Paul Greengard Quotes

Even for practical purposes theory generally turns out the most important thing in the end.

I'm not sure what theory is, unless it's the pursuit of fundamental questions.

Science is nothing, but trained and organized common sense.

I always say I have a Socratic approach to most things that I do. I pummel people with questions, because I need to know what they're thinking, what they're trying to achieve, what they believe the final outcome is going to be.

Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge.

The wise man doesn't give the right answers, he poses the right questions.

Critical thinking is the most important factor with chess. As it is in life, you need to think before you make decisions.

It is, I think, particularly in periods of acknowledged crisis that scientists have turned to philosophical analysis as a device for unlocking the riddles of their field. Scientists have not generally needed or wanted to be philosophers.

Philosophy has to be enquiring; it can take nothing on faith, and its methods are based not on the blind acceptance of authority, but on establishing truths by reason and argument.

The man of science is a poor philosopher.

Fruitful discourse in science or theology requires us to believe that within the contexts of normal discourse there are some true statements.

The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking.

The center line of science literacy - which not many people tell you, but I feel this strongly, and I will go to my grave making this point - is how you think.

I encourage active skepticism - when people are being skeptical because they're trying to identify the best course of action. They're trying to identify the next step for themselves or other people.

There is a dearth of thinking skills - people are taught what to think, not how.

The true function of philosophy is to educate us in the principles of reasoning and not to put an end to further reasoning by the introduction of fixed conclusions.

The scientific mind does not so much provide the right answers as ask the right questions.

To solve a problem it is necessary to think. It is necessary to think even to decide what facts to collect.

I have had my results for a long time: but I do not yet know how I am to arrive at them.

Get the habit of analysis - analysis will in time enable synthesis to become your habit of mind.

Philosophy is like trying to open a safe with a combination lock: each little adjustment of the dials seems to achieve nothing, only when everything is in place does the door open.

Focusing on the right question is very different from having the right answers.

Constant and frequent questioning is the first key to wisdom … For through doubting we are led to inquire, and by inquiry we perceive the truth.

Logic can become enormously difficult, and it would undoubtedly be well to produce more assurance in its use.

What I knew was I liked math and science, and I never wanted to memorize everything. I wanted to understand where it came from.