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From all we have learnt about the structure of living matter, we must be prepared to find it working in a manner that cannot be reduced to the ordinary laws of physics. And that not on the ground that there is any 'new force' or what not, directing the behaviour of the single atoms within a living organism, but because the construction is different from anything we have yet tested in the physical laboratory.
Erwin Schrodinger
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote emphasizes that the behavior of living matter cannot be fully explained by traditional physics due to its unique structure.

Erwin Schrödinger's quote highlights the complexity of living matter, suggesting that its behavior may transcend the conventional laws of physics. He argues that the intrinsic construction of living organisms is unlike anything previously encountered in scientific experiments, indicating that life operates under principles that challenge our understanding of physical laws.

Themes

Living MatterPhysicsComplexityBiologyQuantum Mechanics

In practice

Example use cases

In a scientific discussion, one might refer to this quote to emphasize the uniqueness of biological systems.

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I am very astonished that the scientific picture of the real world around me is deficient. It gives a lot of factual information, puts all our experience in a magnificently consistent order, but it is ghastly silent about all and sundry that is really near to our heart, that really matters to us. It cannot tell us a word about red and blue, bitter and sweet, physical pain and physical delight; it knows nothing of beautiful and ugly, good or bad, God and eternity.
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There is no kind of framework within which we can find consciousness in the plural; this is simply something we construct because of the temporal plurality of individuals, but it is a false construction... The only solution to this conflict insofar as any is available to us at all lies in the ancient wisdom of the Upanishad.
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Vedanta teaches that consciousness is singular, all happenings are played out in one universal consciousness and there is no multiplicity of selves.
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Consciousness is a singular for which there is no plural.
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Quote by Erwin Schrodinger | QuoteProject