--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To quarrel with the uncertainty that…" description: "\"To quarrel with the uncertainty that besets us in intellectual affairs would be about as reasonable as to object to live one's life with due thought fo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa3/thomas-huxley-1183_affair_to-quarrel-with-the-uncertainty-that-bes_2298171.png" --- # To quarrel with the uncertainty that besets us in… ![“To quarrel with the uncertainty that besets us in intellectual affairs would be about as reasonable as to object to live one's life with due thought for the morrow because no man can be sure he will alive an hour hence.” quote by Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa3/thomas-huxley-1183_affair_to-quarrel-with-the-uncertainty-that-bes_2298171.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa3/thomas-huxley-1183_affair_to-quarrel-with-the-uncertainty-that-bes_2298171.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa3/thomas-huxley-1183_affair_to-quarrel-with-the-uncertainty-that-bes_2298171.png) > “To quarrel with the uncertainty that besets us in intellectual affairs would be about as reasonable as to object to live one's life with due thought for the morrow because no man can be sure he will alive an hour hence.” [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. Questioning uncertainty is unreasonable because life itself is uncertain and short **In simple terms:** Accept uncertainty as part of life Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty and act wisely Themes philosophy uncertainty life Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - making decisions - planning future - risk assessment Key Concepts epistemology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle unknowns? - What risks are worth taking? A Different Perspective Ignoring uncertainty can lead to reckless choices ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affair/) [Affairs Reasonable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affairs-reasonable-5425291/) [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Besets Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/besets-intellectual-5425290/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Dues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dues/) [Hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hours/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morrow/) [Objects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objects/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Quarrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quarrel/) [Quarrel Uncertainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quarrel-uncertainty-5425289/) [Quarrels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quarrels/) [Reasonable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reasonable/) [Uncertainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uncertainty/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [A man may quarrel with himself alone; that is, by controverting his better instincts and knowledge when brought face to face with temptation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/a-man-may-quarrel-with-himself-alone-that-is-by-controverting-his/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [You can make up a quarrel, but it will always show where it was patched.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-w-howe/you-can-make-up-a-quarrel-but-it-will-always-show-where-it-was-patched/) [E. W. Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-w-howe/) > [An ant has no quarrel with a boot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/an-ant-has-no-quarrel-with-a-boot/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [When two men quarrel, who owns the cooler head is the more to blame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/when-two-men-quarrel-who-owns-the-cooler-head-is-the-more-to-blame/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I had a lifelong quarrel with God, but in the end we made up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/i-had-a-lifelong-quarrel-with-god-but-in-the-end-we-made-up/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The enemy is like a woman, weak in face of opposition, but correspondingly strong when not opposed. In a quarrel with a man, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-enemy-is-like-a-woman-weak-in-face-of-opposition-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Carrying a poppy he passes through the quarrel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kobayashi-issa/carrying-a-poppy-he-passes-through-the-quarrel/) [Kobayashi Issa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kobayashi-issa/) > [They who quarrel with others, instead of quarrelling with their own hearts, waste their lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guru-amar-das/they-who-quarrel-with-others-instead-of-quarrelling-with-their-own/) [Guru Amar Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guru-amar-das/) > [I think it's odd that grown-ups quarrel so easily and so often and about such petty matters. Up to now I always thought bickering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/i-think-it-s-odd-that-grown-ups-quarrel-so-easily-and-so-often-and/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) > [To talk over a quarrel, with its inevitable accompaniment of self-justification, is too much like handling cobwebs to be very successful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-deland/to-talk-over-a-quarrel-with-its-inevitable-accompaniment-of-self/) [Margaret Deland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-deland/) > [Every quarrel begins in nothing and ends in a struggle for supremacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/every-quarrel-begins-in-nothing-and-ends-in-a-struggle-for-supremacy/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [They say that only very good friends quarrel. But at the end of the day a quarrel is a fight between two people’s egos.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-yazawa/they-say-that-only-very-good-friends-quarrel-but-at-the-end-of-the/) [Ai Yazawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-yazawa/) > [Rightly to be great Is not to stir without great argument, But greatly to find quarrel in a straw When honour's at the stake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/rightly-to-be-great-is-not-to-stir-without-great-argument-but-greatly/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Americans will quarrel over how, who, or what to rescue or save, but the idea that the nation ought to be off doing it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-von-hoffman/americans-will-quarrel-over-how-who-or-what-to-rescue-or-save-but-the/) [Nicholas von Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-von-hoffman/) > [... Wild Bill had his faults, grievous ones, perhaps ... He would get drunk, gamble, and indulge in the general licentiousness characteristic of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-crawford/wild-bill-had-his-faults-grievous-ones-perhaps-he-would-get-drunk/) [Jack Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-crawford/) ## 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 Affair quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [Islam never differentiates between men and women as regards political rights and puts them on an equal footing. However, even if a woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusuf-al-qaradawi/islam-never-differentiates-between-men-and-women-as-regards-political/) [Yusuf al-Qaradawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusuf-al-qaradawi/) > [Our guiding principle was that design is neither an intellectual nor a material affair, but simply an integral part of the stuff of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-gropius/our-guiding-principle-was-that-design-is-neither-an-intellectual-nor/) [Walter Gropius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-gropius/) > [I wonder if it's possible to have a love affair that lasts forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/i-wonder-if-it-s-possible-to-have-a-love-affair-that-lasts-forever/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [For a young man to start his career with a love affair with an older woman was quite de rigueur ... Of course, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vita-sackville-west/for-a-young-man-to-start-his-career-with-a-love-affair-with-an-older/) [Vita Sackville-West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vita-sackville-west/) > [As long as the state permits itself to interfere in the affairs of literature, literature has the right to interfere with the affairs of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/as-long-as-the-state-permits-itself-to-interfere-in-the-affairs-of/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [Love is mainly an affair of short spasms. If these spasms disappoint us, love dies. It is very seldom that it weathers the experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/love-is-mainly-an-affair-of-short-spasms-if-these-spasms-disappoint/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [The Fundamental Principle that governs - or ought to govern -human affairs if we wish to avoid misunderstandings, conflicts, or pointless utopias, is negotiation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-fundamental-principle-that-governs-or-ought-to-govern-human/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [My hope does not rest in the affairs of this world. It rests in Christ who is coming again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/my-hope-does-not-rest-in-the-affairs-of-this-world-it-rests-in-christ/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [In 1953, the United States played a significant role in orchestrating the overthrow of Iran's popular prime minister, Mohammed Mossadegh. The Eisenhower administration believed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-albright/in-1953-the-united-states-played-a-significant-role-in-orchestrating/) [Madeleine Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-albright/) > [Not everyone likes the stable, gradual rise of our country. There are some who are using the democratic ideology to interfere in our internal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/not-everyone-likes-the-stable-gradual-rise-of-our-country-there-are/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [The archives recall not one single incriminating incident, not one drunken escapade, not one reported affair, not one spat with a team-mate or reporter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-atherton/the-archives-recall-not-one-single-incriminating-incident-not-one/) [Michael Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-atherton/) > [“I ripped the sketch from the wall. "Liar." Edward looked more ravaged than usual. "That is a terrible word, coming from you." "Yup." "And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-jensen/i-ripped-the-sketch-from-the-wall-liar-edward-looked-more-ravaged/) [Melissa Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-jensen/) > [For some people, a one-night stand doesn't make any difference in a seven-year love affair. I don't believe the degree of betrayal is always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/for-some-people-a-one-night-stand-doesn-t-make-any-difference-in-a/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [And what is literature, Rabo," he said, "but an insider's newsletter about affairs relating to molecules, of no importance to anything in the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/and-what-is-literature-rabo-he-said-but-an-insider-s-newsletter-about/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) [Browse all 2,218 Affair quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affair/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To quarrel with the uncertainty that besets us in intellectual affairs would be about as reasonable as to object to live one's life with due thought for the morrow because no man can be sure he will alive an hour hence.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Huxley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/to-quarrel-with-the-uncertainty-that-besets-us-in-intellectual/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Affair" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/to-quarrel-with-the-uncertainty-that-besets-us-in-intellectual/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa3/thomas-huxley-1183_affair_to-quarrel-with-the-uncertainty-that-bes_2298171.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa3/thomas-huxley-1183_affair_to-quarrel-with-the-uncertainty-that-bes_2298171.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa3/thomas-huxley-1183_affair_to-quarrel-with-the-uncertainty-that-bes_2298171.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To quarrel with the uncertainty that besets us in intellectual affairs would be about as reasonable as to…” — Thomas Huxley", "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 Huxley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To quarrel with the uncertainty that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/to-quarrel-with-the-uncertainty-that-besets-us-in-intellectual/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/to-quarrel-with-the-uncertainty-that-besets-us-in-intellectual/#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 } } ] } ```