--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are two kinds of knowledge, local…" description: "\"There are two kinds of knowledge, local and universal.\" — Ursula K. Le Guin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ad/ursula-k-le-guin-138_kind_there-are-two-kinds-of-knowledge-local-a_241145.jpg" --- # There are two kinds of knowledge, local and universal. ![“There are two kinds of knowledge, local and universal.” quote by Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ad/ursula-k-le-guin-138_kind_there-are-two-kinds-of-knowledge-local-a_241145.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ad/ursula-k-le-guin-138_kind_there-are-two-kinds-of-knowledge-local-a_241145.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ad/ursula-k-le-guin-138_kind_there-are-two-kinds-of-knowledge-local-a_241145.jpg) > “There are two kinds of knowledge, local and universal.” [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Knowledge exists in specific contexts and in universal truths; both are essential for understanding. **In simple terms:** Both specific and universal knowledge matter. Key Takeaway Balance local insight with broader perspective. Themes learning perspective wisdom Mood analytical curious Type academic inspirational When to use this quote - education - research - policy making - cross‑cultural communication Key Concepts epistemology cultural studies Questions to Reflect On - When do you rely on local knowledge? - How can you integrate universal principles? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on one type can limit insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) ## Related quotes > [What you select from, in order to tell your story, is nothing less than everything. What you build up your world from, your local,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/what-you-select-from-in-order-to-tell-your-story-is-nothing-less-than/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Man may well have covered over and, so to speak, encrusted the truth with the errors he has loaded onto it, but these errors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-de-maistre/man-may-well-have-covered-over-and-so-to-speak-encrusted-the-truth/) [Joseph de Maistre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-de-maistre/) > [“There are many different kinds of knowledge. The way of the heart and spirit can guide us in a more trustworthy way than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lakota-sioux-buck-ghosthorse/there-are-many-different-kinds-of-knowledge-the-way-of-the-heart-and/) Lakota Sioux Buck Ghosthorse > [In the case of various kinds of knowledge, we find that what in former days occupied the energies of men of mature mental ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/in-the-case-of-various-kinds-of-knowledge-we-find-that-what-in-former/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Certain kinds of knowledge rob people of their sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/certain-kinds-of-knowledge-rob-people-of-their-sleep/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“...I know there are a number of things you know, probably too many things you know--too many, I say, not because any kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-levin/i-know-there-are-a-number-of-things-you-know-probably-too-many-things/) [Adam Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-levin/) > [“Ilm is rather a comprehensive term, for the Prophet has said: “Knowledge consists of three things, a clear verse (of the Qur- ân), a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-rosenthal/ilm-is-rather-a-comprehensive-term-for-the-prophet-has-said-knowledge/) [Franz Rosenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-rosenthal/) > [There are basically two kinds of knowledge on Earth: EVIL & GOOD. Know the one you're searching for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/there-are-basically-two-kinds-of-knowledge-on-earth-evil-good-know/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [There are many kinds of knowledge, only one of them worth everything, only one of them not subject to opinion or degree or damage.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-frazier/there-are-many-kinds-of-knowledge-only-one-of-them-worth-everything/) [Jan Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-frazier/) > [How can people be anything but ignorant when knowledge isn't saved, isn't taught?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/how-can-people-be-anything-but-ignorant-when-knowledge-isn-t-saved/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Paying attention and awareness are universal capacities of human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-kabat-zinn/paying-attention-and-awareness-are-universal-capacities-of-human/) [Jon Kabat-Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-kabat-zinn/) > [Knowledge is of two kinds: we know a subject itself, or know where to find it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/knowledge-is-of-two-kinds-we-know-a-subject-itself-or-know-where-to/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [I'm optimistic Hong Kong will achieve universal suffrage - no matter the attitude of Beijing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wong/i-m-optimistic-hong-kong-will-achieve-universal-suffrage-no-matter/) [Joshua Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wong/) > [It is not my intention to explain Turkey, its culture and its problems. My literature has a universal concern: I want to bring people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/it-is-not-my-intention-to-explain-turkey-its-culture-and-its-problems/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) ## More by Ursula K. Le Guin > [“...I wore his blood for clothing, on my legs and thighs and hands: a dry, stiff, brown garment with no warmth in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-wore-his-blood-for-clothing-on-my-legs-and-thighs-and-hands-a-dry/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Translation is entirely mysterious. Increasingly I have felt that the art of writing is itself translating, or more like translating than it is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/translation-is-entirely-mysterious-increasingly-i-have-felt-that-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Aeneas' mother is a star?" "No; a goddess." I said cautiously, "Venus is the power that we invoke in spring, in the garden, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/aeneas-mother-is-a-star-no-a-goddess-i-said-cautiously-venus-is-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Meaning - this is perhaps the common note, the bane I am seeking. What is the Meaning of this book, this event in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/meaning-this-is-perhaps-the-common-note-the-bane-i-am-seeking-what-is/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [For fantasy is true, of course. It isn't factual, but it is true. Children know that. Adults know it too, and that is precisely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/for-fantasy-is-true-of-course-it-isn-t-factual-but-it-is-true/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“. . . chronosophy does involve ethics. Because our sense of time involves our ability to separate cause and effect, means and end. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/chronosophy-does-involve-ethics-because-our-sense-of-time-involves/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“If both you and your plane are on time, the airport is merely a diffuse, short, miserable prelude to the intense, long, miserable plane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/if-both-you-and-your-plane-are-on-time-the-airport-is-merely-a/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“The author is not impartial. Dystopia is not tragedy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/the-author-is-not-impartial-dystopia-is-not-tragedy/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Between thought and spoken word is a gap where intention can enter, the symbol be twisted aside, and the lie come to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/between-thought-and-spoken-word-is-a-gap-where-intention-can-enter/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [I have no control over my writing. I have lots of good intentions, but no control. There's a story that wants to be told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-have-no-control-over-my-writing-i-have-lots-of-good-intentions-but/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“I did a lot today. That is, I did something. The only thing I have ever done. I pressed a button. It took the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-did-a-lot-today-that-is-i-did-something-the-only-thing-i-have-ever/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [To me the female principle is, or at least historically has been, basically anarchic. It values order without constraint, rule by custom not by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/to-me-the-female-principle-is-or-at-least-historically-has-been/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Hector had no virtue?” “Of course he did. He won all his battles, till the last one.” “We all do,” Aeneas remarked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/hector-had-no-virtue-of-course-he-did-he-won-all-his-battles-till-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“I was willing to believe him that most modern writing was trash, on the evidence that so much old writing was trash; but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-was-willing-to-believe-him-that-most-modern-writing-was-trash-on/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Can women operate as women in a male institution without becoming imitation men?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/can-women-operate-as-women-in-a-male-institution-without-becoming/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) [Explore all 1,114 Ursula K. Le Guin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) ## More Kind quotes > [Money is the kind of instrument which is very speedily produced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatoly-chubais/money-is-the-kind-of-instrument-which-is-very-speedily-produced/) [Anatoly Chubais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatoly-chubais/) > [Since I worked with Danny Boyle before on Slumdog Millionaire, we have great success and everything. So, when I first got the script and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-rahman/since-i-worked-with-danny-boyle-before-on-slumdog-millionaire-we-have/) [A. R. Rahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-rahman/) > [One of the reasons that I do a lot of different kinds of pictures is because I learn a lot when I'm doing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-jason-leigh/one-of-the-reasons-that-i-do-a-lot-of-different-kinds-of-pictures-is/) [Jennifer Jason Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-jason-leigh/) > [I remember that the bass was turned up slightly more on the mix from last week, and I thought that was good - or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ronson/i-remember-that-the-bass-was-turned-up-slightly-more-on-the-mix-from/) [Mark Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ronson/) > [I always step on the plane with my right foot and touch the outside of the plane with my left hand. Sometimes you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-davis/i-always-step-on-the-plane-with-my-right-foot-and-touch-the-outside/) [Hope Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-davis/) > [Every time I finish a song... most of the time it's in my own head, like this sounds too much like a Townes Van…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/every-time-i-finish-a-song-most-of-the-time-it-s-in-my-own-head-like/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [I did not know that the planning for biological and chemical warfare was so widespread in England, and even in France before France fell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-did-not-know-that-the-planning-for-biological-and-chemical-warfare/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [The bigger the canvas, the better I do. I'm not so good at understated, kitchen-sink kinds of parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/the-bigger-the-canvas-the-better-i-do-i-m-not-so-good-at-understated/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) > [I'm a big fan of all the Boston guys that are acting - Matt Damon , Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg - they made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-wormald/i-m-a-big-fan-of-all-the-boston-guys-that-are-acting-matt-damon-ben/) [Kenny Wormald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-wormald/) > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You're getting into some kind of shape, cop." Aw, come on, now." Butch grinned. "Don't let that shower we took go to your head."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/you-re-getting-into-some-kind-of-shape-cop-aw-come-on-now-butch/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [You don't want to fix things that aren't broken, so that kind of stops you from make changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-weidman/you-don-t-want-to-fix-things-that-aren-t-broken-so-that-kind-of-stops/) [Chris Weidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-weidman/) > [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) Browse all 40,753 Kind quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There are two kinds of knowledge, local and universal.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ursula K. Le Guin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/there-are-two-kinds-of-knowledge-local-and-universal/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Kind" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/there-are-two-kinds-of-knowledge-local-and-universal/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ad/ursula-k-le-guin-138_kind_there-are-two-kinds-of-knowledge-local-a_241145.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ad/ursula-k-le-guin-138_kind_there-are-two-kinds-of-knowledge-local-a_241145.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ad/ursula-k-le-guin-138_kind_there-are-two-kinds-of-knowledge-local-a_241145.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There are two kinds of knowledge, local and universal.” — Ursula K. Le Guin", "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": "Ursula K. Le Guin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There are two kinds of knowledge,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/there-are-two-kinds-of-knowledge-local-and-universal/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/there-are-two-kinds-of-knowledge-local-and-universal/#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 } } ] } ```