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Science is wonderfully equipped to answer the question 'How?' but it gets terribly confused when you ask the question 'Why?'
Erwin Chargaff
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Science can explain the mechanisms behind phenomena, but it struggles to address the underlying reasons or purposes.

In this quote, Erwin Chargaff highlights the distinction between the capabilities of science and the philosophical inquiries about existence and purpose. While science excels in providing empirical answers to questions of 'how' things happen—such as the processes and mechanisms inherent in nature—it often falls short when confronted with the deeper inquiries of 'why' things occur, which pertain to meaning and interpretation beyond mere observation. This reflects the limitations of scientific inquiry, suggesting that not all questions can be answered through empirical evidence alone.

Themes

ScienceQuestioningHowWhyPhilosophy

In practice

Example use cases

In a philosophy lecture discussing the limits of scientific inquiry.

More from Erwin Chargaff

Science is now the craft of the manipulation, substitution and deflection of the forces of nature. What I see coming is a gigantic slaughterhouse, an Auschwitz, in which valuable enzymes, hormones, and so on will be extracted instead of gold teeth.
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One of the most insidious and nefarious properties of scientific models is their tendency to take over, and sometimes supplant, reality.
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You can stop splitting the atom; you can stop visiting the moon; you can stop using aerosols; you may even decide not to kill entire populations by the use of a few bombs. But you cannot recall a new form of life.
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