Erwin Schrodinger — "The problem of the 'thing in itself' is not a problem that can be solved by scie…"
The problem of the 'thing in itself' is not a problem that can be solved by science. It is a philosophical problem.
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More from Erwin Schrodinger
"The human mind is not capable of grasping the universe. We are like a little child entering a huge library. The walls are covered to the ceilings with books in many different tongues. The child knows …"
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About Erwin Schrodinger (1887-1961)
Austrian physicist who shared the 1933 Nobel for the wave equation that bears his name and the famous cat thought-experiment. Closely associated with Werner Heisenberg (matrix-mechanics rival who reached the same physics by different math) and Albert Einstein (his pen-pal on quantum interpretation). For an intellectual contrast, see Niels Bohr, Danish physicist and architect of the Copenhagen interpretation — Schrödinger's cat thought-experiment was specifically designed to ridicule Bohr's 'observer-dependent reality' reading of quantum mechanics — Schrödinger thought the Copenhagen interpretation was absurd; the cat was meant as reductio ad absurdum.
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Understanding this quote
What it means
Science can describe how things behave and interact, but it cannot reach beyond appearances to explain what things fundamentally are at their deepest level. That deeper question — what reality actually is, not just how it operates — belongs to philosophy, not to equations or experiments. Science maps the surface; the underlying nature of existence remains outside its jurisdiction.
Relevance to Erwin Schrodinger
Schrödinger, who founded wave mechanics and grappled with quantum measurement, knew firsthand that physics produces mathematical formalisms, not ontological certainty. His wave function describes probabilities, not definite realities — a gap that haunted him. He engaged seriously with Vedantic philosophy and Kant's noumenal/phenomenal distinction, believing physics alone could never answer what consciousness or matter truly are.
The era
In early-to-mid 20th century physics, quantum mechanics had shattered classical certainty. The Copenhagen interpretation sidestepped ontology entirely, declaring physics should predict measurements, not describe reality. This philosophical agnosticism troubled many physicists, sparking fierce debate about what the theory actually meant. Schrödinger's remark reflects that tension — a generation forced to confront science's limits precisely when it seemed most powerful.
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