--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If an idea is true it belongs equally to…" description: "\"“If an idea is true it belongs equally to all those capable of understanding it; if it is false there is no reason to be proud of having thought it. A ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b12/thomas-garrett-isham-282944_human-mind_if-an-idea-is-true-it-belongs-equally-to_2561085.jpg" --- # If an idea is true it belongs equally to all those capable… ![“If an idea is true it belongs equally to all those capable of understanding it; if it is false there is no reason to be proud of having thought it. A true idea cannot be ‘new,’ since truth is not a product of the human mind; the truth exists independently of ourselves, and it is for us simply to…” quote by Thomas Garrett Isham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b12/thomas-garrett-isham-282944_human-mind_if-an-idea-is-true-it-belongs-equally-to_2561085.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b12/thomas-garrett-isham-282944_human-mind_if-an-idea-is-true-it-belongs-equally-to_2561085.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b12/thomas-garrett-isham-282944_human-mind_if-an-idea-is-true-it-belongs-equally-to_2561085.jpg) > ““If an idea is true it belongs equally to all those capable of understanding it; if it is false there is no reason to be proud of having thought it. A true idea cannot be ‘new,’ since truth is not a product of the human mind; the truth exists independently of ourselves, and it is for us simply to comprehend it; outside of this knowledge there can be nothing but error”” [Thomas Garrett Isham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-garrett-isham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ideas have an objective truth independent of who discovers them; false ideas lack pride, and truth is not new but discovered. **In simple terms:** Truth exists beyond personal invention. Key Takeaway Seek truth, not ownership. Themes philosophy epistemology truth knowledge mind Mood contemplative inquisitive Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - academic debate - personal reflection - science communication Key Concepts objectivity conceptual truth intellectual humility Questions to Reflect On - How do we verify a claim’s truth? - Can we truly separate truth from perspective? A Different Perspective Truth can be subjective in practice; consensus varies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Human mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-mind/) [Idea True](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea-true-1605374/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Mind Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-truth-252630/) [New Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-truth-536972/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Thought True](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-true-947658/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth Exists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-exists-334103/) ## Related quotes > [True love exists, which is beyond normal human mind. True love = true + love Truth exists which is based on pure logic, It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-maurya/true-love-exists-which-is-beyond-normal-human-mind-true-love-true/) [Sunil Maurya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-maurya/) > [In painting you must give the idea of the true by means of the false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/in-painting-you-must-give-the-idea-of-the-true-by-means-of-the-false/) [Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) > [“If I thought that was true, I could almost live with the rest of it.” “It is true,” I admit. “But so is what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/if-i-thought-that-was-true-i-could-almost-live-with-the-rest-of-it-it/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“My point is this — you don't know. When I was first here, people looked at my hair, noticed apples on my tray, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mckinsey/my-point-is-this-you-don-t-know-when-i-was-first-here-people-looked/) [Rebecca McKinsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mckinsey/) > [I do not see why I should e’er turn back, Or those should not set forth upon my track To overtake me, who should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/i-do-not-see-why-i-should-e-er-turn-back-or-those-should-not-set/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [“A belief is simply a thought that seems true to YOU.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordana-biernat/a-belief-is-simply-a-thought-that-seems-true-to-you/) [Gordana Biernat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordana-biernat/) > [“Howard thought, Is it not true: A move of the head, a step to the left or right, and we change from wise, decent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/howard-thought-is-it-not-true-a-move-of-the-head-a-step-to-the-left-3/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [This, I thought, was true love. Someone who made you happy without saying a word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-holm/this-i-thought-was-true-love-someone-who-made-you-happy-without/) [Jennifer L. Holm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-holm/) > [Who would have the thought your true friends the one that would 'take a bullet for you' are the ones behind the gun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/who-would-have-the-thought-your-true-friends-the-one-that-would-take/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Perhaps, he thought, true pure love, like all flowers, flourished best with its roots in muck and mud. Perhaps that was a law of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-mulisch/perhaps-he-thought-true-pure-love-like-all-flowers-flourished-best/) [Harry Mulisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-mulisch/) > [“Right, of course. But you keep the promise anyway. That’s what love is. Love is keeping the promise anyway. Don’t you believe in true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/right-of-course-but-you-keep-the-promise-anyway-that-s-what-love-is/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Your feelings do not lie to you; however, they may be based upon a false thought,or a true thought, or based upon incomplete information.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-w-earle-lpc/your-feelings-do-not-lie-to-you-however-they-may-be-based-upon-a/) [David W. Earle LPC](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-w-earle-lpc/) > [“Howard thought, Is it not true: A move of the head, a step to the left or right, and we change from wise, decent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/howard-thought-is-it-not-true-a-move-of-the-head-a-step-to-the-left-2/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [“I felt a mix of wanting to kill him and wanting to kiss him at the same time. When I thought of what true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-king/i-felt-a-mix-of-wanting-to-kill-him-and-wanting-to-kiss-him-at-the/) [A.S. King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-king/) > [They would not find me changed from him they knew - only more sure of all I thought was true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/they-would-not-find-me-changed-from-him-they-knew-only-more-sure-of/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) ## More Human mind quotes > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Dogma is a powerful way of closing human mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-marley/dogma-is-a-powerful-way-of-closing-human-mind/) [Peter Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-marley/) > [“The more that the human mind is enlightened, the more desirous it becomes of farther acquisitions in knowledge. The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-stewart/the-more-that-the-human-mind-is-enlightened-the-more-desirous-it/) [Alexander Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-stewart/) > [“But I tell you, Winston, that reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Whatever the Party holds to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/but-i-tell-you-winston-that-reality-is-not-external-reality-exists-in/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [ It is certain that every class is interested in \[educational\] establishments which give to the human mind its highest improvements, and to every Country… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/it-is-certain-that-every-class-is-interested-in-educational/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [Just take one thing out and the whole palace, the whole edifice of the human mind collapses. Take effort out of it and desiring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/just-take-one-thing-out-and-the-whole-palace-the-whole-edifice-of-the/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Freedom is the very essence of our economy and society. Without freedom the human mind is prevented from unleashing its creative force. But what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/freedom-is-the-very-essence-of-our-economy-and-society-without/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [Charity is the filthiest invention of the human mind: first you steal what belongs to everyone; then you use the law and various other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/u-g-krishnamurti/charity-is-the-filthiest-invention-of-the-human-mind-first-you-steal/) [U.G. Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/u-g-krishnamurti/) > [“artificial intelligence is forcing human endeavor away from simple, algorithmic and repetitive tasks towards solving problems and incubating new ideas. It is the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gyan-nagpal/artificial-intelligence-is-forcing-human-endeavor-away-from-simple/) [Gyan Nagpal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gyan-nagpal/) > [“There are very few intellectual elites and those who think they are, are merely not and those who are not shows us the intellectual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santosh-kalwar/there-are-very-few-intellectual-elites-and-those-who-think-they-are/) [Santosh Kalwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santosh-kalwar/) > [“Story is one of the foundation stones of the human mind along with rhythm and chant. If a collection of facts lacks a narrative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-vehafric/story-is-one-of-the-foundation-stones-of-the-human-mind-along-with/) [Frank Vehafric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-vehafric/) > [“A sense of security, a feeling that a truce was established between the present hour and the irresistible, disastrous future imparted to me a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/a-sense-of-security-a-feeling-that-a-truce-was-established-between/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [What makes us human is not our mind but our heart, not our ability to think but our ability to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-makes-us-human-is-not-our-mind-but-our-heart-not-our-ability-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [This is one of the glories of man, the inventiveness of the human mind and the human spirit: whenever life doesn't seem to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorraine-hansberry/this-is-one-of-the-glories-of-man-the-inventiveness-of-the-human-mind/) [Lorraine Hansberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorraine-hansberry/) [Browse all 1,417 Human mind quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-mind/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If an idea is true it belongs equally to all those capable of understanding it; if it is false there is no reason to be proud of having thought it. A true idea cannot be ‘new,’ since truth is not a product of the human mind; the truth exists independently of ourselves, and it is for us simply to comprehend it; outside of this knowledge there can be nothing but error”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Garrett Isham" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-garrett-isham/if-an-idea-is-true-it-belongs-equally-to-all-those-capable-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Human mind" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-garrett-isham/if-an-idea-is-true-it-belongs-equally-to-all-those-capable-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b12/thomas-garrett-isham-282944_human-mind_if-an-idea-is-true-it-belongs-equally-to_2561085.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b12/thomas-garrett-isham-282944_human-mind_if-an-idea-is-true-it-belongs-equally-to_2561085.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b12/thomas-garrett-isham-282944_human-mind_if-an-idea-is-true-it-belongs-equally-to_2561085.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If an idea is true it belongs equally to all those capable of understanding it; if it is false there is no…” — Thomas Garrett Isham", "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": "Thomas Garrett Isham", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-garrett-isham/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If an idea is true it...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-garrett-isham/if-an-idea-is-true-it-belongs-equally-to-all-those-capable-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-garrett-isham/if-an-idea-is-true-it-belongs-equally-to-all-those-capable-of/#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 } } ] } ```