--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nothing is more dangerous than a dogmatic…" description: "\"Nothing is more dangerous than a dogmatic worldview.\" — Stephen Jay Gould" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d5/stephen-jay-gould-885_business-innovation_nothing-is-more-dangerous-than-a-dogmati_1843689.png" --- # Nothing is more dangerous than a dogmatic worldview. ![“Nothing is more dangerous than a dogmatic worldview.” quote by Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d5/stephen-jay-gould-885_business-innovation_nothing-is-more-dangerous-than-a-dogmati_1843689.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d5/stephen-jay-gould-885_business-innovation_nothing-is-more-dangerous-than-a-dogmati_1843689.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d5/stephen-jay-gould-885_business-innovation_nothing-is-more-dangerous-than-a-dogmati_1843689.png) > “Nothing is more dangerous than a dogmatic worldview.” [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Rigid doctrines hinder scientific progress and open‑minded inquiry. **In simple terms:** Dogma blocks scientific growth. Key Takeaway Question assumptions. Themes science dogmatism critical thinking Mood analytical skeptical Type academic reflective When to use this quote - Research design - education policy - public debate Key Concepts philosophy of science epistemology Questions to Reflect On - What beliefs in your field feel dogmatic? - How can you balance openness with rigor? A Different Perspective Dogma can sometimes provide useful heuristics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business-innovation/) [Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation/) [Innovation and business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation-and-business/) [Novelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelty/) [Openness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/openness/) [Perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perspective/) [Worldview](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worldview/) ## Related quotes > [Nothing is more dangerous than a dogmatic worldview - nothing more constraining, more blinding to innovation, more destructive of openness to novelty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/nothing-is-more-dangerous-than-a-dogmatic-worldview-nothing-more/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [You can't cross a chasm in two small jumps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lloyd-george/you-can-t-cross-a-chasm-in-two-small-jumps/) [David Lloyd George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lloyd-george/) > [The best ideas lose their owners and take on lives of their own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nolan-bushnell/the-best-ideas-lose-their-owners-and-take-on-lives-of-their-own/) [Nolan Bushnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nolan-bushnell/) > [It's not about money. It's about the people you have, how you're led, and how much you get it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/it-s-not-about-money-it-s-about-the-people-you-have-how-you-re-led/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [The only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-only-way-to-be-truly-satisfied-is-to-do-what-you-believe-is-great-2/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [Business has only two basic functions - marketing and innovation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/business-has-only-two-basic-functions-marketing-and-innovation/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [The organizations of the future will increasingly depend on the creativity of their members to survive. Great Groups offer a new model in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-g-bennis/the-organizations-of-the-future-will-increasingly-depend-on-the/) [Warren G. Bennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-g-bennis/) > [All human development, no matter what form it takes, must be outside the rules; otherwise we would never have anything new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/all-human-development-no-matter-what-form-it-takes-must-be-outside/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can't get them across, your ideas won't get you anywhere. Lee Iacocca Love is the irresistible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-can-have-brilliant-ideas-but-if-you-can-t-get-them-across-your/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Organizations, by their very nature are designed to promote order and routine. They are inhospitable environments for innovation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/organizations-by-their-very-nature-are-designed-to-promote-order-and/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [The innovation point is the pivotal moment when talented and motivated people seek the opportunity to act on their ideas and dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-arthur-porter/the-innovation-point-is-the-pivotal-moment-when-talented-and/) W. Arthur Porter > [Part of what made the Macintosh great was that the people working on it were musicians and poets and artists and zoologists and historians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/part-of-what-made-the-macintosh-great-was-that-the-people-working-on/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It's only by saying no that you can concentrate on the things that really matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-belsky/it-s-only-by-saying-no-that-you-can-concentrate-on-the-things-that/) [Scott Belsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-belsky/) > [The greater the contrast, the greater the potential. Great energy only comes from a correspondingly great tension of opposites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-greater-the-contrast-the-greater-the-potential-great-energy-only/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Every new thing creates two new questions and two new opportunities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bezos/every-new-thing-creates-two-new-questions-and-two-new-opportunities/) [Jeff Bezos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bezos/) ## More by Stephen Jay Gould > [I strongly reject any conceptual scheme that places our options on a line, and holds that the only alternative to a pair of extreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-strongly-reject-any-conceptual-scheme-that-places-our-options-on-a/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [History employs evolution to structure biological events in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/history-employs-evolution-to-structure-biological-events-in-time/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [In his anti-Darwinian book... (and eponymously named The Neck of the Giraffe ), Francis Hitching tells the story... "The need to survive by reaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/in-his-anti-darwinian-book-and-eponymously-named-the-neck-of-the/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [... many folks take them seriously because they just 'know' that evolution can never be seen in the immediate here and now. In fact,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/many-folks-take-them-seriously-because-they-just-know-that-evolution/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Charles Darwin viewed the fossil record more as an embarrassment than as an aid to his theory ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/charles-darwin-viewed-the-fossil-record-more-as-an-embarrassment-than/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Zoocentrism is the primary fallacy of human sociobiology, for this view of human behavior rests on the argument that if the actions of "lower"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/zoocentrism-is-the-primary-fallacy-of-human-sociobiology-for-this/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The world, unfortunately, rarely matches our hopes and consistently refuses to behave in a reasonable manner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-world-unfortunately-rarely-matches-our-hopes-and-consistently/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The true beauty of nature is her amplitude; she exists neither for nor because of us, and possesses a staying power that all our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-true-beauty-of-nature-is-her-amplitude-she-exists-neither-for-nor/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [With copious evidence ranging from Plato's haughtiness to Beethoven's tirades, we may conclude that the most brilliant people of history tend to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/with-copious-evidence-ranging-from-plato-s-haughtiness-to-beethoven-s/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [When scientists need to explain difficult points of theory, illustration by hypothetical example - rather than by total abstraction - works well (perhaps indispensably)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/when-scientists-need-to-explain-difficult-points-of-theory/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The truly awesome intellectuals in our history have not merely made discoveries; they have woven variegated, but firm, tapestries of comprehensive coverage. The tapestries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-truly-awesome-intellectuals-in-our-history-have-not-merely-made/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [I believe that we can still have a genre of scientific books suitable for and accessible alike to professionals and interested laypeople. The concepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-believe-that-we-can-still-have-a-genre-of-scientific-books-suitable/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Science simply cannot adjudicate the issue of God's possible superintendence of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/science-simply-cannot-adjudicate-the-issue-of-god-s-possible/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [But if we laugh with derision, we will never understand. Human intellectual capacity has not altered for thousands of years so far as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/but-if-we-laugh-with-derision-we-will-never-understand-human/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [We debase the richness of both nature and our own minds if we view the great pageant of our intellectual history as a compendium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/we-debase-the-richness-of-both-nature-and-our-own-minds-if-we-view/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Explore all 341 Stephen Jay Gould quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) ## More Business innovation quotes > [Every new thing creates two new questions and two new opportunities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bezos/every-new-thing-creates-two-new-questions-and-two-new-opportunities/) [Jeff Bezos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bezos/) > [The greater the contrast, the greater the potential. Great energy only comes from a correspondingly great tension of opposites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-greater-the-contrast-the-greater-the-potential-great-energy-only/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [It's only by saying no that you can concentrate on the things that really matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-belsky/it-s-only-by-saying-no-that-you-can-concentrate-on-the-things-that/) [Scott Belsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-belsky/) > [Part of what made the Macintosh great was that the people working on it were musicians and poets and artists and zoologists and historians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/part-of-what-made-the-macintosh-great-was-that-the-people-working-on/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [“Improvement is not enough, you also needs innovation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/improvement-is-not-enough-you-also-needs-innovation/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [The innovation point is the pivotal moment when talented and motivated people seek the opportunity to act on their ideas and dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-arthur-porter/the-innovation-point-is-the-pivotal-moment-when-talented-and/) W. Arthur Porter > [Organizations, by their very nature are designed to promote order and routine. They are inhospitable environments for innovation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/organizations-by-their-very-nature-are-designed-to-promote-order-and/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [Move fast and break things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/move-fast-and-break-things/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Starting and growing a business is as much about the innovation, drive and determination of the people who do it as it is about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elon-musk/starting-and-growing-a-business-is-as-much-about-the-innovation-drive/) [Elon Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elon-musk/) > [“Improvement is not enough, you also need innovation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/improvement-is-not-enough-you-also-need-innovation/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can't get them across, your ideas won't get you anywhere. Lee Iacocca Love is the irresistible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-can-have-brilliant-ideas-but-if-you-can-t-get-them-across-your/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [All human development, no matter what form it takes, must be outside the rules; otherwise we would never have anything new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/all-human-development-no-matter-what-form-it-takes-must-be-outside/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [Providing more desirable products, services, and customer experiences is vital to the continued existence of any business. And that is INNOVATION.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/providing-more-desirable-products-services-and-customer-experiences/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [The organizations of the future will increasingly depend on the creativity of their members to survive. Great Groups offer a new model in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-g-bennis/the-organizations-of-the-future-will-increasingly-depend-on-the/) [Warren G. Bennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-g-bennis/) > [Creativity is, after all, lauded as the engine of business innovation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/creativity-is-after-all-lauded-as-the-engine-of-business-innovation/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) [Browse all 53 Business innovation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business-innovation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Nothing is more dangerous than a dogmatic worldview.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Jay Gould" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/nothing-is-more-dangerous-than-a-dogmatic-worldview/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Business innovation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/nothing-is-more-dangerous-than-a-dogmatic-worldview/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d5/stephen-jay-gould-885_business-innovation_nothing-is-more-dangerous-than-a-dogmati_1843689.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d5/stephen-jay-gould-885_business-innovation_nothing-is-more-dangerous-than-a-dogmati_1843689.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d5/stephen-jay-gould-885_business-innovation_nothing-is-more-dangerous-than-a-dogmati_1843689.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Nothing is more dangerous than a dogmatic worldview.” — Stephen Jay Gould", "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": "Stephen Jay Gould", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Nothing is more dangerous than a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/nothing-is-more-dangerous-than-a-dogmatic-worldview/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/nothing-is-more-dangerous-than-a-dogmatic-worldview/#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 } } ] } ```