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)
The living world is a product of chance and necessity.
In the fight against disease, the victories are rare; the defeats are absolute.
The cell's operations are directed by a genetic program.
Allosteric phenomena are the key to understanding regulatory mechanisms.
The genetic code is universal.
Biology is becoming a true molecular science.
Chance caught this wayward piece of iron, and directed it.
Man's destiny is to know himself.
The postulate of objectivity is a transcendental postulate.
Science makes godless people.
I am a scientist, and I believe in science as the only way to truth.
Evolution is a tinkerer.
The biosphere is the product of a demiurgic power.
Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.
The scientist's first allegiance is to truth.
Life is a cosmic sport.
We are the product of blind chance.
The molecular revolution has transformed biology.
Enzymes are the workers of the cell.
Regulation of gene expression is central to life.
Contemporaries of Jacques Monod
Other Biologys born within 50 years of Jacques Monod (1910–1976).