that encourages belief where there is no evidence is asking for trouble. Disagreements between incompatible beliefs cannot be settled by reasoned argument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/a-delusion-that-encourages-belief-where-there-is-no-evidence-is/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [How could two teams of scientists come to such obviously contradictory conclusions on seemingly every point that matters in the debate over global warming?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-l-bast/how-could-two-teams-of-scientists-come-to-such-obviously/) [Joseph L. Bast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-l-bast/) > [Any time scientists disagree, it's because we have insufficient data. Then we can agree on what kind of data to get; we get the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/any-time-scientists-disagree-it-s-because-we-have-insufficient-data/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“I would disagree with fight or flight. That leaves no room for compromise and understanding.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-marz/i-would-disagree-with-fight-or-flight-that-leaves-no-room-for/) [Ron Marz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-marz/) > [I believe that anarchists should agree to disagree but not to fight with each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-believe-that-anarchists-should-agree-to-disagree-but-not-to-fight/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [It's true we have our disagreements on border issues, we have disagreements on trade and related issues, but you don't go invading a country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meles-zenawi/it-s-true-we-have-our-disagreements-on-border-issues-we-have/) [Meles Zenawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meles-zenawi/) > [Disagreements over money are the biggest cause of divorce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/disagreements-over-money-are-the-biggest-cause-of-divorce/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [We should stop looking to law to provide the final answer… Law cannot save us from ourselves… We have to go out and try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-howard/we-should-stop-looking-to-law-to-provide-the-final-answer-law-cannot/) [Philip K. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-howard/) > [“Being loved means; are disagreements welcome in my relationships? If you cant disagree with someone then you live in a tyranny and if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-molyneux/being-loved-means-are-disagreements-welcome-in-my-relationships-if/) [Stefan Molyneux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-molyneux/) > [“Bonnie and Jerry told me they never run away fro disagreements. They face each one head-on. "By holding it in, you'll begin to slowly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fawn-weaver/bonnie-and-jerry-told-me-they-never-run-away-fro-disagreements-they/) [Fawn Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fawn-weaver/) > [Some soldier will say, 'You know, sir, you and I have some political disagreements, but I'm glad you came all the way out here.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/some-soldier-will-say-you-know-sir-you-and-i-have-some-political/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [When men abandon reason, physical force becomes their only means of dealing with one another and of settling disagreements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/when-men-abandon-reason-physical-force-becomes-their-only-means-of/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Harmony is a symphony, and symphony is an agreement; but an agreement of disagreements while they disagree there cannot be; you cannot harmonize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/harmony-is-a-symphony-and-symphony-is-an-agreement-but-an-agreement/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Surely the better way is to pursue a generous orthodoxy, seeing disagreements in the context of the greater agreements which bind us together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alister-e-mcgrath/surely-the-better-way-is-to-pursue-a-generous-orthodoxy-seeing/) [Alister E. McGrath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alister-e-mcgrath/) > [There have been major disagreements within the European Union.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-pierre-raffarin/there-have-been-major-disagreements-within-the-european-union/) [Jean-Pierre Raffarin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-pierre-raffarin/) ## More by Richard Dawkins > [At the deepest level, all living things that have ever been looked at have the same DNA code. And many of the same genes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/at-the-deepest-level-all-living-things-that-have-ever-been-looked-at/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“The fundamentalist Kurt Wise proclaims that all the evidence in the universe would not change his mind. The true scientist, however passionately he may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-fundamentalist-kurt-wise-proclaims-that-all-the-evidence-in-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Religions do make claims about the universe--the same kinds of claims that scientists make, except they're usually false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/religions-do-make-claims-about-the-universe-the-same-kinds-of-claims/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“much of the Bible is not systematically evil but just plain weird, as you would expect of a chaotically cobbled-together anthology of disjointed documents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/much-of-the-bible-is-not-systematically-evil-but-just-plain-weird-as/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The recurrent laryngeal nerve - which runs from the head to the voice box - goes all the way down into the chest, loops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-recurrent-laryngeal-nerve-which-runs-from-the-head-to-the-voice/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The Roman Catholic Church is an institution for whose gains the phrase "ill-gotten" might have been specially invented. And of all its money-making rip-offs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-roman-catholic-church-is-an-institution-for-whose-gains-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to because we may then at least have the chance to upset their designs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/let-us-understand-what-our-own-selfish-genes-are-up-to-because-we-may/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [What's going to happen when I die? I may be buried, or I may be cremated, I may give my body to science. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/what-s-going-to-happen-when-i-die-i-may-be-buried-or-i-may-be/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Or why it is acceptable to train fast runners and high jumpers but not to breed them. I can think of some answers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/or-why-it-is-acceptable-to-train-fast-runners-and-high-jumpers-but/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [We have seen that living things are too improbable and too beautifully 'designed' to have come into existence by chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-have-seen-that-living-things-are-too-improbable-and-too/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“We will not go quietly away. If in the future that requires violence”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-will-not-go-quietly-away-if-in-the-future-that-requires-violence/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [It's a truly disgusting idea that the creator of the universe - capable of inventing the laws of physics and designing the evolutionary process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/it-s-a-truly-disgusting-idea-that-the-creator-of-the-universe-capable/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) [Explore all 1,239 Richard Dawkins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## More Arguing quotes > [I do wish you wouldn't argue with me when I'm knitting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-durrell/i-do-wish-you-wouldn-t-argue-with-me-when-i-m-knitting/) [Gerald Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-durrell/) > [Any comprehensive doctrine, religious or secular, can be introduced into any political argument at any time, but I argue that people who do this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/any-comprehensive-doctrine-religious-or-secular-can-be-introduced/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [It's fine to talk about politics with people you agree with. But it is rude to argue about politics with people you disagree with.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-lessig/it-s-fine-to-talk-about-politics-with-people-you-agree-with-but-it-is/) [Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-lessig/) > [Men are fair, and they have learned not to personalize anger - they can disagree with you and argue to the bone, but afterward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/men-are-fair-and-they-have-learned-not-to-personalize-anger-they-can/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [When Eudæmonidas heard a philosopher arguing that only a wise man can be a good general, "This is a wonderful speech," said he; "but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/when-eud-monidas-heard-a-philosopher-arguing-that-only-a-wise-man-can/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [Fasting is required, staying away from fighting and arguing and bombing of masjids is still going on. Hatred is still manifested between Sunni and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-farrakhan/fasting-is-required-staying-away-from-fighting-and-arguing-and/) [Louis Farrakhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-farrakhan/) > [The problem for the Left, however, is that the moment it stops painting the Right as vile, it has to argue the issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/the-problem-for-the-left-however-is-that-the-moment-it-stops-painting/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/to-argue-with-a-person-who-has-renounced-the-use-of-reason-is-like/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [You can argue that the Terminator movies reboot their world each time they go back in time, but that doesn't negate the value of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hayter/you-can-argue-that-the-terminator-movies-reboot-their-world-each-time/) [David Hayter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hayter/) > [We may argue eloquently that 'Honesty is the best Policy' - unfortunately, the moment honesty is adopted for the sake of policy it mysteriously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/we-may-argue-eloquently-that-honesty-is-the-best-policy-unfortunately/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [I'm a very serious person, but I don't take myself very seriously and I would rather laugh all day than argue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stone-cold-steve-austin/i-m-a-very-serious-person-but-i-don-t-take-myself-very-seriously-and/) [Stone Cold Steve Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stone-cold-steve-austin/) > [These eyes, tho' clear To outward view of blemish or of spot, Bereft of light, their seeing have forgot, Nor to their idle orbs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/these-eyes-tho-clear-to-outward-view-of-blemish-or-of-spot-bereft-of/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [There's crucial distinction that has to be drawn between the Shari'a, which is this hugely expansive vision of cosmic order that I've been describing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadakat-kadri/there-s-crucial-distinction-that-has-to-be-drawn-between-the-shari-a/) [Sadakat Kadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadakat-kadri/) > [Only fools argue whether to eat meat or not. They don't understand truth nor do they meditate on it. Who can define what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guru-nanak/only-fools-argue-whether-to-eat-meat-or-not-they-don-t-understand/) [Guru Nanak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guru-nanak/) > [The surest sign that you haven't any sense is to argue with one who hasn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-j-peter/the-surest-sign-that-you-haven-t-any-sense-is-to-argue-with-one-who/) [Laurence J. Peter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-j-peter/) [Browse all 1,908 Arguing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arguing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Scientists disagree among themselves but they never fight over their disagreements. They argue about evidence or go out and seek new evidence. 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