QuoteProject
It is one of the triumphs of the human that he can know a thing and still not believe it.
John Steinbeck
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Understanding something intellectually doesn't guarantee belief in it emotionally or personally.

This quote by John Steinbeck highlights the complex nature of human cognition and belief. It suggests that an individual can grasp a concept or fact on an intellectual level, yet choose to reject it emotionally or personally because of biases, fears, or experiences. This reflects a fundamental aspect of human nature, where knowledge and belief do not always align, illustrating the struggle many people face in reconciling what they know with what they accept as true in their lives.

Themes

BeliefKnowledgeHuman NatureCognitionTruth

In practice

Example use cases

In a debate on the importance of climate change knowledge, this quote can emphasize the gap between understanding and belief.

More from John Steinbeck

Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.
John SteinbeckRead
At one point, as Samuel urges Adam to raise his boys well regardless of the blood that might be in them, Adam tells him, "You can't make a race horse of a pig." Samuel replies, "No, but you can make a very fast pig.
John SteinbeckRead
And when that crop grew, and was harvested, no man had crumbled a hot clod in his fingers and let the earth sift past his fingertips. No man had touched the seed, or lusted for the growth. Men ate what they had not raised, had no connection with the bread. The land bore under iron, and under iron gradually died; for it was not loved or hated, it had no prayers or curses.
John SteinbeckRead
The comfortable people in tight houses felt pity at first, and then distaste, and finally hatred for the migrant people.
John SteinbeckRead
People do not want advice - they want corroboration.
John SteinbeckRead
You're going to pass something down no matter what you do or if you do nothing. Even if you let yourself go fallow, the weeds will grow and the brambles. Something will grow.
John SteinbeckRead

Similar quotes

Capital punishment is the most premeditated of murders.
Albert CamusRead
Neither Pagan nor Mahamedan nor Jew ought to be excluded from the civil rights of the Commonwealth because of his religion. -quoting John Locke's argument.
Thomas JeffersonRead
How seldom we weigh our neighbor in the same balance with ourselves.
Thomas A KempisRead
I believe in general in a dualism between facts and the ideas of those facts in human heads.
George SantayanaRead
The perfect knowledge of events cannot be acquired without divine inspiration, since all prophetic inspiration receives its prime motivating force from God the creator, then from good fortune and nature.
NostradamusRead
Upon these two foundations, the law of nature and the law of revelation, depend all human laws.
William BlackstoneRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.