--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had vainly been seeking a description…" description: "\"I had vainly been seeking a description of consciousness within science; instead, what I and others have to look for is a description of science within..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d6/amit-goswami-22631_compatible_i-had-vainly-been-seeking-a-description_2089580.jpg" --- # I had vainly been seeking a description of consciousness… ![“I had vainly been seeking a description of consciousness within science; instead, what I and others have to look for is a description of science within consciousness. We must develop a science compatible with consciousness, our primary experience.” quote by Amit Goswami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d6/amit-goswami-22631_compatible_i-had-vainly-been-seeking-a-description_2089580.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d6/amit-goswami-22631_compatible_i-had-vainly-been-seeking-a-description_2089580.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d6/amit-goswami-22631_compatible_i-had-vainly-been-seeking-a-description_2089580.jpg) > “I had vainly been seeking a description of consciousness within science; instead, what I and others have to look for is a description of science within consciousness. We must develop a science compatible with consciousness, our primary experience.” [Amit Goswami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-goswami/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Science should be reframed to include consciousness as its foundation, not the other way around. **In simple terms:** Science must fit consciousness. Key Takeaway Explore models that integrate subjective experience. Themes science consciousness philosophy Mood inquisitive speculative Type philosophical scientific When to use this quote - research design - interdisciplinary studies - meditative inquiry Key Concepts non‑dualism integrative methodology epistemology Questions to Reflect On - What experiments could test consciousness‑first theories? - How does this view reshape scientific goals? A Different Perspective Integrating consciousness challenges conventional empirical methods. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compatible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compatible/) [Compatible Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compatible-consciousness-4123708/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Consciousness Primary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness-primary-1862952/) [Consciousness Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness-science-2757726/) [Description](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/description/) [Description Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/description-consciousness-4123706/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Primaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/primaries/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-consciousness-4123707/) [Seeking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeking/) [Unity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unity/) ## Related quotes > [When physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, contribute to the detection of concrete human woes and to the development of plans for remedying them and relieving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/when-physics-chemistry-biology-medicine-contribute-to-the-detection/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Consciousness does matter. 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While the study of matter has been the domain of traditional science, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shriram-sharma/this-universe-is-formed-out-of-both-consciousness-forces-and-matter/) [Shriram Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shriram-sharma/) > [Science can explain what's happening down inside atoms and what's happening at the edge of the universe, but it cannot explain consciousness. It's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-russell/science-can-explain-what-s-happening-down-inside-atoms-and-what-s/) [Peter Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-russell/) > [Whenever you become anxious or stressed, outer purpose has taken over, and you lost sight of your inner purpose. 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Even my parents, who had a compatible marriage, had their points of contention. They had figured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ranjani-rao/who-knows-what-goes-on-in-a-marriage-even-my-parents-who-had-a/) [Ranjani Rao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ranjani-rao/) > [I don't think we have learnt to keep within the limits. They are quite elastic but there is a point beyond which they will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-meacher/i-don-t-think-we-have-learnt-to-keep-within-the-limits-they-are-quite/) [Michael Meacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-meacher/) > [The hardware and the software used in the Breakthrough project will be compatible with other telescopes around the world, so they too can search…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuri-milner/the-hardware-and-the-software-used-in-the-breakthrough-project-will/) [Yuri Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuri-milner/) > [I believe in the theory of evolution, but I believe as well in the allegorical truth of creation theory. In other words, I believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-langan/i-believe-in-the-theory-of-evolution-but-i-believe-as-well-in-the/) [Christopher Langan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-langan/) > [What our species needs, above all else, is a generally accepted ethical system that is compatible with the scientific knowledge we now possess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-our-species-needs-above-all-else-is-a-generally-accepted-ethical/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Amit Goswami > [“Somewhere along the line I also recognized that spiritual growth is “inner” creativity, as contrasted to creativity in the arts and the sciences, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-goswami/somewhere-along-the-line-i-also-recognized-that-spiritual-growth-is/) [Amit Goswami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-goswami/) > [We can truly see that consciousness is operating creatively even in biology, even in the evolution of species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-goswami/we-can-truly-see-that-consciousness-is-operating-creatively-even-in/) [Amit Goswami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-goswami/) > [“The new paradigm posits instead a monism based on the primacy of consciousness-that consciousness (variously called Spirit, God, Godhead, Ain Sof, Tao, Brahman, etc.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-goswami/the-new-paradigm-posits-instead-a-monism-based-on-the-primacy-of/) [Amit Goswami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-goswami/) > [“For most of us, creative motivation requires a crisis—either externally, like a threat to our physical survival, or an internal crisis of intense suffering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-goswami/for-most-of-us-creative-motivation-requires-a-crisis-either/) [Amit Goswami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-goswami/) > [Consciousness does matter. 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Remember there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-goswami/what-if-consciousness-is-the-ground-of-being-what-if-the/) [Amit Goswami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-goswami/) > [The idea that consciousness is the ground of being is the basis of all spiritual traditions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-goswami/the-idea-that-consciousness-is-the-ground-of-being-is-the-basis-of/) [Amit Goswami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-goswami/) > [Contrary to what they tell you... You are not a limited material being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-goswami/contrary-to-what-they-tell-you-you-are-not-a-limited-material-being/) [Amit Goswami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-goswami/) > [“You will write … if you will write without thinking of the result in terms of a result, but think of the writing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-goswami/you-will-write-if-you-will-write-without-thinking-of-the-result-in/) [Amit Goswami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-goswami/) > [Consciousness comes first; it is the ground of all being. Everything else, including matter, is a possibility of consciousness. And consciousness chooses out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-goswami/consciousness-comes-first-it-is-the-ground-of-all-being-everything/) [Amit Goswami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-goswami/) > [If ordinary people really knew that consciousness and not matter is the link that connects us with each other and the world, then their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-goswami/if-ordinary-people-really-knew-that-consciousness-and-not-matter-is/) [Amit Goswami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-goswami/) > [It can be made only when one recognizes the ground of being itself, when one recognizes directly that One is All.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-goswami/it-can-be-made-only-when-one-recognizes-the-ground-of-being-itself/) [Amit Goswami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-goswami/) > [Consciousness is the ground of Being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-goswami/consciousness-is-the-ground-of-being/) [Amit Goswami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-goswami/) > [Quantum physics presents a new and exciting worldview that challenges old concepts, such as deterministic trajectories of motion and causal continuity. If initial conditions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-goswami/quantum-physics-presents-a-new-and-exciting-worldview-that-challenges/) [Amit Goswami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-goswami/) [Explore all 26 Amit Goswami quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-goswami/) ## More Compatible quotes > [What our species needs, above all else, is a generally accepted ethical system that is compatible with the scientific knowledge we now possess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-our-species-needs-above-all-else-is-a-generally-accepted-ethical/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I believe in the theory of evolution, but I believe as well in the allegorical truth of creation theory. 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They had figured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ranjani-rao/who-knows-what-goes-on-in-a-marriage-even-my-parents-who-had-a/) [Ranjani Rao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ranjani-rao/) > [The best lovers are those whose feelings and actions are compatible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-nwakama/the-best-lovers-are-those-whose-feelings-and-actions-are-compatible/) [Anne Nwakama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-nwakama/) > [When I did find guys with whom I was very sexually compatible, trying to figure out how romance worked... when you're a gay guy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-branum/when-i-did-find-guys-with-whom-i-was-very-sexually-compatible-trying/) [Guy Branum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-branum/) > [Despair is perfectly compatible with a good dinner, I promise you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/despair-is-perfectly-compatible-with-a-good-dinner-i-promise-you/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [There really is no foolproof or even optimal way of dealing with White House emissaries who tell whoppers on live television. On the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-wemple/there-really-is-no-foolproof-or-even-optimal-way-of-dealing-with/) [Erik Wemple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-wemple/) > [The strength required for the vision of the most powerful reality is not only compatible with the most powerful strength for action, for monstrous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-strength-required-for-the-vision-of-the-most-powerful-reality-is/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I think I can be compatible with Lampard on the pitch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deco/i-think-i-can-be-compatible-with-lampard-on-the-pitch/) [Deco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deco/) > [The birthright of man ... is such a degree of liberty, civil and religious, as is compatible with the liberty of every other individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-birthright-of-man-is-such-a-degree-of-liberty-civil-and-religious/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [I've always said, 'Underwater or on top, men and women are compatible.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/i-ve-always-said-underwater-or-on-top-men-and-women-are-compatible/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [There are cases where the dog is not compatible to the house. 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