--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Certitude belongs exclusively to those…" description: "\"Certitude belongs exclusively to those who only own one encyclopedia.\" — Robert Anton Wilson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30c/robert-anton-wilson-1198_certitude_certitude-belongs-exclusively-to-those-w_691698.jpg" --- # Certitude belongs exclusively to those who only own one… ![“Certitude belongs exclusively to those who only own one encyclopedia.” quote by Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30c/robert-anton-wilson-1198_certitude_certitude-belongs-exclusively-to-those-w_691698.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30c/robert-anton-wilson-1198_certitude_certitude-belongs-exclusively-to-those-w_691698.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30c/robert-anton-wilson-1198_certitude_certitude-belongs-exclusively-to-those-w_691698.jpg) > “Certitude belongs exclusively to those who only own one encyclopedia.” [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He critiques that certainty often stems from limited knowledge, encouraging humility. **In simple terms:** Certainty comes from limited knowledge. Key Takeaway Question assumptions, stay curious. Themes knowledge certainty humility critical thinking Mood skeptical introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - academic research - personal decision‑making - public discourse Key Concepts epistemology cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance confidence with openness? - What sources broaden your perspective? A Different Perspective Over‑questioning can lead to indecision. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belongs Exclusively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belongs-exclusively-1653262/) [Certitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certitude/) [Certitude Belongs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certitude-belongs-2686143/) [Encyclopedia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encyclopedia/) [Exclusively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exclusively-433137/) [Exclusively Encyclopedia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exclusively-encyclopedia-5494438/) [Only](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/only/) [Own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/own/) [Those](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/those/) [Who](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who/) ## Related quotes > [Certitude belongs exclusively to those who only look in one encyclopedia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/certitude-belongs-exclusively-to-those-who-only-look-in-one/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [ \[My wife\] liked to collect old encyclopedias from second-hand bookstores, and at one point we had eight of them. When I wrote my first… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/my-wife-liked-to-collect-old-encyclopedias-from-second-hand/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [I am increasingly persuaded that the earth belongs exclusively to the living and that one generation has no more right to bind another to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-increasingly-persuaded-that-the-earth-belongs-exclusively-to-the/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Crime belongs exclusively to the lower orders. I don't blame them in the smallest degree. I should fancy that crime was to them what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/crime-belongs-exclusively-to-the-lower-orders-i-don-t-blame-them-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Belief in the traditional sense, or certitude, or dogma, amounts to the grandiose delusion, "My current model" -- or grid, or map, or reality-tunnel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/belief-in-the-traditional-sense-or-certitude-or-dogma-amounts-to-the/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [My own opinion is that belief is the death of intelligence. As soon as one believes a doctrine of any sort, or assumes certitude,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/my-own-opinion-is-that-belief-is-the-death-of-intelligence-as-soon-as/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [Certitude is seized by some minds, not because there is any philosophical justification for it, but because such minds have an emotional need for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/certitude-is-seized-by-some-minds-not-because-there-is-any/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [Belief Systems contradict both science and ordinary "common sense." B.S. contradicts science, because it claims certitude and science can never achieve certitude: it can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/belief-systems-contradict-both-science-and-ordinary-common-sense-b-s/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [My experience of dancing is exclusively at weddings or parties with alcohol involved and in the dark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelvin-fletcher/my-experience-of-dancing-is-exclusively-at-weddings-or-parties-with/) [Kelvin Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelvin-fletcher/) > [The assets of the Jewish National Home must be created exclusively through our own work, for only the product of the Hebrew labor can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ben-gurion/the-assets-of-the-jewish-national-home-must-be-created-exclusively/) [David Ben-Gurion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ben-gurion/) > [I'm not exclusively into R&B. I like Usher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neha-dhupia/i-m-not-exclusively-into-r-b-i-like-usher/) [Neha Dhupia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neha-dhupia/) > [“Freiheit ist immer die Freiheit des Andersdenkenden Freedom is always, and exclusively, freedom for the one who thinks differently.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosa-luxemburg/freiheit-ist-immer-die-freiheit-des-andersdenkenden-freedom-is-always/) [Rosa Luxemburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosa-luxemburg/) > [Science deals exclusively with things as they are in themselves; and art exclusively with things as they affect the human sense and human soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/science-deals-exclusively-with-things-as-they-are-in-themselves-and/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [I'm not interested in anything but emotionally driven stories; that's why almost all of my work is exclusively anchored by women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-murphy/i-m-not-interested-in-anything-but-emotionally-driven-stories-that-s/) [Ryan Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-murphy/) > [“All the knowledge I possess every one else can acquire, but my heart is exclusively my own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/all-the-knowledge-i-possess-every-one-else-can-acquire-but-my-heart/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) ## More by Robert Anton Wilson > [Every fact of science was once Damned. Every invention was considered impossible. Every discovery was a nervous shock to some orthodoxy. Every artistic innovation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/every-fact-of-science-was-once-damned-every-invention-was-considered/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [The only way to stave off boredom, in a complex domesticated primate like humankind, is to increase one's intelligence. This is not appealing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/the-only-way-to-stave-off-boredom-in-a-complex-domesticated-primate/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [Disobedience was man's Original Virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/disobedience-was-man-s-original-virtue/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [In every state of the Union, Fundamentalists still fight to ban all the science they dislike and prosecute all who teach it. To them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/in-every-state-of-the-union-fundamentalists-still-fight-to-ban-all/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [It is a great privilege to be conscious in this universe. Those who understand, shine like stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/it-is-a-great-privilege-to-be-conscious-in-this-universe-those-who/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [I will do anything, including highway robbery and murder, to avoid leaving my children in poverty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-will-do-anything-including-highway-robbery-and-murder-to-avoid/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [I see anarchism as the theoretical ideal to which we are all gradually evolving to a point where everybody can tell the truth to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-see-anarchism-as-the-theoretical-ideal-to-which-we-are-all/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [“Masturbation is not the happiest form of sexuality, but the most advisable for him who wants to be alone and think. I detect the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/masturbation-is-not-the-happiest-form-of-sexuality-but-the-most/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [I like pacifists and people who have a heavy emotional identification with deathism and war would probably call me a pacifist, but I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-like-pacifists-and-people-who-have-a-heavy-emotional-identification/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [Cynics regarded everybody as equally corrupt... Idealists regarded everybody as equally corrupt, except themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/cynics-regarded-everybody-as-equally-corrupt-idealists-regarded/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [The most important truths always appear first as blasphemies or obscenities. That's why every great innovator is persecuted. And the sacraments look obscene, too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/the-most-important-truths-always-appear-first-as-blasphemies-or/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [“When you're dealing with these forces or powers in a philosophic and scientific way, contemplating them from an armchair, that rationalistic approach is useful.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/when-you-re-dealing-with-these-forces-or-powers-in-a-philosophic-and/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [“And Spaceship Earth, that glorious and bloody circus, continued its four-billion-year-long spiral orbit about the Sun; the engineering, I must admit, was so exquisite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/and-spaceship-earth-that-glorious-and-bloody-circus-continued-its/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [Existence is larger than any model that is not itself the exact size of existence (which has no size).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/existence-is-larger-than-any-model-that-is-not-itself-the-exact-size/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [The totally convinced and the totally stupid have too much in common for the resemblance to be accidental.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/the-totally-convinced-and-the-totally-stupid-have-too-much-in-common/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) [Explore all 274 Robert Anton Wilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) ## More Certitude quotes > [From men motivated by moral certitude, history teaches, no lasting good ever comes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/from-men-motivated-by-moral-certitude-history-teaches-no-lasting-good/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) > [What makes friendship indissolute and what doubles its charms is a feeling we find lacking in love: I mean certitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/what-makes-friendship-indissolute-and-what-doubles-its-charms-is-a/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [I can say with unwavering certitude that I have never started a pint of Ben 'n Jerry's ice cream that I didn't finish in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregor-collins/i-can-say-with-unwavering-certitude-that-i-have-never-started-a-pint/) [Gregor Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregor-collins/) > [“Accept and express your underlying certitude, and it shall be worldwide sagacity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogwo-david-emenike/accept-and-express-your-underlying-certitude-and-it-shall-be/) [Ogwo David Emenike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogwo-david-emenike/) > [We have more faith in what we imitate than in what we create](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/we-have-more-faith-in-what-we-imitate-than-in-what-we-create/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [I don't like quintessential certitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/i-don-t-like-quintessential-certitude/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [A mystic doesn’t say “I believe.” They say “I know.” A true mystic will ironically speak with that self-confidence but at the same time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/a-mystic-doesn-t-say-i-believe-they-say-i-know-a-true-mystic-will/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [I believe that ideas such as absolute certitude, absolute exactness, final truth, etc. are figments of the imagination which should not be admissible in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-born/i-believe-that-ideas-such-as-absolute-certitude-absolute-exactness/) [Max Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-born/) > [Ah, love, let us be true To one another! for the world, which seems To lie before us like a land of dreams, So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/ah-love-let-us-be-true-to-one-another-for-the-world-which-seems-to/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Certitude leads to violence. This is a proposition that has an easy application and a difficult one. The easy application is to ideoologues, dogmatists,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/certitude-leads-to-violence-this-is-a-proposition-that-has-an-easy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ We \[tend to\] have more faith in what we imitate than in what we originate. We \[often feel that we\] cannot derive a sense… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/we-tend-to-have-more-faith-in-what-we-imitate-than-in-what-we/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [For every gain in deep certitude there is a corresponding growth of superficial "doubt." This doubt is by no means opposed to genuine faith,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/for-every-gain-in-deep-certitude-there-is-a-corresponding-growth-of/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Love is an indescribable sensation - perhaps a conviction, a sense of certitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/love-is-an-indescribable-sensation-perhaps-a-conviction-a-sense-of/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [With the certitude of a true believer, Vellya Paapen had assured the twins that there was no such thing in the world as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/with-the-certitude-of-a-true-believer-vellya-paapen-had-assured-the/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Many fledgling moralists in those days were going about our town proclaiming there was nothing to be done about it and we should bow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/many-fledgling-moralists-in-those-days-were-going-about-our-town/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) [Browse all 94 Certitude quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certitude/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Certitude belongs exclusively to those who only own one encyclopedia.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Anton Wilson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/certitude-belongs-exclusively-to-those-who-only-own-one-encyclopedia/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Certitude" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/certitude-belongs-exclusively-to-those-who-only-own-one-encyclopedia/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30c/robert-anton-wilson-1198_certitude_certitude-belongs-exclusively-to-those-w_691698.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30c/robert-anton-wilson-1198_certitude_certitude-belongs-exclusively-to-those-w_691698.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30c/robert-anton-wilson-1198_certitude_certitude-belongs-exclusively-to-those-w_691698.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Certitude belongs exclusively to those who only own one encyclopedia.” — Robert Anton Wilson", "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": "Robert Anton Wilson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Certitude belongs exclusively to those who...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/certitude-belongs-exclusively-to-those-who-only-own-one-encyclopedia/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/certitude-belongs-exclusively-to-those-who-only-own-one-encyclopedia/#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 } } ] } ```