Jacques Monod
A molecular biologist who, with François Jacob, elucidated the mechanisms of gene regulation, particularly the operon model.
Most quoted
"Man must at last wake out of his millenary dream; and in doing so, wake to his total solitude, his fundamental isolation. He must realize that, like a gypsy, he lives on the boundary of an alien world; a world that is deaf to his music, just as indifferent to his hopes as it is to his sufferings or his crimes."
— from Chance and Necessity, 1970
"Pure chance, absolutely free but blind, at the very root of the stupendous edifice of evolution: this central concept of modern biology is no longer one among other possible or even conceivable hypotheses. It is today the sole conceivable hypothesis, the only one compatible with observed and tested fact."
— from Chance and Necessity, 1970
"And man must at last wake out of his millenary dream and discover his total solitude, his fundamental isolation. He must realize that, like a gypsy, he lives on the boundary of an alien world; a world that is deaf to his music, and as indifferent to his hopes as it is to his suffering or his crimes."
— from Chance and Necessity, 1970
All quotes by Jacques Monod (353)
We must choose between the kingdom of truth and the kingdom of desire. They are incompatible.
The only possible source of authentic values is man himself, in his lonely and courageous acceptance of his condition.
The scientific enterprise is the only truly cumulative and progressive human activity.
The beauty of the double helix is not just in its structure, but in what it implies: a mechanism for both stability and change.
To understand regulation in the cell is to understand the logic of life.
The operon model is not just a description of gene regulation in bacteria; it is a demonstration of molecular logic.
All the cells of an organism contain the same genetic information, but they use it differently. That is the mystery of differentiation.
The problem of the origin of life is the problem of the origin of the genetic code.
In science, the important thing is not to be right, but to ask the right question.
The distinction between 'chance' and 'necessity' is fundamental. Chance provides the raw material; necessity—natural selection—shapes it.
The illusion of purpose is so powerful because it is a product of a mechanism—natural selection—that mimics purpose with uncanny precision.
Man's freedom and creativity are the products of the same blind chance that brought him into existence.
The ethical imperative of science is to seek the truth, regardless of where it leads or how uncomfortable it makes us.
Contemporaries of Jacques Monod
Other Biologys born within 50 years of Jacques Monod (1910–1976).