Anybody who has been seriously engaged in scientific work of any kind realizes that over the entrance to the gates of the temple of science are written the words: 'Ye must have faith.'
Max PlanckRead
Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are a part of the mystery that we are trying to solve.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Science offers tools to understand nature, but some mysteries remain unsolvable because we are part of that mystery.
This quote by Max Planck reflects on the limitations of scientific inquiry. While science can provide insights and explanations for many phenomena in nature, it acknowledges that we, as conscious beings, are inherently intertwined with the mysteries of existence. Ultimately, our quest for understanding is influenced by the very essence of who we are, which complicates our ability to fully resolve the enigmas of the universe.
Themes
ScienceMysteryNatureUnderstandingConsciousness
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on the limits of scientific inquiry, I quoted Planck to illustrate our relationship with nature.
More from Max Planck
All quotes βNo burden is so heavy for a man to bear as a succession of happy days.
Max PlanckRead
It is not the possession of truth, but the success which attends the seeking after it, that enriches the seeker and brings happiness to him.
Max PlanckRead
We have no right to assume that any physical laws exist, or if they have existed up until now, that they will continue to exist in a similar manner in the future.
Max PlanckRead
Experiment is the only means of knowledge at our disposal. Everything else is poetry, imagination.
Max PlanckRead
There is no matter as suchβmind is the matrix of all matter.
Max PlanckRead
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Science is what we have learned about how to keep from fooling ourselves.
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