Single Idea 20678

[catalogued under 1. Philosophy / B. History of Ideas / 5. Later European Thought]

Full Idea

The great discovery of the Scientific Revolution was that humans do not know the answers to their most important question.

Gist of Idea

The Scientific Revolution was the discovery of our own ignorance

Source

Yuval Noah Harari (Sapiens: brief history of humankind [2014], 14 'Ignoramus')

Book Reference

Harari,Yuval Noah: 'Sapiens: a brief history of Humankind' [Vintage 2014], p.279


A Reaction

I think of that revolution as raising the bar in epistemology, but this idea gives a motivation for doing so. Why the discovery then, and not before?