Wilhelm Ostwald
He made significant contributions to catalysis, chemical equilibria, and reaction velocities, winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Most quoted
"All scientific work is incomplete — whether it be observational or experimental. All scientific work is liable to be upset or modified by advancing knowledge. That does not confer upon us a freedom to ignore the knowledge we already have, or to postpone the action that it appears to demand at a given time."
— from Essays
"The true method of discovery is like the flight of an aeroplane. It starts from the ground of particular observation; it makes a flight in the thin air of imaginative generalization; and it again lands for renewed observation rendered acute by rational interpretation."
— from The Philosophy of Science
"The laws of thermodynamics control, in the last resort, the rise and fall of political systems, the freedom or bondage of nations, the movements of commerce and industry, the origins of wealth and poverty, and the general physical welfare of the human race."
— from Der energetische Imperativ, 1912
All quotes by Wilhelm Ostwald (387)
The purpose of science is to make the world intelligible.
The scientist must be a poet in his imagination and a realist in his execution.
The progress of science is a continuous process of approximation.
The true value of a scientific theory is its predictive power.
The scientist is a perpetual student.
The ultimate goal of science is to understand the universe.
The role of the teacher is to inspire, not just to inform.
The Nobel Prize is an encouragement to continue working.
The development of science is a social process.
The scientific revolution is a continuous revolution.
The experimental method is the cornerstone of modern science.
The greatest challenge in science is to ask the right questions.
The scientist must be a critical thinker.
The progress of civilization is linked to the progress of science.
The atomistic hypothesis is a useful fiction.
The unity of science is a goal to strive for.
The scientific imagination is as important as scientific rigor.
The pursuit of knowledge is an endless journey.
The scientific method is a process of self-correction.
The role of theory in science is to guide experiment.
Contemporaries of Wilhelm Ostwald
Other Chemistrys born within 50 years of Wilhelm Ostwald (1853–1932).