Erwin Schrodinger — "The meaning of life is to be found in the experience of living itself."
The meaning of life is to be found in the experience of living itself.
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More from Erwin Schrodinger
"We are all connected. There is no real separation between us."
"If we are to be honest, we must admit that the present state of physics offers no hope of a satisfactory picture of the world."
"The future of mankind depends on the wisdom of its leaders. And that is a very frightening thought."
"The fundamental laws of physics are statistical. They do not determine precisely what will happen, but only the probability of what will happen."
"The scientific method is the best way to get at the truth, but it is not the only way."
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
Life's purpose isn't some external destination or abstract truth waiting to be discovered—it's woven directly into conscious experience itself. Every moment of sensing, thinking, and engaging with the world is where meaning genuinely resides. Rather than searching for a fixed answer outside oneself, this view holds that the full texture of lived experience—its joys, struggles, and perceptions—constitutes meaning directly and completely.
Relevance to Erwin Schrodinger
Schrödinger's 1944 book What Is Life? extended physics into biology and consciousness, demonstrating his belief that science must grapple with subjective experience. He studied Vedantic philosophy deeply, particularly the concept that individual consciousness is part of universal awareness. His wave mechanics reframed particles as probability fields—reality as fluid process rather than fixed matter—making experiential existence central to his worldview, not peripheral.
The era
The mid-20th century witnessed existentialism's rise—Sartre declared existence precedes essence, Camus confronted absurdity—as post-WWII trauma shattered traditional religious and philosophical certainties. Simultaneously, quantum mechanics had demolished deterministic Newtonian physics, revealing a universe where observation and experience shaped reality. In this climate of radical uncertainty, locating meaning in subjective experience rather than external authority felt both scientifically and culturally urgent.
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