Philip Kitcher Quotes

The people who work in the scientific field, they need help to convey what it's about.

One of the great problems of the world today is undoubtedly this problem of not being able to talk to scientists, because we don't understand science; they can't talk to us because they don't understand anything else, poor dears.

But perhaps the rest of us could have separate classes in science appreciation, the wonder of science, scientific ways of thinking, and the history of scientific ideas, rather than laboratory experience.

The phrase ‘popular science’ has in itself a touch of absurdity. That knowledge which is popular is not scientific.

I hope that my children, at least, if not I myself, will see the day when ignorance of the primary laws and facts of science will be looked upon as a defect only second to ignorance of the primary laws of religion and morality.

One of the things that really worries me, in part about Mexico, in part about Latin America, and in part about the Hispanic population in the U.S. and Canada. It's the lack of awareness of this whole science world.

We have people who believe they are scientifically literate but, in fact, are not.

You have people who believe they are scientifically literate but, in fact, are not. And I don't mind if you're not scientifically literate, but just admit that to yourself, so that you'll know, and perhaps you can take a first step to try to eradicate that.

We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology.

Through basic science literacy, people can understand the policy choices we need to be making. Scientists are not necessarily the greatest communicators, but science and communication is one of the fundamentals we need to address. People are interested.

You don't need a science degree to understand about science. You just need to think about it.

People are interested in science, but they don't always know they're interested in science, and so I try to find a way to get them interested.

Science literacy is the artery through which the solutions of tomorrow's problems flow.

If you're an adult and you choose not to believe in science, fine, but please don't prevent your children from learning about it and letting them draw their own conclusions.

Almost everyone shuts down when science becomes too technical; you've got to infuse it with entertainment and storytelling to make it effective. From high school on, science is taught in a very dry manner, which isn't as potent.

I think science is a foreign land for many people, so I think of my role as an ambassador's job.

I want to be a science teacher. My friends asked me why, but I'm intrigued by it and I'm quite good at science at school.

We are more dependent on science and engineering than at any other time in history. However, there is plenty of evidence that far too many people are scientifically illiterate, often having been put off science at school.

We don’t need 1 million nuclear scientists, but we do need 100 million citizens who are knowledgeable about how science affects their lives.

While science and technology play critical roles in sustaining modern civilization, they are not part of our culture in the sense that they are not commonly studied or well comprehended. Neither the potential nor the limitations of science are understood so that what can be achieved and what is beyond reach are not comprehended.

I would like people to appreciate science in the same way they appreciate the arts.

My sense, talking to the general public around the country, is that most people don't have a very high level of scientific literacy.

I feel a responsibility to encourage everyone to excel in science.

Of course 'Horizon' had made an impact on me from a young age, but it was also humbling to meet and interview eminent scientists, and hear their high opinion of the series and of the science presented on the BBC more generally.

One of the best and most responsible things a scientist can do is to write for the popular press.