Science without conscience is the soul's perdition.
Francois RabelaisRead
Science without conscience is the death of the soul.
Interpretation
The pursuit of scientific knowledge must be governed by moral considerations to prevent harm to humanity.
Francois Rabelais suggests that scientific advances without ethical oversight can lead to detrimental consequences for individuals and society. This quote emphasizes the importance of blending intellectual pursuit with a sense of responsibility and compassion, highlighting that the potential for innovation can become destructive when divorced from humanity's moral compass.
In practice
During a seminar on bioethics, this quote can serve to highlight the importance of moral responsibility in scientific research.
Science without conscience is the soul's perdition.
If the skies fall, one may hope to catch larks.
We always long for the forbidden things, and desire what is denied us.
Bring down the curtain, the farce is over
There is no truer cause of unhappiness amongst men than, where naturally expecting charity and benevolence, they receive harm and vexation.
If you want to avoid seeing an idiot, break the mirror.
It's hard to imagine anything more interesting than learning how we're woven into the enormous tapestry of existence. Where did our universe come from? How special is our world, and how special are we? We allocate tens of billions of dollars annually to NASA, NSF and academia in search of the answers.
We have also arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. This is a prescription for disaster. We might get away with it for a while, but sooner or later this combustible mixture of ignorance and power is going to blow up in our faces.
I have to keep going, as there are always people on my track. I have to publish my present work as rapidly as possible in order to keep in the race. The best sprinters in this road of investigation are Becquerel and the Curies.
The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true science. He who knows it not, and can no longer wonder, no longer feel amazement, is as good as dead. We all had this priceless talent when we were young. But as time goes by, many of us lose it. The true scientist never loses the faculty of amazement. It is the essence of his being.
Mathematics is a more powerful instrument of knowledge than any other that has been bequeathed to us by human agency.
I believe there are no questions that science can't answer about a physical universe.
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