Werner Heisenberg — "The world is not composed of 'things' but of 'events'."
The world is not composed of 'things' but of 'events'.
Get This Quote & Author's Image Illustrated On:
Click any product to generate a realistic preview. Up to 3 at a time.
* Initial load can take up to 90 seconds — revising the preview in another color is nearly instant.
Kitchen
Apparel
Other
More from Werner Heisenberg
"Every word or concept, clear as it may seem to be, has only a limited range of applicability."
"I would say that I was absolutely convinced of the possibility of our making a uranium engine. but I never thought that we would make a bomb. and at the bottom of my heart. I was really glad that it w…"
"The uncertainty principle refers to the degree of indeterminateness in the possible present knowledge of the simultaneous values of various quantities with which the quantum theory deals."
"The path to the nucleus is easy to find, but the nucleus itself is hard to reach."
"Not only is the Universe stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we *can* imagine."
Verification
Unverifiable
Found in 1 providers: grok
1 source checked
Understanding this quote
What it means
Reality isn't made of solid, static objects sitting in space. Instead, it's built from happenings, interactions, and processes unfolding over time. What we call a 'thing' is really a pattern of activity, a stable sequence of events we perceive as an object. Rocks, atoms, even people are ongoing processes rather than fixed stuff. To understand reality, look at what happens, not what sits still.
Relevance to Werner Heisenberg
Heisenberg founded quantum mechanics and formulated the uncertainty principle in 1927, which showed particles lack definite position and momentum simultaneously. His matrix mechanics treated observable events, not hidden properties, as fundamental. He argued electrons don't have trajectories between measurements, only interactions. This quote captures his lifelong philosophical stance that physics describes processes and observations, not underlying substances, aligning with his Copenhagen interpretation and readings of Greek philosophy.
The era
Early 20th-century physics overturned Newton's clockwork universe of solid particles moving through absolute space. Between 1900 and 1930, relativity and quantum theory dissolved classical notions of matter, time, and causality. Heisenberg worked amid Weimar Germany's scientific ferment, later under Nazi rule and WWII atomic research. Philosophers, physicists, and process thinkers like Whitehead were simultaneously rejecting substance metaphysics, reshaping Western thought toward dynamic, relational, event-based descriptions of nature.
AI-generated insights based on extensive research and information for context. Factual errors? Email [email protected].