--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Science cannot tell us a word about why…" description: "\"Science cannot tell us a word about why music delights us, of why and how an old song can move us to tears.\" — Erwin Schrodinger" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/287/erwin-schrodinger-8450_delight_science-cannot-tell-us-a-word-about-why_426264.jpg" --- # Science cannot tell us a word about why music delights us… ![“Science cannot tell us a word about why music delights us, of why and how an old song can move us to tears.” quote by Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/287/erwin-schrodinger-8450_delight_science-cannot-tell-us-a-word-about-why_426264.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/287/erwin-schrodinger-8450_delight_science-cannot-tell-us-a-word-about-why_426264.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/287/erwin-schrodinger-8450_delight_science-cannot-tell-us-a-word-about-why_426264.jpg) > “Science cannot tell us a word about why music delights us, of why and how an old song can move us to tears.” [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. The quote expresses that science cannot explain the emotional power of music, especially why old songs can provoke strong feelings. **In simple terms:** Science lacks explanation for music's emotional impact. Key Takeaway Accept mystery and enjoy music. Themes emotion music human experience Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - listening to music - creating playlists - studying music therapy - reflecting on nostalgic songs - sharing music with others Key Concepts neuroscience aesthetics memory psychology Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of music move you most? - Can you describe a memory linked to a song? A Different Perspective Scientific methods may not capture subjective, cultural, and personal dimensions of music. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Delight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delight/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Old song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-song/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Tears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tears/) ## Related quotes > [I LIKE YOUR SONG TO MANY TEARS](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/2pac/i-like-your-song-to-many-tears/) [2pac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/2pac/) > [One boy; one girl; two hearts; their world. Time goes by; secrets rise. One more sad song, tears shed--she's gone. She'd take it back--…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/all-american-rejects/one-boy-one-girl-two-hearts-their-world-time-goes-by-secrets-rise-one/) [All American Rejects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/all-american-rejects/) > [I secretly love the song 'No More Tears.' It's my go-to karaoke song that I do with all my friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-hilty/i-secretly-love-the-song-no-more-tears-it-s-my-go-to-karaoke-song/) [Megan Hilty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-hilty/) > [Science can tell us how, but they can't tell us why](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-cole/science-can-tell-us-how-but-they-can-t-tell-us-why/) [J COLE](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-cole/) > [What science cannot tell us, mankind cannot know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/what-science-cannot-tell-us-mankind-cannot-know/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Science can't tell you why anything happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/science-can-t-tell-you-why-anything-happens/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [Let science tell us what and how. Let religion tell us who and why.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/let-science-tell-us-what-and-how-let-religion-tell-us-who-and-why/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [Believe In God, like the Sun up in the sky Science can tell us how, but the can tell us why.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-cole/believe-in-god-like-the-sun-up-in-the-sky-science-can-tell-us-how-but/) [J Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-cole/) > [Science can tell us how to do many things, but it can't tell us what should be done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/science-can-tell-us-how-to-do-many-things-but-it-can-t-tell-us-what/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [“We underestimate the power of science, and overestimate the power of personal observation. A peer-reviewed, journal-published, replicated report is worth far more than what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/we-underestimate-the-power-of-science-and-overestimate-the-power-of/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [You know, they say that there is a part of the human chest that it you strike it hard enough, it makes the person’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristin-o-keefe-aptowicz/you-know-they-say-that-there-is-a-part-of-the-human-chest-that-it-you/) [Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristin-o-keefe-aptowicz/) > [Whence came I, whither go I? Science cannot tell us a word about why music delights us, of why and how an old song…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/whence-came-i-whither-go-i-science-cannot-tell-us-a-word-about-why/) [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/) > [I bow in reverence before the emotions of every melted heart…The more intense the delight in their presence, the more poignant the impression of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-martineau/i-bow-in-reverence-before-the-emotions-of-every-melted-heart-the-more/) [James Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-martineau/) > [I cannot sing the old songs, Or dream those dreams again...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-alington-barnard/i-cannot-sing-the-old-songs-or-dream-those-dreams-again/) [Charlotte Alington Barnard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-alington-barnard/) ## 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/) > [I am very astonished that the scientific picture of the real world around me is very deficient. 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It roars as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dreiser/a-real-flame-of-love-is-a-subtle-thing-it-burns-as-a-will-o-the-wisp/) [Theodore Dreiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dreiser/) > [“The gift of words, the source of enjoyment, the source of delight that comes within and the unfading beauty and energy of words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euginia-herlihy/the-gift-of-words-the-source-of-enjoyment-the-source-of-delight-that/) [Euginia Herlihy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euginia-herlihy/) > [Benefits received are a delight to us as long as we think we can requite them; when that possibility is far exceeded, they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/benefits-received-are-a-delight-to-us-as-long-as-we-think-we-can/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [All the world's bravery that delights our eyes is but thy several liveries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-cowley/all-the-world-s-bravery-that-delights-our-eyes-is-but-thy-several/) [Abraham Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-cowley/) > [It might be lonelier Without the Loneliness - I’m so accustomed to my Fate - Perhaps the Other - Peace - Would interrupt the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/it-might-be-lonelier-without-the-loneliness-i-m-so-accustomed-to-my/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Design should do the same thing in everyday life that art does when encountered: amaze us, scare us or delight us, but certainly open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-betsky/design-should-do-the-same-thing-in-everyday-life-that-art-does-when/) Aaron Betsky > [My life shall be free and broad and great, and I will not be the slave to the sense delights which chained my ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/my-life-shall-be-free-and-broad-and-great-and-i-will-not-be-the-slave/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [Every natural power exhilarates; a true talent delights the possessor first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/every-natural-power-exhilarates-a-true-talent-delights-the-possessor/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If we are to define science, ... it does not consist so much in knowing, nor even in "organized knowledge," as it does in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sanders-peirce/if-we-are-to-define-science-it-does-not-consist-so-much-in-knowing/) [Charles Sanders Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sanders-peirce/) > [Significantly, God in Genesis 1 pronounces the rest of creation "good" before humanity is created. 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Like the Doctor himself I find myself in a state of utter terror and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-capaldi/being-asked-to-play-the-doctor-is-an-amazing-privilege-like-the/) [Peter Capaldi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-capaldi/) [Browse all 2,212 Delight quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delight/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Science cannot tell us a word about why music delights us, of why and how an old song can move us to tears.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Erwin Schrodinger" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/science-cannot-tell-us-a-word-about-why-music-delights-us-of-why-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Delight" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/science-cannot-tell-us-a-word-about-why-music-delights-us-of-why-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/287/erwin-schrodinger-8450_delight_science-cannot-tell-us-a-word-about-why_426264.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/287/erwin-schrodinger-8450_delight_science-cannot-tell-us-a-word-about-why_426264.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/287/erwin-schrodinger-8450_delight_science-cannot-tell-us-a-word-about-why_426264.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Science cannot tell us a word about why music delights us, of why and how an old song can move us to tears.” — Erwin Schrodinger", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Erwin Schrodinger", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Science cannot tell us a word...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/science-cannot-tell-us-a-word-about-why-music-delights-us-of-why-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/science-cannot-tell-us-a-word-about-why-music-delights-us-of-why-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```