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John B. S. Haldane Quotes






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A book glorifying war may be quite as anti-social, and to my mind quite as obscene, as one glorifying illicit love, but it is never suppressed, and seldom publicly denounced.
[War]

A fairly bright boy is far more intelligent and far better company than the average adult.

A single mind can acquire a fair knowledge of the whole field of science, and find plenty of time to spare for ordinary human affairs. Not many people take the trouble to do so. But without a knowledge of science one cannot understand current events. That is why our modem literature and art are mostly so unreal.
[Science]

And if we must educate our poets and artists in science, we must educate our masters, labour and capital, in art.

During the Middle Ages Europe was far too much influenced by celibate men. Today much too big a part in public life is played by celibate women, and too little by mothers. I find no new ideas more genuinely disgusting than that held by many educated authorities that a woman ceases to be suitable as a teacher when she becomes a mother.
[Teaching]

I have never yet met a healthy person who worried very much about his health, or a really good person who worried much about his own soul.

I think, however, that so long as our present economic and national systems continue, scientific research has little to fear.

I wish I had the voice of Homer to sing of rectal carcinoma.

If one could conclude as to the nature of the Creator from a study of his creation it would appear that God has a special fondness for stars and beetles.

In fact, words are well adapted for description and the arousing of emotion, but for many kinds of precise thought other symbols are much better.
[Adapted]

It is my supposition that the Universe in not only queerer than we imagine, is queerer than we can imagine.

Marriage has a biological basis, and would be far more often a success if its biology were generally understood and the knowledge acted upon.
[Marriage]

My own suspicion is that the universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose.

The extreme socialists desire to run every nation as a single business concern.

The ideal society would enable every man and woman to develop along their individual lines, and not attempt to force all into one mould, however admirable.
[Society]

The wise man regulates his conduct by the theories both of religion and science. But he regards these theories not as statements of ultimate fact but as art-forms.

There can be no truce between science and religion.

There is no great invention, from fire to flying, which has not been hailed as an insult to some god.

There is still an immense amount to be learned about health, but if what is at present known to a few were part of the general knowledge, the average expectation of life could probably be increased by about ten years.
[Health]

To the biologist the problem of socialism appears largely as a problem of size.


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