--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Modern ignorance is in people's…" description: "\"“Modern ignorance is in people's assumption that they can outsmart their own nature. Wendell Berry”\" — Wendell Berry" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c5/wendell-berry-236_ignorance_modern-ignorance-is-in-people-s-assumpti_692869.jpg" --- # Modern ignorance is in people's assumption that they can… ![“Modern ignorance is in people's assumption that they can outsmart their own nature. Wendell Berry” quote by Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c5/wendell-berry-236_ignorance_modern-ignorance-is-in-people-s-assumpti_692869.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c5/wendell-berry-236_ignorance_modern-ignorance-is-in-people-s-assumpti_692869.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c5/wendell-berry-236_ignorance_modern-ignorance-is-in-people-s-assumpti_692869.jpg) > ““Modern ignorance is in people's assumption that they can outsmart their own nature. Wendell Berry”” [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People think they can outwit their nature, but ignorance blinds them to inherent limits. **In simple terms:** People think they can outsmart nature, but they cannot. Key Takeaway Recognize and respect natural limits. Themes ignorance nature hubris Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - environmental policy - personal health - technology use - education Key Concepts human behavior philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions about nature do you hold? - How can humility guide decision making? A Different Perspective Nature’s complexity often exceeds human foresight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) ## Related quotes > [“Modern ignorance is in people's assumption that they can outsmart their own nature.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/modern-ignorance-is-in-people-s-assumption-that-they-can-outsmart-2/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The modern ignorance is in people's assumption that they can outsmart their own nature. It is in the arrogance that will believe nothing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-modern-ignorance-is-in-people-s-assumption-that-they-can-outsmart/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [THE WILD ROSE” – BY WENDELL BERRY Sometimes, hidden from me in daily custom and in ritual I live by you unaware, as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-wild-rose-by-wendell-berry-sometimes-hidden-from-me-in-daily/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Instead of trying to group people into something and have this one assumption, get to know someone for who they are. I guess a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-liu/instead-of-trying-to-group-people-into-something-and-have-this-one/) [Amber Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-liu/) > [A lot of people get the assumption that because someone is able to sit here in front of a camera and speak for 10…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-sugg/a-lot-of-people-get-the-assumption-that-because-someone-is-able-to/) [Zoe Sugg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-sugg/) > [Lots of time people have the assumption that I'm making so much money that I don't care.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-leaf/lots-of-time-people-have-the-assumption-that-i-m-making-so-much-money/) [Ryan Leaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-leaf/) > [“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/knowledge-will-forever-govern-ignorance-and-a-people-who-mean-to-be/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”104”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/knowledge-will-forever-govern-ignorance-and-a-people-who-mean-to-be-2/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [Not only do I recommend Wendell Berry to anyone who will talk to me for more than seven seconds, but I buy his books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-offerman/not-only-do-i-recommend-wendell-berry-to-anyone-who-will-talk-to-me/) [Nick Offerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-offerman/) > [“If the environmental crisis is ultimately a crisis of character, as Wendell Berry told us way back in the 1970's, then sooner or later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/if-the-environmental-crisis-is-ultimately-a-crisis-of-character-as/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [It would not do for the consumer to know that the hamburger she is eating came from a steer who spent much of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-sweet/it-would-not-do-for-the-consumer-to-know-that-the-hamburger-she-is/) [Leonard Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-sweet/) > [“Wendell Berry warned, “It is easy . . . to imagine that the next great division of the world will be between people who wish to live as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tish-harrison-warren/wendell-berry-warned-it-is-easy-to-imagine-that-the-next-great/) [Tish Harrison Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tish-harrison-warren/) > [“We disdain limits. Wendell Berry warned, “It is easy . . . to imagine that the next great division of the world will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tish-harrison-warren/we-disdain-limits-wendell-berry-warned-it-is-easy-to-imagine-that-the/) [Tish Harrison Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tish-harrison-warren/) > [“Eating is an agricultural act,' as Wendell Berry famously said. It is also an ecological act, and a political act, too. Though much has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/eating-is-an-agricultural-act-as-wendell-berry-famously-said-it-is/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“Wendell Berry’s definition: “If the word community is to mean or amount to anything, it must refer to a place (in its natural integrity)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-votava/wendell-berry-s-definition-if-the-word-community-is-to-mean-or-amount/) [Mark Votava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-votava/) ## More by Wendell Berry > [During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/during-the-last-17-years-i-have-been-working-at-the-restoration-of-a/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. Old usage tells us that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-husband-is-to-use-with-care-to-keep-to-save-to-make-last-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The two families, sundered in the ruin of a friendship, were united again first in new friendship and then in mariage. My grandfather made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-two-families-sundered-in-the-ruin-of-a-friendship-were-united/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The living can't quit living because the world has turned terrible and people they love and need are killed. They can't because they don't.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-living-can-t-quit-living-because-the-world-has-turned-terrible/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“I knew a man who, in the age of chain-saws, went right on cutting his wood with a handsaw and an axe. He was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-knew-a-man-who-in-the-age-of-chain-saws-went-right-on-cutting-his/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The concept of country, homeland, dwelling place becomes simplified as "the environment" -- that is, what surrounds us, we have already made a profound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-concept-of-country-homeland-dwelling-place-becomes-simplified-as/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [A community is the mental and spiritual condition of knowing that the place is shared, and that the people who share the place define…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/a-community-is-the-mental-and-spiritual-condition-of-knowing-that-the/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“That we can prescribe the terms of our own success, that we can live outside or in ignorance of the Great Economy are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/that-we-can-prescribe-the-terms-of-our-own-success-that-we-can-live/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The mind that comes to rest is tended In ways that it cannot intend: Is borne, preserved, and comprehended By what it cannot comprehend.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mind-that-comes-to-rest-is-tended-in-ways-that-it-cannot-intend/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The mercy of the world is time. Time does not stop for love, but it does not stop for death and grief, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mercy-of-the-world-is-time-time-does-not-stop-for-love-but-it/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source and destination of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-soil-is-the-great-connector-of-our-lives-the-source-and/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-dislike-the-thought-that-some-animal-has-been-made-miserable-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/laughter-is-immeasurable-be-joyful/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [These are people who are capable of devotion, public devotion, to justice. They meant what they said and every day that passes, they mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/these-are-people-who-are-capable-of-devotion-public-devotion-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) [Explore all 847 Wendell Berry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## More Ignorance quotes > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ignorance is not bliss — it is oblivion. Determined ignorance is the hastiest kind of oblivion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-wylie/ignorance-is-not-bliss-it-is-oblivion-determined-ignorance-is-the/) [Philip Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-wylie/) > [... informed ignorance provides the natural state of mind for research scientists at the ever-shifting frontiers of knowledge. People who believe themselves ignorant of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/informed-ignorance-provides-the-natural-state-of-mind-for-research/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“If knowledge does not liberate the self from the self, then ignorance is better than such knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-sanai/if-knowledge-does-not-liberate-the-self-from-the-self-then-ignorance/) [Hakim Sanai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-sanai/) > [You are senile old fool, and because of your impudence, I cannot fathom how you still live!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-senile-old-fool-and-because-of-your-impudence-i-cannot-fathom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/knowledge-will-forever-govern-ignorance-and-a-people-who-mean-to-be/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [“Don’t turn your face away. Once you’ve seen, you can no longer act like you don’t know. Open your eyes to the truth. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vashti-quiroz-vega/don-t-turn-your-face-away-once-you-ve-seen-you-can-no-longer-act-like/) Vashti Quiroz-Vega > [Nothing is worse than active ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/nothing-is-worse-than-active-ignorance/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The only victories which leave no regret are those which are gained over ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/the-only-victories-which-leave-no-regret-are-those-which-are-gained/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [“Those who embrace prejudice doom themselves to live in ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-p-lintz-sr/those-who-embrace-prejudice-doom-themselves-to-live-in-ignorance/) John P Lintz Sr > [“You are a lawmaker in your own right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-are-a-lawmaker-in-your-own-right/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Sanity can take one of only two forms: that of ignorance, or denial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-r-audette/sanity-can-take-one-of-only-two-forms-that-of-ignorance-or-denial/) [Derek R. Audette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-r-audette/) [Browse all 5,657 Ignorance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Modern ignorance is in people's assumption that they can outsmart their own nature. 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