The supreme end of education is expert discernment in all things - the power to tell the good from the bad, the genuine from the counterfeit, and to prefer the good and the genuine to the bad and the counterfeit.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Education aims to develop the ability to judge truth and value accurately.
- In plain terms
- Learning is about distinguishing right from wrong.
- What can you take from it?
- Train your judgment, not just memory.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Do you question what you learn?
- How do you judge truth?
Another view
Knowledge without experience may fail at discernment.
More from Samuel Johnson
Your manuscript is both good and original, but the part that is good is not original and the part that is original is not good.
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