--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The instructor has to teach history…" description: "\"The instructor has to teach history, cosmogony, psychology, ethics, the laws of nations. How can he do it without saying anything favorable or unfavora..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea1/robert-dabney-50257_belief_the-instructor-has-to-teach-history-cosm_3091093.jpg" --- # The instructor has to teach history, cosmogony… ![“The instructor has to teach history, cosmogony, psychology, ethics, the laws of nations. How can he do it without saying anything favorable or unfavorable about the beliefs of evangelical Christians, Catholics, Socinians, Deists, pantheists, materialists, or fetish worshipers, who all claim equal…” quote by Robert Dabney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea1/robert-dabney-50257_belief_the-instructor-has-to-teach-history-cosm_3091093.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea1/robert-dabney-50257_belief_the-instructor-has-to-teach-history-cosm_3091093.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea1/robert-dabney-50257_belief_the-instructor-has-to-teach-history-cosm_3091093.jpg) > “The instructor has to teach history, cosmogony, psychology, ethics, the laws of nations. How can he do it without saying anything favorable or unfavorable about the beliefs of evangelical Christians, Catholics, Socinians, Deists, pantheists, materialists, or fetish worshipers, who all claim equal rights under American institutions? His teaching will indeed be "the play of Hamlet, with the part of Hamlet omitted."” [Robert Dabney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dabney/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques the impossibility of teaching history neutrally, given the myriad belief systems that claim equal rights, suggesting any omission is a distortion. **In simple terms:** Teaching history without bias is impossible. Key Takeaway Strive for balanced, inclusive education. Themes education religion bias pluralism academic freedom Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - classrooms - curriculum design - policy debates Key Concepts historiography ethical pedagogy cultural relativism Questions to Reflect On - How can educators acknowledge bias? - What role should personal belief play in teaching? A Different Perspective Complete neutrality may erase important perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Beliefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beliefs/) [Catholic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catholic/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Deist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deist/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Equal rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equal-rights/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Evangelical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evangelical/) [Fetish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fetish/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Institutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institutions/) [Instructors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instructors/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) ## Related quotes > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The doctrines of Jesus are simple, and tend to all the happiness of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-doctrines-of-jesus-are-simple-and-tend-to-all-the-happiness-of-man/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [In my judgment, the Deists were all successfully answered. 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But I was scarce 15…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/my-parents-had-early-given-me-religious-impressions-and-brought-me/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [The Cross! There, and there only (though the deist rave, and the atheist, if Earth bears so base a slave); There and there only,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/the-cross-there-and-there-only-though-the-deist-rave-and-the-atheist/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [I am opposed to any form of tyranny over the mind of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-opposed-to-any-form-of-tyranny-over-the-mind-of-man/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Most theists are deists most of the time, in practice if not in theory. They practice the absence of God instead of the presence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/most-theists-are-deists-most-of-the-time-in-practice-if-not-in-theory/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) ## More by Robert Dabney > [Every line of true knowledge must find its completeness as it converges on God, just as every beam of daylight leads the eye to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dabney/every-line-of-true-knowledge-must-find-its-completeness-as-it/) [Robert Dabney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dabney/) > [I desire before I leave the world, as my best legacy to my family,, my serious, solemn advice, to make choice of my God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dabney/i-desire-before-i-leave-the-world-as-my-best-legacy-to-my-family-my/) [Robert Dabney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dabney/) > [I predict that the time will come in this once free America when the battle for religious liberty will have to be fought over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dabney/i-predict-that-the-time-will-come-in-this-once-free-america-when-the/) [Robert Dabney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dabney/) > [It is the teaching of the Bible and of sound Political ethics that the education of children belongs to the sphere of the family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dabney/it-is-the-teaching-of-the-bible-and-of-sound-political-ethics-that/) [Robert Dabney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dabney/) > [As a moral and social institution, a weekly rest is invaluable. 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Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“MIND & GRIND Self-belief and hard work can propel you past more talented peers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamil-ali/mind-grind-self-belief-and-hard-work-can-propel-you-past-more/) [Kamil Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamil-ali/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. 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