“The proper route to an understanding of the world is an examination of our errors about it.”
Errol Morris (1948) American filmmaker and writer
Source: Foreword to The Secret Parts of Fortune http://www.errolmorris.com/content/belief/rosenbaum.html
Explaining what led him to study theoretical physics, as quoted by Ian Sample, in The god of small things http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/nov/17/sciencenews.particlephysics, The Guardian, Saturday 17 November 2007.
“The proper route to an understanding of the world is an examination of our errors about it.”
Errol Morris (1948) American filmmaker and writer
Source: Foreword to The Secret Parts of Fortune http://www.errolmorris.com/content/belief/rosenbaum.html
Richard Dawkins (1941) English ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author
An Interview by Sheena McDonald (1995)
Richard Dawkins book The God Delusion
Heart Of The Matter: God Under The Microscope | BBC (1996)
Variant: [... ] one of the truly bad effects of religion is that it teaches us that it is a virtue to be satisfied with not understanding.
Source: The God Delusion
Sören Kierkegaard (1813–1855) Danish philosopher and theologian, founder of Existentialism
Variant: People understand me so little that they do not even understand when I complain of being misunderstood.
Source: The Journals of Kierkegaard
“To understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi.”
William Faulkner (1897–1962) American writer
“Some try to understand the world, while others seek to impose their understanding on it.”
Michael Moorcock The Cornelius Quartet
Source: The Mirror; or, Harlequin Everywhere (pp. 790-791)
Source: The Cornelius Quartet, The Condition of Muzak (1977)
Context: Unfortunately, Mr. Smiles, these latter folk are those least equipped to perform the operation. Like Frankenstein, my dear Mr. Smiles, they produce a monster.
“Women don't understand themselves and what is more they do not care about understanding.”
Remy de Gourmont (1858–1915) French writer
A Virgin Heart (trans. 1922)
David Gemmell book Quest for Lost Heroes
Source: Drenai series, Quest for Lost Heroes, Ch. 10