All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force… We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent Mind. This Mind is the matrix of all matter.
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"The ultimate goal of science is to understand the universe and our place in it."
"The world needs men who can think for themselves, and not just repeat what they have been taught."
"The quantum theory has done a great deal for physics, but it has not made it any easier to understand."
"The scientist must be a dreamer and a realist at the same time."
"The measure of a man is what he does with power."
From a speech in Florence, 1944, often cited in discussions of his philosophical views.
Date: 1944
GeneralFound in 1 providers: grok
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Planck argues that physical matter isn't self-sustaining or purely mechanical. Something holds atoms together and keeps them in motion, and he calls that something a force. Behind that force, he says, there must be a conscious, intelligent Mind acting as the underlying source from which all physical reality emerges. In plain terms: the universe isn't just stuff bouncing around, it's stuff held in place by something thinking.
Planck spent his career proving matter behaves in quantized, rule-bound ways, launching quantum theory in 1900. After decades probing atoms' deepest structure, he concluded physics alone couldn't explain why reality cohered. A lifelong Lutheran, he saw no conflict between rigorous science and belief in a guiding intelligence. This quote reflects the older Planck, who lost two daughters and a son, voicing the metaphysical conclusion his physics pushed him toward.
Planck spoke in early-20th-century Germany, when classical physics was collapsing and quantum mechanics, relativity, and atomic theory were rewriting reality. Many peers, including Einstein, publicly wrestled with whether the new physics left room for God or randomness. Meanwhile Nazi ideology was purging Jewish scientists and politicizing research. Planck, who stayed in Germany and lost his son Erwin to the Gestapo in 1945, spoke from a culture where science, faith, and moral catastrophe were colliding.
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