---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The knowable world is incomplete if seen…"
description: "\"The knowable world is incomplete if seen from any one point of view, incoherent if seen from all points of view at once, and empty if seen from nowhere..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3f/richard-shweder-111577_empty_the-knowable-world-is-incomplete-if-seen_3127118.png"
---

#  The knowable world is incomplete if seen from any one…

![“The knowable world is incomplete if seen from any one point of view, incoherent if seen from all points of view at once, and empty if seen from nowhere in particular.” quote by Richard Shweder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3f/richard-shweder-111577_empty_the-knowable-world-is-incomplete-if-seen_3127118.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3f/richard-shweder-111577_empty_the-knowable-world-is-incomplete-if-seen_3127118.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3f/richard-shweder-111577_empty_the-knowable-world-is-incomplete-if-seen_3127118.png)

> “The knowable world is incomplete if seen from any one point of view, incoherent if seen from all points of view at once, and empty if seen from nowhere in particular.”

Richard Shweder

## 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 limited by perspective; single views are incomplete, all views incoherent, and none gives certainty.

**In simple terms:** Perspective limits knowledge.

Key Takeaway

Seek multiple perspectives.

Themes

knowledge perspective uncertainty philosophy

Mood

curious analytical

Type

philosophical academic

When to use this quote

- education
- research
- decision making

Key Concepts

epistemology philosophy cognitive science

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you handle conflicting information?
- Can any view be truly objective?

A Different Perspective

Balancing all views is impossible.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Incoherent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incoherent/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Point of view](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/point-of-view/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/)

## Related quotes

> [Our world is incomplete until each one of us discovers what moves us - our passion. No other person can hear our calling. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leider/our-world-is-incomplete-until-each-one-of-us-discovers-what-moves-us/)

[Richard Leider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leider/)

> [My life was incoherent to me. I felt it quivering, spitting out broken teeth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/my-life-was-incoherent-to-me-i-felt-it-quivering-spitting-out-broken/)

[Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/)

> [“Could you possibly be a little more incoherent?" asked Olivenko. "There are bits of this I'm almost understanding, and I'm sure that's not what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/could-you-possibly-be-a-little-more-incoherent-asked-olivenko-there/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

> [You're a genius! And the proof is that both common people and intellectuals find your work completely incoherent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/you-re-a-genius-and-the-proof-is-that-both-common-people-and/)

[Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/)

> [Economic policies command bipartisan support only when they're incoherent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-landsburg/economic-policies-command-bipartisan-support-only-when-they-re/)

[Steven Landsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-landsburg/)

> [“Through living in a space that we do not understand, everything may become meaningless, incoherent, and forcefully scary. If fear rules our lives, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/through-living-in-a-space-that-we-do-not-understand-everything-may/)

[Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/)

> [Dreams are nothing but incoherent ideas, occasioned by partial or imperfect sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-rush/dreams-are-nothing-but-incoherent-ideas-occasioned-by-partial-or/)

[Benjamin Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-rush/)

> [“Whoever will take the trouble of reading the book ascribed to Isaiah, will find it one of the most wild and disorderly compositions ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/whoever-will-take-the-trouble-of-reading-the-book-ascribed-to-isaiah/)

[Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/)

> [An artist's job is to articulate what might otherwise be incoherent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-spero/an-artist-s-job-is-to-articulate-what-might-otherwise-be-incoherent/)

[Nancy Spero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-spero/)

> [We are, all of us, incoherent text, and just knowing that - knowing that no matter how much you say, 'I am this' and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/we-are-all-of-us-incoherent-text-and-just-knowing-that-knowing-that/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [Theism is so confused and the sentences in which "God" appears so incoherent and so incapable of verifiability or falsifiability that to speak of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-ayer/theism-is-so-confused-and-the-sentences-in-which-god-appears-so/)

[A.J. Ayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-ayer/)

> [“This is incoherent drivel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-is-incoherent-drivel/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The very idea of supernatural magic - including miracles - is incoherent, devoid of sensible meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-very-idea-of-supernatural-magic-including-miracles-is-incoherent/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [“He was in that familiar state - not that the occasion mattered to seriously to him -- of incoherent ideas spreading outward without a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/he-was-in-that-familiar-state-not-that-the-occasion-mattered-to/)

[Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/)

> [“You can improve an incoherent mess, but you can't improve nothing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/you-can-improve-an-incoherent-mess-but-you-can-t-improve-nothing/)

[David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/)

## More by Richard Shweder

> [The genius of culture is to create an ontological system so compelling that what is inside and outside of a person are viewed as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-shweder/the-genius-of-culture-is-to-create-an-ontological-system-so/)

Richard Shweder

Explore all 2 Richard Shweder quotes

## More Empty quotes

> [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/)

[Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/)

> [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/)

[Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/)

> [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/)

[Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/)

> [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/)

[John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/)

> [No sane local official who has hung up an empty stocking over the municipal fireplace is going to shoot Santa Claus just before a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-smith/no-sane-local-official-who-has-hung-up-an-empty-stocking-over-the/)

[Al Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-smith/)

> [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/)

[Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/)

> [“Joe!” he groaned, attempting to speak clearly. “Joe! Good ol’ Joe!” “Captain, you’re drunk!” Lofflin said, stating the obvious while trying to keep his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-engela/joe-he-groaned-attempting-to-speak-clearly-joe-good-ol-joe-captain/)

[Christina Engela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-engela/)

> [Why chase after thoughts, which are superficial ripples of present awareness? Rather look directly into the naked, empty nature of thoughts; then there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamgon-kongtrul/why-chase-after-thoughts-which-are-superficial-ripples-of-present/)

Jamgon Kongtrul

> [Education turns an empty mind into an open mind. It turns information into behavioural transformation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shiv-khera/education-turns-an-empty-mind-into-an-open-mind-it-turns-information/)

[Shiv Khera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shiv-khera/)

> [He that humbles himself shall be preserved entire. He that bends shall be made straight. He that is empty shall be filled. He that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/he-that-humbles-himself-shall-be-preserved-entire-he-that-bends-shall/)

[Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/)

> [Our real nature is not our imaginary, limited ego. Our true nature is vast, all-comprehensive, and intangible as empty space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anagarika-govinda/our-real-nature-is-not-our-imaginary-limited-ego-our-true-nature-is/)

[Anagarika Govinda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anagarika-govinda/)

> [Adults look upon a child as something empty that is to be filled through their own efforts, as something inert and helpless for which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/adults-look-upon-a-child-as-something-empty-that-is-to-be-filled/)

[Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/)

> [Man preys on man; and you mourn for the idle tapestry that decorated a gothic pillar, and the dronish bell that summoned the fat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/man-preys-on-man-and-you-mourn-for-the-idle-tapestry-that-decorated-a/)

[Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/)

> [I don't see the future as bright, language-wise. I see it as a glass half empty - and evaporating quickly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/i-don-t-see-the-future-as-bright-language-wise-i-see-it-as-a-glass/)

[Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/)

> [I get letters every year from women who think Valentine's Day is an empty exercise, but are ironically pretty exercised when their boyfriends neglect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-savage/i-get-letters-every-year-from-women-who-think-valentine-s-day-is-an/)

[Dan Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-savage/)

Browse all 3,081 Empty quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The knowable world is incomplete if seen from any one point of view, incoherent if seen from all points of view at once, and empty if seen from nowhere in particular.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Richard Shweder"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-shweder/the-knowable-world-is-incomplete-if-seen-from-any-one-point-of-view/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Empty"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-shweder/the-knowable-world-is-incomplete-if-seen-from-any-one-point-of-view/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3f/richard-shweder-111577_empty_the-knowable-world-is-incomplete-if-seen_3127118.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3f/richard-shweder-111577_empty_the-knowable-world-is-incomplete-if-seen_3127118.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3f/richard-shweder-111577_empty_the-knowable-world-is-incomplete-if-seen_3127118.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The knowable world is incomplete if seen from any one point of view, incoherent if seen from all points of…” — Richard Shweder",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Richard Shweder",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-shweder/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The knowable world is incomplete if...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-shweder/the-knowable-world-is-incomplete-if-seen-from-any-one-point-of-view/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-shweder/the-knowable-world-is-incomplete-if-seen-from-any-one-point-of-view/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
