--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The facts of science are real enough, and…" description: "\"The facts of science are real enough, and so are the techniques that scientists use, and so are the technologies based on them. But the belief system t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65a/rupert-sheldrake-11866_belief_the-facts-of-science-are-real-enough-and_2805875.jpg" --- # The facts of science are real enough, and so are the… ![“The facts of science are real enough, and so are the techniques that scientists use, and so are the technologies based on them. But the belief system that governs conventional scientific thinking is an act of faith.” quote by Rupert Sheldrake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65a/rupert-sheldrake-11866_belief_the-facts-of-science-are-real-enough-and_2805875.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65a/rupert-sheldrake-11866_belief_the-facts-of-science-are-real-enough-and_2805875.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65a/rupert-sheldrake-11866_belief_the-facts-of-science-are-real-enough-and_2805875.jpg) > “The facts of science are real enough, and so are the techniques that scientists use, and so are the technologies based on them. But the belief system that governs conventional scientific thinking is an act of faith.” [Rupert Sheldrake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sheldrake/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Science relies on empirical methods, but the overarching belief system guiding it functions like faith. **In simple terms:** Science uses facts, but its worldview is a belief system. Key Takeaway Recognize the philosophical assumptions behind scientific practice. Themes science philosophy belief systems Mood critical inquisitive Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - research - education - policy making - public discourse Key Concepts epistemology methodology faith Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions underlie your scientific conclusions? - How can we separate data from belief? A Different Perspective Science is not free from cultural or personal biases. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Belief Governs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief-governs-3483640/) [Belief System](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief-system/) [Belief systems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief-systems/) [Conventional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conventional/) [Conventional Scientific](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conventional-scientific-3483641/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Facts Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts-science-378690/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-real-334060/) [Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist/) [Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technique/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) ## Related quotes > [Science at its best is an open-minded method of inquiry, not a belief system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-sheldrake/science-at-its-best-is-an-open-minded-method-of-inquiry-not-a-belief/) [Rupert Sheldrake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sheldrake/) > [The assumption that the laws of nature are eternal is a vestige of the Christian belief system that informed the early postulates of modern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-sheldrake/the-assumption-that-the-laws-of-nature-are-eternal-is-a-vestige-of/) [Rupert Sheldrake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sheldrake/) > [The second step to achieving your goals in the New Year involves action and this is where many people run off track. The life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/the-second-step-to-achieving-your-goals-in-the-new-year-involves/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Perhaps it's just me, but I am wary of any persons whose belief system is the only thing standing between them and repulsive behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/perhaps-it-s-just-me-but-i-am-wary-of-any-persons-whose-belief-system/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [Our consciousness, our ideas, our frame of reference and our belief system determine whether we go to the river of life with a teaspoon,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anthony/our-consciousness-our-ideas-our-frame-of-reference-and-our-belief/) [Robert Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anthony/) > [A genuinely persuasive argument does not merely tell you that you are wrong about everything. It doesn't just beat on you from the outside.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/a-genuinely-persuasive-argument-does-not-merely-tell-you-that-you-are/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [I don't believe anything I write or say. I regard belief as a form of brain damage, the death of intelligence, the fracture of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-don-t-believe-anything-i-write-or-say-i-regard-belief-as-a-form-of/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [My father is an atheist. My mother is Buddhist. They encouraged my siblings and me to take the best part of other religions to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-ryder/my-father-is-an-atheist-my-mother-is-buddhist-they-encouraged-my/) [Winona Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-ryder/) > [While 'Buddhism' suggests another belief system, 'dharma practice' suggests a course of action. The four ennobling truths are not propositions to believe; they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/while-buddhism-suggests-another-belief-system-dharma-practice/) [Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/) > [I've got this theory that human beings are innately religious; we have a belief system. It doesn't have to be a theist form, necessarily.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/i-ve-got-this-theory-that-human-beings-are-innately-religious-we-have/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [Inside we are all Golden Buddha's, but we grew to believe we were made of clay. Our ego's false perceptions led us to grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-bernstein/inside-we-are-all-golden-buddha-s-but-we-grew-to-believe-we-were-made/) [Gabrielle Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-bernstein/) > [The issue is that if you hold onto the resentment against yourself, you're just going to recreate that destructive pattern in different forms because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-bernstein/the-issue-is-that-if-you-hold-onto-the-resentment-against-yourself/) [Gabrielle Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-bernstein/) > [I'm very, very suspicious of anybody that finds a belief system that they feel can explain it all, for themselves or for anybody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-tweedy/i-m-very-very-suspicious-of-anybody-that-finds-a-belief-system-that/) [Jeff Tweedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-tweedy/) > [Everyone thinks they've won the Magical Belief Lottery. Everyone thinks they more or less have a handle on things, that they, as opposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/everyone-thinks-they-ve-won-the-magical-belief-lottery-everyone/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) ## More by Rupert Sheldrake > [The Science Delusion is the belief that science already understands the nature of reality in principle leaving only the details to be filled in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-sheldrake/the-science-delusion-is-the-belief-that-science-already-understands/) [Rupert Sheldrake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sheldrake/) > [Because a truly skeptical position would be a very uncertain one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-sheldrake/because-a-truly-skeptical-position-would-be-a-very-uncertain-one/) [Rupert Sheldrake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sheldrake/) > [I think that the 'laws of nature' are also prone to evolve; I think they are more like habits than laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-sheldrake/i-think-that-the-laws-of-nature-are-also-prone-to-evolve-i-think-they/) [Rupert Sheldrake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sheldrake/) > [Now the whole point about machines is they are designed not to be random. When you call up a word processing program on your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-sheldrake/now-the-whole-point-about-machines-is-they-are-designed-not-to-be/) [Rupert Sheldrake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sheldrake/) > [To describe the overwhelming life of a tropical forest just in terms of inert biochemistry and DNA didn't seem to give a very full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-sheldrake/to-describe-the-overwhelming-life-of-a-tropical-forest-just-in-terms/) [Rupert Sheldrake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sheldrake/) > [“The commonest kinds of seemingly telepathic response are the anticipation by dogs and cats of their owners coming home; the anticipation of owners going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-sheldrake/the-commonest-kinds-of-seemingly-telepathic-response-are-the/) [Rupert Sheldrake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sheldrake/) > [Contemporary science is based on the philosophy of materialism, which claims that all reality is material or physical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-sheldrake/contemporary-science-is-based-on-the-philosophy-of-materialism-which/) [Rupert Sheldrake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sheldrake/) > [“cognitive dissonance is”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-sheldrake/cognitive-dissonance-is/) [Rupert Sheldrake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sheldrake/) > [I'm talking about science on the leading edge, where it's not clear which way things are going be cause we don't know, and I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-sheldrake/i-m-talking-about-science-on-the-leading-edge-where-it-s-not-clear/) [Rupert Sheldrake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sheldrake/) > [Right now, any opinion anyone has about whether dogs can or cannot really tell when their owner is coming home by some unknown means...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-sheldrake/right-now-any-opinion-anyone-has-about-whether-dogs-can-or-cannot/) [Rupert Sheldrake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sheldrake/) > [I think that creativity depends on having sufficient indeterminacy around for a new pattern to arise up within it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-sheldrake/i-think-that-creativity-depends-on-having-sufficient-indeterminacy/) [Rupert Sheldrake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sheldrake/) > [Bad religion is arrogant, self-righteous, dogmatic and intolerant. And so is bad science. But unlike religious fundamentalists, scientific fundamentalists do not realize that their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-sheldrake/bad-religion-is-arrogant-self-righteous-dogmatic-and-intolerant-and/) [Rupert Sheldrake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sheldrake/) > [In no other field of scientific endeavor do otherwise intelligent people feel free to make public claims based on prejudice and ignorance. Yet in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-sheldrake/in-no-other-field-of-scientific-endeavor-do-otherwise-intelligent/) [Rupert Sheldrake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sheldrake/) > [At the moment of insight, a potential pattern of organized behavior comes into being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-sheldrake/at-the-moment-of-insight-a-potential-pattern-of-organized-behavior/) [Rupert Sheldrake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sheldrake/) > [In both religion and science, some people are dishonest, exploitative, incompetent and exhibit other human failings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-sheldrake/in-both-religion-and-science-some-people-are-dishonest-exploitative/) [Rupert Sheldrake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sheldrake/) [Explore all 57 Rupert Sheldrake quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sheldrake/) ## More Belief quotes > [“Cine a ucis stelele? 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. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [It took me 20 years of hard training to get the physique I have today. what you need is what i had - BELIEF…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/branch-warren/it-took-me-20-years-of-hard-training-to-get-the-physique-i-have-today/) [Branch Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/branch-warren/) > [“Here is a fundamental difference between the man of faith and the man of unbelief. The unbeliever is 'of the world', judges everything by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-w-pink/here-is-a-fundamental-difference-between-the-man-of-faith-and-the-man/) [Arthur W. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-w-pink/) > [“She herself vacillated when it came to belief. She did not particularly believe in God. Or, rather, she didn't believe in a particular God.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allegra-goodman/she-herself-vacillated-when-it-came-to-belief-she-did-not/) [Allegra Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allegra-goodman/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [“Rigid traditions capture souls prisons of spiritual thought man’s religion has captured a god grown too small and very weak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-w-earle/rigid-traditions-capture-souls-prisons-of-spiritual-thought-man-s/) [David W Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-w-earle/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [In business, as in politics, it is never easy to go against the beliefs and attitudes held by the majority. The businessman who moves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-paul-getty/in-business-as-in-politics-it-is-never-easy-to-go-against-the-beliefs/) [J. Paul Getty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-paul-getty/) > [There's no greatest moment in the arts. It's a life; it's a continuity thing. You can't have a great moment because it's spiritual. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/there-s-no-greatest-moment-in-the-arts-it-s-a-life-it-s-a-continuity/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular belief, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/to-preserve-an-unclouded-capacity-for-the-enjoyment-of-life-is-an/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) [Browse all 10,268 Belief quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The facts of science are real enough, and so are the techniques that scientists use, and so are the technologies based on them. 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