--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But ever since the dawn of civilization…" description: "\"“But ever since the dawn of civilization, people have not been content to see events as unconnected and inexplicable. They have craved an understanding..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e2/stephen-hawking-389_civilization_but-ever-since-the-dawn-of-civilization_1087307.jpg" --- # But ever since the dawn of civilization, people have not… ![“But ever since the dawn of civilization, people have not been content to see events as unconnected and inexplicable. They have craved an understanding of the underlying order in the world. Today we still yearn to know why we are here and where we come from. Humanity's deepest desire for knowledge…” quote by Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e2/stephen-hawking-389_civilization_but-ever-since-the-dawn-of-civilization_1087307.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e2/stephen-hawking-389_civilization_but-ever-since-the-dawn-of-civilization_1087307.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e2/stephen-hawking-389_civilization_but-ever-since-the-dawn-of-civilization_1087307.jpg) > ““But ever since the dawn of civilization, people have not been content to see events as unconnected and inexplicable. They have craved an understanding of the underlying order in the world. Today we still yearn to know why we are here and where we come from. Humanity's deepest desire for knowledge is justification enough for our continuing quest. And our goal is nothing less than a complete description of the universe we live in.”” [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humanity constantly seeks to understand the universe’s underlying order, driving scientific inquiry. **In simple terms:** We crave knowledge about the universe. Key Takeaway Pursue learning and support scientific exploration. Themes curiosity knowledge exploration Mood inspired thoughtful Type philosophical scientific When to use this quote - education - research funding - public outreach Key Concepts philosophy of science cosmology Questions to Reflect On - What motivates your own quest for meaning? - How can society balance wonder with practical needs? A Different Perspective Understanding the universe may be beyond current capabilities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dawn/) [Deepest Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deepest-desire/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/events/) [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Justification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justification/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) [Why we are here](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/why-we-are-here/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Today will still yearn to know why we are here and where we came from. Humanity's deepest desire for knowledge is justification enough for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/today-will-still-yearn-to-know-why-we-are-here-and-where-we-came-from/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [Science is not the enemy of humanity but one of the deepest expressions of the human desire to realize that vision of infinite knowledge.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinz-pagels/science-is-not-the-enemy-of-humanity-but-one-of-the-deepest/) [Heinz Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinz-pagels/) > [The Christian truth is attractive and persuasive because it responds to humanity's deepest needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/the-christian-truth-is-attractive-and-persuasive-because-it-responds/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [Governments, systems, ideologies come and go, but it is humanity which remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/u-thant/governments-systems-ideologies-come-and-go-but-it-is-humanity-which/) [U Thant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/u-thant/) > [The time has come for humanity to hoist the standard of the oneness of the human world, so that dogmatic formulas and superstitions may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdu-l-bah/the-time-has-come-for-humanity-to-hoist-the-standard-of-the-oneness/) [Abdu'l-Bahá](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdu-l-bah/) > [I'd argue that in the last few decades in America, when people are asked what they hope the future will look like, they still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-d-moore/i-d-argue-that-in-the-last-few-decades-in-america-when-people-are/) [Ronald D. Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-d-moore/) > [Why should the law refuse its protection to any sensitive being? The time will come when humanity will extend its mantle over everything which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/why-should-the-law-refuse-its-protection-to-any-sensitive-being-the/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [Humanities deepest desire for knowledge is justification enough for continuing our quest. and our goal is nothing less than a complete description of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/humanities-deepest-desire-for-knowledge-is-justification-enough-for/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [In our present high state of civilization, people are so much alike, that anything at all odd comes on one with the freshness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-russell-mitford/in-our-present-high-state-of-civilization-people-are-so-much-alike/) [Mary Russell Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-russell-mitford/) > [One of the tests of the civilization of people is the treatment of its criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/one-of-the-tests-of-the-civilization-of-people-is-the-treatment-of/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) > [No race or civilization of people are just going to say, "Oh, instead of using real meat, let's just mash up a bunch of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-fairfield/no-race-or-civilization-of-people-are-just-going-to-say-oh-instead-of/) [Frank Fairfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-fairfield/) > [“Riots come and go, wars come and go, but under the tumult, day after day, century after century, millions of people are doing nice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/riots-come-and-go-wars-come-and-go-but-under-the-tumult-day-after-day/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [Water, like religion and ideology, has the power to move millions of people. Since the very birth of human civilization, people have moved to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-gorbachev/water-like-religion-and-ideology-has-the-power-to-move-millions-of/) [Mikhail Gorbachev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-gorbachev/) > [Books are the building blocks of civilization and a people without books are a people without history, a people with no story older than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-l-amour/books-are-the-building-blocks-of-civilization-and-a-people-without/) [Louis L'Amour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-l-amour/) > [There is a dichotomy between people who feel economic principles should order human civilization and people who believe humanitarian principles should order human civilization.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/there-is-a-dichotomy-between-people-who-feel-economic-principles/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) ## More by Stephen Hawking > [The doctor who diagnosed me with ALS, or motor neuron disease, told me that it would kill me in two or three years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-doctor-who-diagnosed-me-with-als-or-motor-neuron-disease-told-me/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [We are the product of quantum fluctuations in the very early universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/we-are-the-product-of-quantum-fluctuations-in-the-very-early-universe/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [The human race does not have a very good record of intelligent behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-human-race-does-not-have-a-very-good-record-of-intelligent/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [“We have finally found something that doesn’t have a cause, because there was no time for a cause to exist in. For me this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/we-have-finally-found-something-that-doesn-t-have-a-cause-because/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [ \[On President Bush's plan to get to Mars in 10 years\] Stupid. Robots would do a better job and be much cheaper because you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/on-president-bush-s-plan-to-get-to-mars-in-10-years-stupid-robots/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [I believe the simplest explanation is, there is no God. No one created the universe and no one directs our fate. This leads me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/i-believe-the-simplest-explanation-is-there-is-no-god-no-one-created/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [The Paralympic Games is about transforming our perception of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-paralympic-games-is-about-transforming-our-perception-of-the-world/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [The increase of disorder or entropy is what distinguishes the past from the future, giving a direction to time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-increase-of-disorder-or-entropy-is-what-distinguishes-the-past/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [Most sets of values would give rise to universes that, although they might be very beautiful, would contain no one able to wonder at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/most-sets-of-values-would-give-rise-to-universes-that-although-they/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [There is a fundamental difference between religion, which is based on authority, and science, which is based on observation and reason. Science will win…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/there-is-a-fundamental-difference-between-religion-which-is-based-on/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [“In the eighteenth century, philosophers considered the whole of human knowledge, including science, to be their field and discussed questions such as: Did the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/in-the-eighteenth-century-philosophers-considered-the-whole-of-human/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [A model is a good model if first it interprets a wide range of observations in terms of a simple and elegant model, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/a-model-is-a-good-model-if-first-it-interprets-a-wide-range-of/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [“Empedocles noticed that if you cover the neck before you immerse it, a clepsydra does not fill. He reasoned that something invisible must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/empedocles-noticed-that-if-you-cover-the-neck-before-you-immerse-it-a/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [The human race shouldn't have all its eggs in one basket, or on one planet. Let's hope we can avoid dropping the basket until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-human-race-shouldn-t-have-all-its-eggs-in-one-basket-or-on-one/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [I hope I have helped to raise the profile of science and to show that physics is not a mystery but can be understood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/i-hope-i-have-helped-to-raise-the-profile-of-science-and-to-show-that/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) [Explore all 601 Stephen Hawking quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) ## More Civilization quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Sentiment is the mightiest force in civilization; not sentimentality, but sentiment. Women will bring this into politics. Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/) [Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/) > [Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“The voice in the head that never stops speaking becomes a civilization that is obsessed with form and therefore knows nothing of the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-voice-in-the-head-that-never-stops-speaking-becomes-a/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [We released 400,000 classified documents, the most extraordinary history of a war to ever have been released in our civilization. Those documents cover 109,000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/we-released-400-000-classified-documents-the-most-extraordinary/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Whenever we touch nature we get clean. People who have got dirty through too much civilization take a walk in the woods, or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/whenever-we-touch-nature-we-get-clean-people-who-have-got-dirty/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has done nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/the-invention-of-gunpowder-and-the-constant-improvement-of-firearms/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“The mission is, not to replace old world mindlessness with new world mindlessness, but to put an end to all forms of brainless authoritarianism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-mission-is-not-to-replace-old-world-mindlessness-with-new-world/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Once we allow ourselves to be disobedient to the test of an accountant's profit, we have begun to change our civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/once-we-allow-ourselves-to-be-disobedient-to-the-test-of-an/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-josiah-brewer/our-laws-and-our-institutions-must-necessarily-be-based-upon-and/) [David Josiah Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-josiah-brewer/) [Browse all 4,084 Civilization quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But ever since the dawn of civilization, people have not been content to see events as unconnected and inexplicable. They have craved an understanding of the underlying order in the world. Today we still yearn to know why we are here and where we come from. Humanity's deepest desire for knowledge is justification enough for our continuing quest. 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