The claim

Apparently Stephen Hawking said: “ The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, but the illusion of knowing.”

Our conclusion

The quote can be attributed relatively clearly to the US historian Daniel J. Boorstin, who has used it in variations since 1983 and the 1984 version is the one that sounds most like the “Hawking version”. However, there is no evidence that Stephen Hawking used the words in any interview or book.

The quote has been used again and again for countless years, from small social media accounts to large media outlets, but it has hardly ever been questioned. Why? It's not negative and would somehow fit the supposed origin, Stephen Hawking. In fact, the quote about the illusion of knowledge being the greatest enemy of knowledge is much older and not by Hawking.

The quote

The quote has been circulating since 2001 with Stephen Hawking as the alleged author, for example here are just a few of them on Twitter :

MIMIKAMA
The quote on Twitter

“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, but the illusion of knowledge” – Stephen Hawking

When Hawking died on March 14, 2018 at the age of 76, the quote became particularly widespread and was also reproduced by reputable media:

It would even make sense if Hawking had ever said this, since shortly before his death he actually warned that science and education were in greater danger than ever before, pointing to the challenges of the next decades: global warming, population growth , species extinction, deforestation and ocean degradation.

As beautiful as these words are, they do not come from Stephen Hawking, but were used almost exactly in the exact wording in an interview with the historian Daniel J. Boorstin in 1984 - who himself describes them as just an aphorism.

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Looking for the quote

The original quote that was widely used is: “ The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge. “ – and this quote is found far more often in search engines, but at the same time there are also completely different sources. None of them are Hawking, most point to Daniel J. Boorstin.

There is no interview or lecture on the Internet in which Hawking ever used the words. A search in the original English versions of his books also yielded: nothing. There is absolutely no source to be found that proves beyond doubt that Hawkings ever said these words.

A quote from 1984

On January 29, 1984, an article about the renowned US historian Daniel J. Boorstin appeared in the Washington Post (see HERE ). In the interview, Boorstin explains his interesting career from hobby writer and amateur historian to one of the most well-known experts.

However, he never liked to describe himself as an expert, but rather as a lover of a topic. He defined it this way in the interview:

“An amateur is a lover of a subject. I am a lover of facts. A fact is salvation, as long as you don't want to force it into a preconceived scheme. The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance - it is the illusion of knowledge. “

Daniel J. Boorstin

A fact should therefore never be seen as an absolute dogma, but can change or even disappear entirely as new facts emerge - which is basically the definition of scientific thinking.

Variations of the quote

The blog “ Quote Investigator ” dug even deeper and found even more variations of the quote in old literary sources, but they are essentially the same. Most of these come from Boorstin's works; in one case the words are attributed to a German philosopher, in another case Boorstin himself calls it an aphorism.

1994 , Cleopatra's Nose: Essays on the Unexpected by Daniel J. Boorstin: " The history of Western science confirms the aphorism that the great threat to progress is not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge ."

1987 , Providence Journal on a speech by a board member of the National Council of Senior Citizens: "' The greatest obstacle to the discovery of the shape of the earth is not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge, ' he quoted a German philosopher. “

1987 , Hidden History by Daniel J. Boorstin: “ For Gibbon, human nature is anything but incomprehensible, but it remains only partially explainable. For him, the threat to understanding was not so much ignorance as the illusion of knowledge. His explanations of rise and fall, of prosperity and decline are always lists. What he tells is “the triumph of barbarism and religion.” “

1983 , The Discoverers by Daniel J. Boorstin, A Personal Note to the Reader: “ The obstacles to discovery – the illusions of knowledge – are also part of our story. Only against the forgotten background of common sense and the myths of their time can we glimpse the courage, intrepidity, heroic and imaginative advances of the great explorers. “

1983 , The Discoverers by Daniel J. Boorstin: “ The great obstacle to the discovery of the shape of the earth, the continents, and the ocean was not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge. Imagination drew bold lines and immediately served hopes and fears, while knowledge advanced with slow steps and conflicting witnesses. “

1861 , History of Civilization in England by Henry Thomas Buckle: “ For the great enemy of knowledge is not error, but indolence. All we want is the discussion and then we are sure that we will do well no matter how many mistakes we make. One error fights with another, each destroys its opponent, and the truth develops. “

2001: Stephen Hawking mentioned for the first time

As can be clearly seen above, the quotation and variations were used again and again by Boorstin. But in 2001 it was first claimed that the words came from Hawking. On August 6, 2001, a newspaper in Ardmore, Oklahoma, published a section entitled "Daily Almanac" that contained several quotes:

“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, but the illusion of knowledge.” Stephen Hawking

The Daily Ardmoreite, Section: Living, Daily Almanac

Conclusion

At least in terms of usage, the quote can be attributed relatively clearly to the US historian Daniel J. Boorstin, who has used it in variations since 1983 and the 1984 version is the one that sounds most like the “Hawking version”. However, there is no evidence that Stephen Hawking used the words in any interview or book.

However, at least a small bridge can be built with Hawking: Over the course of his life and clearly visible in the content of his books, he repeatedly contradicted his previous theories and put forward new theories.

In this respect, Hawking may never have said these words - but he lived them!

Also interesting: What did Loriot say about intelligent people and idiots in times of crisis?
At least not what is spread on social media, among other things. – Loriot didn’t even say that! About misattributed quotes

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