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 operon model explains induction and repression.
Science demands skepticism.
Humanity must create its own values.
The end of the scientific age will be the beginning of wisdom.
Biology reveals the unity of life.
Chance is the source of novelty.
Man is the explorer of the universe.
Objectivity is the essence of science.
The genetic program is the secret of life.
Evolution selects for function.
Science is a collective enterprise.
The cell is a factory.
Truth cannot be found in ideology.
Life's complexity arises from simple rules.
We must confront the absurdity of existence.
The scientist must be free.
Necessity shapes the living world.
Man's freedom is in his knowledge.
Biology is the study of invariance in change.
The future of humanity depends on science.
Contemporaries of Jacques Monod
Other Biologys born within 50 years of Jacques Monod (1910–1976).