Nicolaus Copernicus — "To know that we know what we know, and to know that we do not know what we do no…"
To know that we know what we know, and to know that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge.
Get This Quote & Author's Image Illustrated On:
Click any product to generate a realistic preview. Up to 3 at a time.
* Initial load can take up to 90 seconds — revising the preview in another color is nearly instant.
Kitchen
Apparel
Other
More from Nicolaus Copernicus
"It is clear that the earth also moves in a similar manner, and describes an annual course."
"Indeed, I am aware that a philosopher's thoughts are far removed from the judgment of the multitude, for his aim is to seek the truth in all things, to the extent permitted to human reason by God."
"Knowledge makes a bloody entrance."
"The universe is a spherical whole, and of all possible forms, the sphere is the most perfect."
"The Earth also is not without a certain motion."
Verification
Confirmed
Found in 3 providers: gemini,grok,deepseek
3 sources checked
Understanding this quote
What it means
True wisdom requires intellectual honesty about the limits of your own understanding. Recognizing the boundaries of your knowledge — confidently owning what you genuinely understand while honestly admitting what remains unknown — is itself a sophisticated form of intelligence, not weakness. Most people confuse familiarity with real comprehension, but genuine knowledge demands clear-eyed self-assessment about both certainty and ignorance.
Relevance to Nicolaus Copernicus
Copernicus spent decades carefully distinguishing what mathematics and observation could actually prove about celestial motion versus inherited Ptolemaic assumptions. His heliocentric model required the courage to say existing astronomical knowledge was wrong while also admitting his own model had unresolved problems. He held his manuscript for years, embodying this principle — publishing only when confident he knew what he knew.
The era
The Renaissance and early Reformation period was dismantling medieval scholastic authority, where Church doctrine defined the boundaries of acceptable knowledge. Challenging Aristotelian cosmology meant confronting institutional certainty with empirical humility. Copernicus worked during an era when admitting uncertainty was intellectually dangerous, yet the Scientific Revolution demanded precisely this epistemic honesty to replace dogma with systematic, evidence-based inquiry.
AI-generated insights based on extensive research and information for context. Factual errors? Email [email protected].