--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Agnosticism is of the essence of science…" description: "\"“Agnosticism is of the essence of science, whether ancient or modern. It simply means that a man shall not say he knows or believes that which he has n..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf9/thomas-huxley-1183_agnosticism_agnosticism-is-of-the-essence-of-science_921465.png" --- # Agnosticism is of the essence of science, whether ancient… ![“Agnosticism is of the essence of science, whether ancient or modern. It simply means that a man shall not say he knows or believes that which he has no scientific grounds for professing to know or believe. Consequently Agnosticism puts aside not only the greater part of popular theology, but also…” quote by Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf9/thomas-huxley-1183_agnosticism_agnosticism-is-of-the-essence-of-science_921465.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf9/thomas-huxley-1183_agnosticism_agnosticism-is-of-the-essence-of-science_921465.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf9/thomas-huxley-1183_agnosticism_agnosticism-is-of-the-essence-of-science_921465.png) > ““Agnosticism is of the essence of science, whether ancient or modern. It simply means that a man shall not say he knows or believes that which he has no scientific grounds for professing to know or believe. Consequently Agnosticism puts aside not only the greater part of popular theology, but also the greater part of anti-theology. On the whole, the "bosh" of heterodoxy is more offensive to me than that of orthodoxy, because heterodoxy professes to be guided by reason and science, and orthodoxy does not.”” [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Science requires acknowledging uncertainty and avoiding claims without evidence, rejecting both extreme theology and anti‑theology. **In simple terms:** Science demands humility about what we can know. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty, base beliefs on evidence. Themes science skepticism philosophy religion reason Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - academic debate - public discourse - personal belief formation - policy making Key Concepts agnosticism epistemology critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance open‑mindedness with the need for conviction? - When is it appropriate to claim certainty? A Different Perspective It may discourage definitive moral guidance for some. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agnosticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agnosticism/) [Agnosticism Essence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agnosticism-essence-1429427/) [Agnosticism Puts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agnosticism-puts-1429424/) [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) [Consequently Agnosticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consequently-agnosticism-1429425/) [Orthodoxy Heterodoxy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orthodoxy-heterodoxy-1429426/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [Agnosticism simply means that a man shall not say that he knows or believes that for which he has no grounds for professing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/agnosticism-simply-means-that-a-man-shall-not-say-that-he-knows-or/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Agnosticism is not properly described as a "negative" creed, nor indeed as a creed of any kind, except in so far as it expresses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/agnosticism-is-not-properly-described-as-a-negative-creed-nor-indeed/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [It is wrong for a man to say that he is certain of the objective truth of any proposition unless he can produce evidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/it-is-wrong-for-a-man-to-say-that-he-is-certain-of-the-objective/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Agnosticism, in fact, is not a creed, but a method, the essence of which lies in the rigorous application of a single principle. ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/agnosticism-in-fact-is-not-a-creed-but-a-method-the-essence-of-which/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [“Belief in God meant belief in the old tribal idol called Jehovah; and I would not pretend I did not know whether it existed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/belief-in-god-meant-belief-in-the-old-tribal-idol-called-jehovah-and/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [An atheist has to know a lot more than I know. An atheist is someone who knows there is no god. By some definitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/an-atheist-has-to-know-a-lot-more-than-i-know-an-atheist-is-someone/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [All great religions, in order to escape absurdity, have to admit a dilution of agnosticism. It is only the savage, whether of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/all-great-religions-in-order-to-escape-absurdity-have-to-admit-a/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Our ignorance of the cosmos is too vast to commit to atheism, and yet we know too much to commit to a particular religion.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/our-ignorance-of-the-cosmos-is-too-vast-to-commit-to-atheism-and-yet/) [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) > [I finally decided that I'm a creature of emotion as well as of reason. Emotionally, I am an atheist. I don't have the evidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac/i-finally-decided-that-i-m-a-creature-of-emotion-as-well-as-of-reason/) [Isaac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac/) > [An atheist, like a Christian, holds that we can know whether or not there is a God. The Christian holds that we can know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/an-atheist-like-a-christian-holds-that-we-can-know-whether-or-not/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“All atheists will go to heaven. If god exists, not believing in him does not take him away and he cannot justly condemn those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/all-atheists-will-go-to-heaven-if-god-exists-not-believing-in-him/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [“The Agnostic is one who asserts 'what no one denies' that there are limits to the sphere of human intelligence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/the-agnostic-is-one-who-asserts-what-no-one-denies-that-there-are/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) > [To be agnostic is to be open-minded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-agnostic-is-to-be-open-minded/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“An atheist is someone who is disappointed in his search of god. He is a man who strongly needed god but couldn't find him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/an-atheist-is-someone-who-is-disappointed-in-his-search-of-god-he-is/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [Agnosticism is the natural attitude of the evolutionist. How can a brute mind comprehend spiritual things?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-jennings-bryan/agnosticism-is-the-natural-attitude-of-the-evolutionist-how-can-a/) [William Jennings Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-jennings-bryan/) ## More by Thomas Huxley > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [There is nothing of permanent value (putting aside a few human affections) nothing that satisfies quiet reflection--except the sense of having worked according to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/there-is-nothing-of-permanent-value-putting-aside-a-few-human/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Economy does not lie in sparing money, but in spending it wisely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/economy-does-not-lie-in-sparing-money-but-in-spending-it-wisely/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [It is not to be forgotten that what we call rational grounds for our beliefs are often extremely irrational attempts to justify our instincts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/it-is-not-to-be-forgotten-that-what-we-call-rational-grounds-for-our/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Only a scientific people can survive in a scientific future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/only-a-scientific-people-can-survive-in-a-scientific-future/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Our reverence for the nobility of manhood will not be lessened by the knowledge that man is in substance and in structure, one with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/our-reverence-for-the-nobility-of-manhood-will-not-be-lessened-by-the/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [In science, as in art, and, as I believe, in every other sphere of human activity, there may be wisdom in a multitude of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/in-science-as-in-art-and-as-i-believe-in-every-other-sphere-of-human/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Science is simply common sense at its best, that is, rigidly accurate in observation, and merciless to fallacy in logic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/science-is-simply-common-sense-at-its-best-that-is-rigidly-accurate/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Oh devil! truth is better than much profit. I have searched over the grounds of my belief, and if wife and child and name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/oh-devil-truth-is-better-than-much-profit-i-have-searched-over-the/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Let us have "sweet girl graduates" by all means. They will be none the less sweet for a little wisdom; and the "golden hair"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/let-us-have-sweet-girl-graduates-by-all-means-they-will-be-none-the/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [In matters of the intellect, do not pretend that conclusions are certain which are not demonstrated or demonstrable. That I take to be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/in-matters-of-the-intellect-do-not-pretend-that-conclusions-are/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [And you very soon find out, if you have not found it out before, that patience and tenacity of purpose are worth more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/and-you-very-soon-find-out-if-you-have-not-found-it-out-before-that/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [No one who has lived in the world as long as you & I have, can entertain the pious delusion that it is engineered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/no-one-who-has-lived-in-the-world-as-long-as-you-i-have-can-entertain/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Mix salt and sand, and it shall puzzle the wisest of men, with his mere natural appliances, to separate all the grains of sand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/mix-salt-and-sand-and-it-shall-puzzle-the-wisest-of-men-with-his-mere/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [What are the moral convictions most fondly held by barbarous and semi-barbarous people? They are the convictions that authority is the soundest basis of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/what-are-the-moral-convictions-most-fondly-held-by-barbarous-and-semi/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) [Explore all 278 Thomas Huxley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) ## More Agnosticism quotes > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The prayer of the agnostic: "O God, if there is a God, save my soul if I have a soul."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-renan/the-prayer-of-the-agnostic-o-god-if-there-is-a-god-save-my-soul-if-i/) [Ernest Renan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-renan/) > [“Some people are so stiff and inhumane as the dogma's they believe in”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/some-people-are-so-stiff-and-inhumane-as-the-dogma-s-they-believe-in/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [Agnosticism is the natural attitude of the evolutionist. How can a brute mind comprehend spiritual things?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-jennings-bryan/agnosticism-is-the-natural-attitude-of-the-evolutionist-how-can-a/) [William Jennings Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-jennings-bryan/) > [“An atheist is someone who is disappointed in his search of god. He is a man who strongly needed god but couldn't find him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/an-atheist-is-someone-who-is-disappointed-in-his-search-of-god-he-is/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [Intellect, at its best, can make you agnostic. Being theist or atheist is still a matter of choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/intellect-at-its-best-can-make-you-agnostic-being-theist-or-atheist/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [To be agnostic is to be open-minded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-agnostic-is-to-be-open-minded/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The religious hypothesis, therefore, must be considered only as a particular method of accounting for the visible phenomena of the universe: but no just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/the-religious-hypothesis-therefore-must-be-considered-only-as-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [The world is continuous flux and is impermanent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/the-world-is-continuous-flux-and-is-impermanent/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [“I'm agnostic. By definition, I'm unsure of what to believe in, but I'm also borderline-capable of believing in anything and everything, or nothing at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-lola/i-m-agnostic-by-definition-i-m-unsure-of-what-to-believe-in-but-i-m/) [Lauren Lola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-lola/) > [“The Agnostic is one who asserts 'what no one denies' that there are limits to the sphere of human intelligence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/the-agnostic-is-one-who-asserts-what-no-one-denies-that-there-are/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) > [I have only a small flickering light to guide me in the darkness of a thick forest. Up comes a theologian and blows it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/i-have-only-a-small-flickering-light-to-guide-me-in-the-darkness-of-a/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [“...The Presidential election has given me less anxiety than I myself could have imagined. The next administration will be a troublesome one, to whomsoever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/the-presidential-election-has-given-me-less-anxiety-than-i-myself/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [We are enabled to apprehend at all what is sublime and noble only by the perpetual instilling and drenching of the reality that surrounds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/we-are-enabled-to-apprehend-at-all-what-is-sublime-and-noble-only-by/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“We should be agnostic about those things for which there is no evidence. We should not hold beliefs merely because they gratify our desires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-should-be-agnostic-about-those-things-for-which-there-is-no/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 275 Agnosticism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agnosticism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Agnosticism is of the essence of science, whether ancient or modern. It simply means that a man shall not say he knows or believes that which he has no scientific grounds for professing to know or believe. Consequently Agnosticism puts aside not only the greater part of popular theology, but also the greater part of anti-theology. 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