Has there ever been a society which has died of dissent? Several have died of conformity in our lifetime.
Jacob BronowskiRead
Dissent is the native activity of the scientist, and it has got him into a good deal of trouble in the last years. But if that is cut off, what is left will not be a scientist. And I doubt whether it will be a man.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Dissent is essential to scientific progress and human identity; without it, we risk losing our humanity.
In this quote, Jacob Bronowski emphasizes the importance of dissent in the scientific process, suggesting that the ability to challenge and question established norms is fundamental to what it means to be a scientist and, by extension, a human. He warns that suppressing this critical activity can lead not only to stagnation in scientific advancement but also to a diminished human experience.
Themes
DissentScienceProgressHumanityQuestioning
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about scientific integrity, this quote can highlight the necessity of questioning established theories.
More from Jacob Bronowski
All quotes →There is no absolute knowledge. And those who claim it, whether they are scientists or dogmatists, open the door to tragedy.
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To me the most interesting thing about man is that he is an animal who practices art and science and in every known society practices both together.
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A man becomes creative, whether he is an artist or scientist, when he finds a new unity in the variety of nature. He does so by finding a likeness between things which were not thought alike before.
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The values by which we are to survive are not rules for just and unjust conduct, but are those deeper illuminations in whose light justice and injustice, good and evil, means and ends are seen in fearful sharpness of outline.
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The basis for poetry and scientific discovery is the ability to comprehend the unlike in the like and the like in the unlike.
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