--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: From all we have learnt about the…" description: "\"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..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/erwin-schrodinger-8450_atoms_from-all-we-have-learnt-about-the-struct_1325541.jpg" --- # From all we have learnt about the structure of living… ![“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…” quote by Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/erwin-schrodinger-8450_atoms_from-all-we-have-learnt-about-the-struct_1325541.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/erwin-schrodinger-8450_atoms_from-all-we-have-learnt-about-the-struct_1325541.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/erwin-schrodinger-8450_atoms_from-all-we-have-learnt-about-the-struct_1325541.jpg) > “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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Living matter may follow principles beyond conventional physics, not due to new forces but distinct structures. **In simple terms:** Life may obey unknown rules. Key Takeaway Explore interdisciplinary science. Themes biology physics philosophy Mood curious thoughtful Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - research labs - education - public policy Key Concepts emergence complex systems Questions to Reflect On - What experiments could test these ideas? - How does this affect our view of life? A Different Perspective Complexity may be overinterpreted. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atoms/) [Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) [Construction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/construction/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Laboratory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laboratory/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Laws of physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laws-of-physics/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Living organisms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-organisms/) [Organisms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organisms/) [Physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physics/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Structure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structure/) ## Related quotes > [A city grows like an organism. It is a structure of living and working together a mix of functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-lerner/a-city-grows-like-an-organism-it-is-a-structure-of-living-and-working/) [Jaime Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-lerner/) > [“If we were to name the most powerful assumption of all, which leads one on and on in an attempt to understand life, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/if-we-were-to-name-the-most-powerful-assumption-of-all-which-leads/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [“ no matter how prepared we are, though , we can still have the wind knocked out of us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/no-matter-how-prepared-we-are-though-we-can-still-have-the-wind/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [ \[A living organism\] ... feeds upon negative entropy ... Thus the device by which an organism maintains itself stationary at a fairly high level… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/a-living-organism-feeds-upon-negative-entropy-thus-the-device-by/) [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [I'm not me but living matter fermenting and forming its own shapes in the fruitfulness of every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/i-m-not-me-but-living-matter-fermenting-and-forming-its-own-shapes-in/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [There are living systems; there is no living "matter." No substance, no single molecule, extracted and isolated from a living being possess, of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-monod/there-are-living-systems-there-is-no-living-matter-no-substance-no/) [Jacques Monod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-monod/) > [The entire range of living matter on Earth from whales to viruses and from oaks to algae could be regarded as constituting a single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lovelock/the-entire-range-of-living-matter-on-earth-from-whales-to-viruses-and/) [James Lovelock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lovelock/) > [And indeed this theme has been at the centre of all my research since 1943, both because of its intrinsic fascination and my conviction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-sanger/and-indeed-this-theme-has-been-at-the-centre-of-all-my-research-since/) [Frederick Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-sanger/) > [There are living systems; there is no'living matter'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-monod/there-are-living-systems-there-is-no-living-matter/) [Jacques Monod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-monod/) > [I'd made it back to the land of the living. No matter how boring or mediocre a world it might be, this was it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-d-made-it-back-to-the-land-of-the-living-no-matter-how-boring-or/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Living matter is the most powerful geological force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-vernadsky/living-matter-is-the-most-powerful-geological-force/) Vladimir Vernadsky > [It is impossible to encircle the hips of a girl with my right arm and hold her smile in my left hand, then proceed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-szent-gyorgyi/it-is-impossible-to-encircle-the-hips-of-a-girl-with-my-right-arm-and/) [Albert Szent-Gyorgyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-szent-gyorgyi/) > [I am not me but the living matter fermenting and forming it's own shape in the fruitfulness of everyday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/i-am-not-me-but-the-living-matter-fermenting-and-forming-it-s-own/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [ To my mind, the theory of \[evolution\] does not stand up at all. If living matter is not, then, caused by the interplay of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-lipson/to-my-mind-the-theory-of-evolution-does-not-stand-up-at-all-if-living/) Henry Lipson > [This substance, which is manifold in its forms and protean in its transformations, has, in its state of living matter, one physiological name which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/this-substance-which-is-manifold-in-its-forms-and-protean-in-its/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) ## More by Erwin Schrodinger > [Thus you can throw yourself flat on the ground, stretched out upon mother earth, with the certain conviction that you are one with her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/thus-you-can-throw-yourself-flat-on-the-ground-stretched-out-upon/) [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [Nature has no reverence towards life. Nature treats life as though it were the most valueless thing in the world… Nature does not act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/nature-has-no-reverence-towards-life-nature-treats-life-as-though-it/) [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [I know not whence I came, nor whither I go, nor who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/i-know-not-whence-i-came-nor-whither-i-go-nor-who-i-am/) [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [If all this damned quantum jumping were really here to stay, I should be sorry, I should be sorry I ever got involved with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/if-all-this-damned-quantum-jumping-were-really-here-to-stay-i-should/) [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [In an honest search for knowledge, you quite often have to abide by ignorance for an indefinite period.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/in-an-honest-search-for-knowledge-you-quite-often-have-to-abide-by/) [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [Whence come I and whither go I? That is the great unfathomable question. Science has no answer to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/whence-come-i-and-whither-go-i-that-is-the-great-unfathomable/) [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [Science cannot tell us a word about why music delights us, of why and how an old song can move us to tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/science-cannot-tell-us-a-word-about-why-music-delights-us-of-why-and/) [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [I am very astonished that the scientific picture of the real world around me is very deficient. It gives a lot of factual information,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/i-am-very-astonished-that-the-scientific-picture-of-the-real-world/) [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [If a man never contradicts himself, the reason must be that he virtually never says anything at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/if-a-man-never-contradicts-himself-the-reason-must-be-that-he/) [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [“I am no friend of probability theory, I have hated it from the first moment when our dear friend Max Born gave it birth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/i-am-no-friend-of-probability-theory-i-have-hated-it-from-the-first/) [Erwin Schrödinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [Our perceiving self is nowhere to be found in the world-picture, because it itself is the world-picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/our-perceiving-self-is-nowhere-to-be-found-in-the-world-picture/) [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [Vedanta teaches that consciousness is singular, all happenings are played out in one universal consciousness and there is no multiplicity of selves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/vedanta-teaches-that-consciousness-is-singular-all-happenings-are/) [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [An animal that embarks on forming states without greatly restricting egoism will perish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/an-animal-that-embarks-on-forming-states-without-greatly-restricting/) [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [Matter and energy seem granular in structure, and so does “life”, but not so mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/matter-and-energy-seem-granular-in-structure-and-so-does-life-but-not/) [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [“When in the puppet-show of dreams we hold in hand the strings of quite a number of actors, controlling their actions and their speech,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/when-in-the-puppet-show-of-dreams-we-hold-in-hand-the-strings-of/) [Erwin Schrödinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) [Explore all 79 Erwin Schrodinger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) ## More Atoms quotes > [If the polymer chain assumes a helicoidal conformation in the crystalline state, and if it does not contain asymmetric carbon atoms, it can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giulio-natta/if-the-polymer-chain-assumes-a-helicoidal-conformation-in-the/) Giulio Natta > [Physicist Isador Isaac Rabi, who won a Nobel Prize for inventing a technique that permitted scientists to probe the structure of atoms and molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/physicist-isador-isaac-rabi-who-won-a-nobel-prize-for-inventing-a/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [A monkey is unaware that atoms exist. Likewise, our brainpower may not stretch to the deepest aspects of reality. The bedrock nature of space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/a-monkey-is-unaware-that-atoms-exist-likewise-our-brainpower-may-not/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [ \[Decoding the human genome sequence\] is the most significant undertaking that we have mounted so far in an organized way in all of science.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/decoding-the-human-genome-sequence-is-the-most-significant/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [Though an atom is invisible, unthinkable, yet in it are the whole power and potency of the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/though-an-atom-is-invisible-unthinkable-yet-in-it-are-the-whole-power/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Traditional nationalism cannot survive the fissioning of the atom. One world or none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-chase/traditional-nationalism-cannot-survive-the-fissioning-of-the-atom-one/) [Stuart Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-chase/) > [I am not sure why, but I have been obsessed by the Atom Bomb ever since it first happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lanford-wilson/i-am-not-sure-why-but-i-have-been-obsessed-by-the-atom-bomb-ever/) [Lanford Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lanford-wilson/) > [History is the short trudge from Adam to atom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/history-is-the-short-trudge-from-adam-to-atom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The dogma of the impossibility of determining the atomic constitution of substances, which until recently was advocated with such fervor by the most able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-korner/the-dogma-of-the-impossibility-of-determining-the-atomic-constitution/) Wilhelm Korner > [I have never seen what to me seemed an atom of proof that there is a future life. And yet-I am inclined to expect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-seen-what-to-me-seemed-an-atom-of-proof-that-there-is-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“An atom is mostly made up of empty space. If you remove the empty space from every atom, the entire world's human population could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/weike-wang/an-atom-is-mostly-made-up-of-empty-space-if-you-remove-the-empty/) [Weike Wang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/weike-wang/) > [Nature is full of wonders; every atom is a standing miracle, and endowed with such qualities, as could not be impressed on it by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/nature-is-full-of-wonders-every-atom-is-a-standing-miracle-and/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [ “\[Think\] of an experience from your childhood. Something you remember clearly, something you can see, feel, maybe even smell, as if you were really… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-grand/think-of-an-experience-from-your-childhood-something-you-remember/) [Steve Grand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-grand/) > [The books remind us that way down deep in our hearts, part of us knows that we are creatures of light and we cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/the-books-remind-us-that-way-down-deep-in-our-hearts-part-of-us-knows/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) [Browse all 852 Atoms quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atoms/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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. 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