--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Education is a progressive discovery of…" description: "\"Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.\" — Will Durant" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c7/will-durant-948_discovery_education-is-a-progressive-discovery-of_18047.png" --- # Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance. ![“Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.” quote by Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c7/will-durant-948_discovery_education-is-a-progressive-discovery-of_18047.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c7/will-durant-948_discovery_education-is-a-progressive-discovery-of_18047.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c7/will-durant-948_discovery_education-is-a-progressive-discovery-of_18047.png) > “Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.” [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Education reveals how much we don't know, prompting continual learning. **In simple terms:** Learning uncovers ignorance. Key Takeaway Knowledge growth starts with recognizing unknowns. Themes self-awareness learning humility growth knowledge Mood inspired reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - classroom - self-study - career development - research - mentoring Key Concepts epistemology personal development Practical Applications - curriculum design - personal coaching Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to be truly educated? - How can we embrace ignorance as a catalyst for growth? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) ## Related quotes > [Education is a progressive discovery of your own ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/education-is-a-progressive-discovery-of-your-own-ignorance/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [Sixty years ago I knew everything; now I know nothing; education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance. We teach more by what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/sixty-years-ago-i-knew-everything-now-i-know-nothing-education-is-a/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [Sixty years ago I knew everything; now I know nothing; education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/sixty-years-ago-i-knew-everything-now-i-know-nothing-education-is-a-2/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [Like an organism, photography was born whole. It is in our progressive discovery of it that its history lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-szarkowski/like-an-organism-photography-was-born-whole-it-is-in-our-progressive/) [John Szarkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-szarkowski/) > [“There is no better outcome of one’s education, which the American philosopher William Durant called “a progressive discovery of our ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-mali/there-is-no-better-outcome-of-one-s-education-which-the-american/) [Taylor Mali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-mali/) > [For I found myself embarrassed with so many doubts and errors that it seemed to me that the effort to instruct myself had no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/for-i-found-myself-embarrassed-with-so-many-doubts-and-errors-that-it-2/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [“The greatest scientific discovery was the discovery of ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/the-greatest-scientific-discovery-was-the-discovery-of-ignorance/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance - it is the illusion of knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-boorstin/the-greatest-obstacle-to-discovery-is-not-ignorance-it-is-the/) [Daniel J. Boorstin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-boorstin/) > [“The greatest scientific discovery was the discovery of ignorance. Once humans realised how little they knew about the world, they suddenly had a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/the-greatest-scientific-discovery-was-the-discovery-of-ignorance-once/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“However, the Scientific Revolution freed humankind from this conviction. The greatest scientific discovery was the discovery of ignorance. Once humans realised how little they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/however-the-scientific-revolution-freed-humankind-from-this/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“For I found myself embarrassed with so many doubts and errors that it seemed to me that the effort to instruct myself had no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/for-i-found-myself-embarrassed-with-so-many-doubts-and-errors-that-it/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [“Human history’s the most funny and yet the most tragic discovery will be the discovery of the religious people that all religions are man-made!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/human-history-s-the-most-funny-and-yet-the-most-tragic-discovery-will/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Magic begins in superstition, and ends in science. ... At every step the history of civilization teaches us how slight and superficial a structure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/magic-begins-in-superstition-and-ends-in-science-at-every-step-the/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [It is a common sentence that Knowledge is power; but who hath duly considered or set forth the power of Ignorance? Knowledge slowly builds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/it-is-a-common-sentence-that-knowledge-is-power-but-who-hath-duly-2/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“It's a fact— everyone is ignorant in some way or another. Ignorance is our deepest secret. And it is one of the scariest things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/it-s-a-fact-everyone-is-ignorant-in-some-way-or-another-ignorance-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) ## More by Will Durant > [I came to think of myself, not as a dance and chaos of molecules, but as a brief and minute portion of that majestic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/i-came-to-think-of-myself-not-as-a-dance-and-chaos-of-molecules-but/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“This is the tragedy of almost every civilization—that its soul is in its faith, and seldom survives philosophy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/this-is-the-tragedy-of-almost-every-civilization-that-its-soul-is-in/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [In philosophy, as in politics, the longest distance between two points is a straight line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/in-philosophy-as-in-politics-the-longest-distance-between-two-points/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [As long as there is poverty there will be gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/as-long-as-there-is-poverty-there-will-be-gods/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“Hence the uselessness of logic: no one ever convinced anybody by logic; and even logicians use logic only as a source of income. 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