Tout est poison, rien n'est poison, tout est une question de dose. Everything is poisonous, nothing is poisonous, it is all a matter of dose.
Claude BernardRead
The fact that knowledge endlessly recedes as the investigator is about to grasp it is what constitutes at the same time his torment and happiness.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The pursuit of knowledge can be both frustrating and rewarding.
This quote by Claude Bernard reflects the paradox of knowledge where the more one seeks to understand, the more elusive that understanding becomes. It captures the dual nature of intellectual pursuit, where the investigator experiences the agony of never fully grasping knowledge, while simultaneously finding joy in the relentless quest for learning and discovery.
Themes
KnowledgePursuitInvestigationLearningHappinessTorment
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about lifelong learning, a speaker might quote Bernard to emphasize the joy and challenges of seeking knowledge.
More from Claude Bernard
All quotes βWhen a physician is called to a patient, he should decide on the diagnosis, then the prognosis, and then the treatment. ... Physicians must know the evolution of the disease, its duration and gravity in order to predict its course and outcome. Here statistics intervene to guide physicians, by teaching them the proportion of mortal cases, and if observation has also shown that the successful and unsuccessful cases can be recognized by certain signs, then the prognosis is more certain.
Claude BernardRead
The goal of scientific physicians in their own science ... is to reduce the indeterminate. Statistics therefore apply only to cases in which the cause of the facts observed is still indeterminate.
Claude BernardRead
Theories are like a stairway; by climbing, science widens its horizon more and more, because theories embody and necessarily include proportionately more facts as they advance.
Claude BernardRead
True science teaches us to doubt and, in ignorance, to refrain.
Claude BernardRead
Now, a living organism is nothing but a wonderful machine endowed with the most marvellous properties and set going by means of the most complex and delicate mechanism.
Claude BernardRead
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In some situations I was difficult, in odd moments impossible, in rare moments loathsome, but at my best unapproachably great.
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You see, I get such fun out of thinking that I don't want to destroy this most pleasant machine that makes life such a big kick.
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If you want to resolve a dispute or come out from conflict, the very first thing is to speak the truth. If you have a headache and tell the doctor you have a stomachache, how can the doctor help? You must speak the truth. The truth will abolish fear.
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In the practical use of our intellect, forgetting is as important as remembering.
William JamesRead