All men by nature desire to know.

πάντες ἄνθρωποι τοῦ εἰδέναι ὀρέγονται φύσει.

Aristotle

Metaphysics

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More information about this quote

Topic

Curiosity Knowledge Human nature

Author

Aristotle

Source

Metaphysics

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

322 BC 320s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Occupation

Philosopher Writer

From

Greece Europe Ancient Greece

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Aristotle. τὰ μετὰ τὰ φυσικά [Those after the physics]. c. 322 BC, bk. 1.

Current Citation

Aristotle. Metaphysics, translated by Hugh Lawson-Tancred. Penguin Classics, 1999, book alpha.

Illustrated Quote

A quote by Aristotle about curiosity: “All men by nature desire to know.”
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A quote by Aristotle about curiosity: “All men by nature desire to know.”
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A quote by Aristotle about curiosity: “All men by nature desire to know.”
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Related Quotes

Below are one or more quotes that share at least one tag with the quote at the top of the page

Another quote by Aristotle

This only is denied even to God,
The power to make what has been done undone.

Agathon

Quoted in The Nicomachean Ethics, by Aristotle

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More information about this quote
Topic
God's power God Changing the past The past
Speaker
Agathon

Author

Aristotle
Source
The Nicomachean Ethics
Genre
Philosophical literature
Language
Greek
Time
350 BC 350s BC 4th century BC
Era
Classical antiquity
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Agathon. Quoted in Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια, Ēthika Nikomacheia [Nicomachean Ethics], written by Aristotle. c. 350 BC, bk. 6.

Current Citation

Agathon. Quoted in Nicomachean Ethics, written by Aristotle, translated by Terence Irwin. Hackett Publishing Company, 2019, bk. 7, ch. 2.

Another quote about Knowledge

I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind: it may be the beginning of knowledge, but you have scarcely, in your thoughts, advanced to the stage of science, whatever the matter may be.

William Thomson, Lord Kelvin

Electrical Units of Measurement

More information about this quote
Topic
Knowledge
Speaker
William Thomson, Lord Kelvin
Source
Electrical Units of Measurement
Medium
Lecture
Language
English
Time
1883 1880s 19th century
Authentication Score 3
Citation

Thomson, William. "Electrical Units of Measurement." 3 May 1883, Institute of Civil Engineers, London, England, UK. Lecture.

Another quote from Classical antiquity

Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.

Job

Job 1:21

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More information about this quote
Topic
God is in control God The human condition
Speaker
Job
Source
Book of Job The Bible
Medium
Scripture
Genre
Religious literature
Language
Hebrew
Time
500 BC 500s BC 6th century BC
Era
Classical antiquity
Authentication Score 3
Citation

The Holy Bible: The King James Version. 1611. (Job 1:21).

Another quote originally in Greek

Behold! human beings living in an underground den... Like ourselves... They see only their own shadows, or the shadows of one another, which the fire throws on the opposite wall of the cave.

Socrates

Quoted in Republic, by Plato

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More information about this quote
Topic
Ignorance Education
Speaker
Socrates

Author

Plato
Source
Republic
Medium
Philosophical dialogue Dialogue
Genre
Philosophical literature
Language
Greek
Time
375 BC 370s BC 4th century BC
Era
Classical antiquity
Authentication Score 1
Original Citation

Socrates. Quoted in Πολιτεία [Republic], written by Plato. c. 375 BCE.

Current Citation

Socrates. Quoted in Republic, written by Plato, translated by Desmond Lee. Penguin Classics, 2007.