John Desmond Bernal Quotes

Powerful John Desmond Bernal for Daily Growth

About John Desmond Bernal

John Desmond Bernal (1901-1971), a towering figure in the field of science and philosophy, was born on October 10, 1901, in Dublin, Ireland. His father, Thomas James Bernal, was a civil servant, and his mother, Margaret Desmond, was a schoolteacher. Early in life, John exhibited an exceptional intellect and thirst for knowledge that would shape the course of his illustrious career. Bernal studied at Trinity College Dublin but left without graduating to pursue postgraduate studies in crystallography under William Lawrence Bragg at the University of Cambridge. In 1927, Bernal moved to Birkbeck College, London, where he would spend the rest of his academic career. Bernal's work ranged across various disciplines, including physics, mathematics, geology, and biology. He is best known for his groundbreaking contributions to crystallography, particularly in the field of X-ray diffraction. Bernal's most notable works include "The Physical Basis of Heredity" (1931), "The World in the Stone Age" (1929-1932), and "The Structure of Chemical Crystals" (1934). Throughout his life, Bernal was a vocal proponent for scientific rationalism and socialism. He was influenced by the ideas of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin, which he integrated into his philosophical perspective on science and society. Bernal's most significant philosophical work is "The Fabric of the Universe" (1954), where he proposed a unified theory of physics and biology. Bernal was also a key figure in the development of molecular biology, collaborating with Francis Crick and James Watson on the structure of DNA. Despite not being included in the discovery's official recognition due to his Marxist leanings, Bernal made an indelible impact on the field. John Desmond Bernal passed away on September 16, 1971, leaving behind a rich legacy that continues to inspire scientists and philosophers alike. His work bridged the gap between science, philosophy, and socialism, making him one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"In science the good hypotheses are sometimes indistinguishable from the true ones."

This quote emphasizes that in the realm of scientific inquiry, a good hypothesis - one that is logical, well-supported, and makes accurate predictions - may not always be identical to the truth but can approach it closely. It underscores the iterative nature of science where hypotheses are tested, refined, or discarded based on evidence, gradually leading us closer to understanding the underlying truths in the universe.

"Science is the search for truth, but the search is what counts more than the finding."

This quote emphasizes that the pursuit or process of science, in seeking truth, holds more value than simply discovering a single fact. It suggests that the journey of inquiry, exploration, and learning through scientific methods fosters personal growth, understanding, and progress. The quote underscores that the intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, and collaboration involved in the scientific process are essential to human advancement and should be cherished above any specific findings.

"The most important thing we can do in science is to widen its horizons."

This quote by John Desmond Bernal emphasizes the importance of expanding the boundaries of scientific knowledge, not just for the sake of acquisition but because broadening horizons leads to more comprehensive understanding and discovery. In essence, it's a call to scientists and researchers to continuously push the limits of what is known and explore new frontiers, as this progress fuels innovation and advances human development.

"If you want to have good ideas, you must have many ideas – let them come, even if bad."

This quote by John Desmond Bernal emphasizes the importance of quantity in the process of generating quality ideas. It suggests that a fertile mind is one that entertains numerous thoughts, some of which may be imperfect or ill-conceived, but from which the truly valuable ideas can emerge. The key takeaway is that one should not shy away from brainstorming multiple ideas, as this increases the chances of discovering original and impactful concepts.

"Science is a first-rate piece of furniture for a man's upper chamber, as art is the furnishing for the room he has got to live in."

This quote by John Desmond Bernal suggests that science, like intellectual knowledge, plays a crucial role in shaping our understanding of the world, similar to how furniture contributes to the functionality and aesthetic appeal of one's living space. On the other hand, art is compared to the atmosphere or personality of the room, enriching our emotional and sensory experiences. In essence, Bernal implies that while science provides a rational foundation for life, art nourishes our soul, both being essential components for human growth and fulfillment.

Naturalism aimed at giving the primitive wishes full play but failed because these wishes are too primitive, too infantile, too inconsistent with themselves to be satisfied even by the greatest license.

- John Desmond Bernal

Play, Satisfied, Primitive, Infantile

The recognition of the art that informs all pure science need not mean the abandonment for it of all present art, rather it will mean the completion of the transformation of art that has already begun.

- John Desmond Bernal

Art, Completion, Need, Abandonment

The relevance of Marxism to science is that it removes it from its imagined position of complete detachment and shows it as a part, but a critically important part, of economy and social development.

- John Desmond Bernal

Development, Marxism, Detachment

A part of sexuality may go to research, and a much larger part must lead to aesthetic creation. The art of the future will, because of the very opportunities and materials it will have at its command, need an infinitely stronger formative impulse than it does now.

- John Desmond Bernal

Aesthetic, Very, Larger, Materials

We shall be forced to attempt planned and directed research employing hundreds of workers for many years, and this cannot be done without risking the loss of independence and originality. This is a serious and fundamental obstacle but it may be overcome in two ways.

- John Desmond Bernal

Originality, Forced, Risking

Political and social events must also be effective, but not in a very obvious fashion. But political confusion and prolonged peace undoubtedly affect creative thought but whether they respectively hinder or help it is not at all certain.

- John Desmond Bernal

Thought, Social, Very, Respectively

The human mind evolved always in the company of the human body, and of the animal body before it was human. The intricate connections of mind and body must exceed our imagination, as from our point of view we are peculiarly prevented from observing them.

- John Desmond Bernal

Body, Point Of View, Before, Exceed

As the scene of life would be more the cold emptiness of space than the warm, dense atmosphere of planets, the advantage of containing no organic material at all, so as to be independent of both these conditions, would be increasingly felt.

- John Desmond Bernal

Space, Atmosphere, Emptiness

As experimentation becomes more complex, the need for the co-operation in it of technical elements from outside becomes greater and the modern laboratory tends increasingly to resemble the factory and to employ in its service increasing numbers of purely routine workers.

- John Desmond Bernal

Employ, Increasingly, Purely, Co-Operation

Hunger and sex still dominate the primitive mammalian side of human existence, but at the present time it looks as if humanity were within sight of their satisfaction. Permanent plenty, no longer a Utopian dream, awaits the arrival of permanent peace.

- John Desmond Bernal

Arrival, Dominate, Primitive, Utopian

Anticipation of movement, through muscular innervation and memory, by its retention of nerve impulse images, extend the present to the limit of a second or so.

- John Desmond Bernal

Through, Muscular, Images, Impulse

Marxists have some way of analyzing the development of affairs which enables them to judge far in advance of scientific thinkers what the trend of social and economic development is to be.

- John Desmond Bernal

Development, Some, Which, Affairs

It is pretty clear that they are ineffective in stopping the course of thought at present, but they have not always been so in the past and we cannot be sure that they will not be so in the future.

- John Desmond Bernal

Pretty, Always, In The Past, Stopping

The present aristocracy of western culture, at the moment when it most clearly dominates the world, is being imitated rapidly and successfully in every eastern country.

- John Desmond Bernal

Country, Successfully, Aristocracy

Scientific corporations might well become almost independent states and be enabled to undertake their largest experiments without consulting the outside world - a world which would be less and less able to judge what the experiments were about.

- John Desmond Bernal

Independent, Largest, Almost, Corporations

The psychology of a complex mind must differ almost as much from that of a simple, mechanized mind as its psychology would from ours; because something that must underlie and perhaps be even greater than sex is involved.

- John Desmond Bernal

Mind, Sex, Almost, Differ

Religious suffering is at once the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the sentiment of the heartless world, as it is the soul of soulless condition. It is the opium of the people.

- John Desmond Bernal

Religious, Sigh, Sentiment, Soulless

It is characteristic of science that the full explanations are often seized in their essence by the percipient scientist long in advance of any possible proof.

- John Desmond Bernal

Essence, Often, Scientist, Characteristic

The problem is essentially that of communications to an army in action. After a rapid advance communications become disorganized, and there is a temporary halting until they are again in working order.

- John Desmond Bernal

Temporary, Again, Rapid, Communications

There are two futures, the future of desire and the future of fate, and man's reason has never learned to separate them.

- John Desmond Bernal

Desire, Reason, Never, Futures

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