--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Science is imagination in the service of…" description: "\"Science is imagination in the service of the verifiable truth, and that service is indeed communal. It cannot be rigidly planned. Rather, it requires f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b90/gerald-edelman-29399_cannot_science-is-imagination-in-the-service-of_1047204.png" --- # Science is imagination in the service of the verifiable… ![“Science is imagination in the service of the verifiable truth, and that service is indeed communal. It cannot be rigidly planned. Rather, it requires freedom and courage and the plural contributions of many different kinds of people who must maintain their individuality while giving to the group.” quote by Gerald Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b90/gerald-edelman-29399_cannot_science-is-imagination-in-the-service-of_1047204.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b90/gerald-edelman-29399_cannot_science-is-imagination-in-the-service-of_1047204.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b90/gerald-edelman-29399_cannot_science-is-imagination-in-the-service-of_1047204.png) > “Science is imagination in the service of the verifiable truth, and that service is indeed communal. It cannot be rigidly planned. Rather, it requires freedom and courage and the plural contributions of many different kinds of people who must maintain their individuality while giving to the group.” [Gerald Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-edelman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Science thrives on imaginative inquiry, openness, and collaborative diversity, not rigid planning. **In simple terms:** Science needs imagination, freedom, and teamwork. Key Takeaway Encourage creative, collaborative research. Themes creativity collaboration science Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - research labs - interdisciplinary projects - policy development Key Concepts Epistemology social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How can institutions foster both individuality and collaboration? - What risks arise from too much freedom? A Different Perspective Balancing individual vision with group consensus can be challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contributions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contributions/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Individuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individuality/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/service/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [It is not enough to know your craft - you have to have feeling. Science is all very well, but for us imagination is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edouard-manet/it-is-not-enough-to-know-your-craft-you-have-to-have-feeling-science/) [Edouard Manet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edouard-manet/) > [Philosophy becomes poetry, and science imagination, in the enthusiasm of genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-d-israeli/philosophy-becomes-poetry-and-science-imagination-in-the-enthusiasm/) [Isaac D'Israeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-d-israeli/) > [“The "field" encompassed in the "science of the Imagination" is so vast that it is difficult to enumerate all its sectors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-corbin/the-field-encompassed-in-the-science-of-the-imagination-is-so-vast/) [Henry Corbin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-corbin/) > [“Science has its place in man’s search for understanding, but science and the imagination have tended to bifurcate in the modern world; only the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/science-has-its-place-in-man-s-search-for-understanding-but-science/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [Feynman once said, 'Science is imagination in a straitjacket.' It is ironic that in the case of quantum mechanics, the people without the straitjackets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-m-krauss/feynman-once-said-science-is-imagination-in-a-straitjacket-it-is/) [Lawrence M. Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-m-krauss/) > [It is not too much to say that next after the passion to learn there is no quality so indispensable to the successful prosecutionof…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sanders-peirce/it-is-not-too-much-to-say-that-next-after-the-passion-to-learn-there/) [Charles Sanders Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sanders-peirce/) > [“Some believers accuse skeptics of having nothing left but a dull, cold, scientific world. I am left with only art, music, literature, theatre, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-kelly/some-believers-accuse-skeptics-of-having-nothing-left-but-a-dull-cold/) Lynne Kelly > [Today the function of the artist is to bring imagination to science and science to imagination, where they meet, in the myth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/today-the-function-of-the-artist-is-to-bring-imagination-to-science/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [When 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' premiered on the WB Network in 1996, American culture was in trouble. Americans were bowling alone, pursuing individual interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/when-buffy-the-vampire-slayer-premiered-on-the-wb-network-in-1996/) [Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/) > [“It is also interesting to observe that communal ownership violates every instinct of human nature. It destroys initiative, nullifies free agency, suppresses inventive exploration,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-cleon-skousen/it-is-also-interesting-to-observe-that-communal-ownership-violates/) [W. Cleon Skousen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-cleon-skousen/) > [The concept of guilt is found most powerfully developed even in the most primitive communal forms which we know... the man is guilty who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/the-concept-of-guilt-is-found-most-powerfully-developed-even-in-the/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [“There are countries in which the communal provision of housing, transport, education and health care is so inferior that inhabitants will naturally seek to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/there-are-countries-in-which-the-communal-provision-of-housing/) [Alain De Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Part of the issue around communal land, which became a matter of controversy, is that we are saying that this land must go back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabo-mbeki/part-of-the-issue-around-communal-land-which-became-a-matter-of/) [Thabo Mbeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabo-mbeki/) > [Rap, to me, is communal. It's something you do with your friends. So becoming a member of a group was the dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/killer-mike/rap-to-me-is-communal-it-s-something-you-do-with-your-friends-so/) [Killer Mike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/killer-mike/) > [“Communal ownership means that all benefit for a short time; private ownership means that few people benefit over the course of an extended period…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-robert-morse/communal-ownership-means-that-all-benefit-for-a-short-time-private/) [Eric Robert Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-robert-morse/) ## More by Gerald Edelman > [Each brain is exposed to different circumstances. It's very likely that your brain is unique in the history of the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-edelman/each-brain-is-exposed-to-different-circumstances-it-s-very-likely/) [Gerald Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-edelman/) > [“Memory results from a process of continual re-categorization which, by its nature, must be procedural and involve continual motor activity and repeated rehearsal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-edelman/memory-results-from-a-process-of-continual-re-categorization-which-by/) [Gerald Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-edelman/) > [Most theoretical work since the proposals of Hebb (1949) and Hayek (1952) has relied upon particular forms of dependent synaptic rules in which either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-edelman/most-theoretical-work-since-the-proposals-of-hebb-1949-and-hayek-1952/) [Gerald Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-edelman/) > [A knowledge of brain science will provide one of the major foundations of the new age to come. That knowledge will spawn cures for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-edelman/a-knowledge-of-brain-science-will-provide-one-of-the-major/) [Gerald Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-edelman/) > [Early human thought proceeded by metaphor,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-edelman/early-human-thought-proceeded-by-metaphor/) [Gerald Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-edelman/) > [“Consciousness may be seen as the haughty and restless second cousin of morphology. Memory is its mistress, perception its somewhat abused wife, logic its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-edelman/consciousness-may-be-seen-as-the-haughty-and-restless-second-cousin/) [Gerald Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-edelman/) > [The computer is not, in our opinion, a good model of the mind, but it is as the trumpet is to the orchestra -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-edelman/the-computer-is-not-in-our-opinion-a-good-model-of-the-mind-but-it-is/) [Gerald Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-edelman/) > [Many cognitive psychologists see the brain as a computer. But every single brain is absolutely individual, both in its development and in the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-edelman/many-cognitive-psychologists-see-the-brain-as-a-computer-but-every/) [Gerald Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-edelman/) > [We're inquiring into the deepest nature of our constitutions: How we inherit from each other. How we can change. How our minds think. How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-edelman/we-re-inquiring-into-the-deepest-nature-of-our-constitutions-how-we/) [Gerald Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-edelman/) > [The analogy between the mind and a computer fails for many reasons. The brain is constructed by principles that assure diversity and degeneracy. Unlike…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-edelman/the-analogy-between-the-mind-and-a-computer-fails-for-many-reasons/) [Gerald Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-edelman/) > [Evolution works by selection, not by instruction. There is no final cause, no teleology, no purpose guiding the overall process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-edelman/evolution-works-by-selection-not-by-instruction-there-is-no-final/) [Gerald Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-edelman/) > [Your brain develops depending on your individual history. What has gone on in your own brain and its consciousness over your lifetime is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-edelman/your-brain-develops-depending-on-your-individual-history-what-has/) [Gerald Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-edelman/) > [Hebb place the Law of Effect at the synaptic level by proposing a correlation model of synaptic modification similar to that of Hayek (1952).…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-edelman/hebb-place-the-law-of-effect-at-the-synaptic-level-by-proposing-a/) [Gerald Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-edelman/) > [Hayek made a quite fruitful suggestion, made contemporaneously by the psychologist Donald Hebb, that whatever kind of encounter the sensory system has with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-edelman/hayek-made-a-quite-fruitful-suggestion-made-contemporaneously-by-the/) [Gerald Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-edelman/) > [Since the idea that modification of synaptic function can provide a basis for memory arose shortly after the first anatomical description of the synapse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-edelman/since-the-idea-that-modification-of-synaptic-function-can-provide-a/) [Gerald Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-edelman/) [Explore all 18 Gerald Edelman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-edelman/) ## More Cannot quotes > [The United States cannot and should not discriminate on the basis of religion. The free exercise of religion is at the very heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/the-united-states-cannot-and-should-not-discriminate-on-the-basis-of/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [The book is not simply the object that one holds in one's hands, and it cannot remain within the little parallelpiped that contains it:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/the-book-is-not-simply-the-object-that-one-holds-in-one-s-hands-and/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [Nothing is more private than a woman's body; it is her physical, emotional, and moral citadel. She cannot be free at all if she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/nothing-is-more-private-than-a-woman-s-body-it-is-her-physical/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [Visaaranai' reflects a stark reality from which you cannot shut yourself out: that is its success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vetrimaaran/visaaranai-reflects-a-stark-reality-from-which-you-cannot-shut/) [Vetrimaaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vetrimaaran/) > [When you put more than a million kids in school, you take a plane today and go to Haiti, you cannot see the results.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-martelly/when-you-put-more-than-a-million-kids-in-school-you-take-a-plane/) [Michel Martelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-martelly/) > [We cannot stop anyone from criticising us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inzamam-ul-haq/we-cannot-stop-anyone-from-criticising-us/) [Inzamam-ul-Haq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inzamam-ul-haq/) > [Once you publish a book, it is out of your control. You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [The Brazilians are amazing in their nature. You cannot describe it; you must feel that warmth when you're around them to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrikh-mkhitaryan/the-brazilians-are-amazing-in-their-nature-you-cannot-describe-it-you/) [Henrikh Mkhitaryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrikh-mkhitaryan/) > [The two things you cannot do effectively on stage are pray and copulate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-welles/the-two-things-you-cannot-do-effectively-on-stage-are-pray-and/) [Orson Welles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-welles/) > [Liberty does not exist where rights are on one side and power on the other. To be liberty, rights must be armed with vital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-quintus-cincinnatus-lamar-ii/liberty-does-not-exist-where-rights-are-on-one-side-and-power-on-the/) [Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-quintus-cincinnatus-lamar-ii/) > [The reason I fight is to provide for my family, and I cannot risk having that taken away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whittaker/the-reason-i-fight-is-to-provide-for-my-family-and-i-cannot-risk/) [Robert Whittaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whittaker/) > [We cannot have players who don't give their soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/we-cannot-have-players-who-don-t-give-their-soul/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [I cannot do confrontation. You know that fight or flight thing? I'm flight. I just don't want the argument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-saunders/i-cannot-do-confrontation-you-know-that-fight-or-flight-thing-i-m/) [Jennifer Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-saunders/) > [Rahul Gandhi cannot be a prime minister because he is a citizen of Britain, and his Indian citizenship will be cancelled; he won't even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subramanian-swamy/rahul-gandhi-cannot-be-a-prime-minister-because-he-is-a-citizen-of/) [Subramanian Swamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subramanian-swamy/) Browse all 2,691 Cannot quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Science is imagination in the service of the verifiable truth, and that service is indeed communal. It cannot be rigidly planned. Rather, it requires freedom and courage and the plural contributions of many different kinds of people who must maintain their individuality while giving to the group.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gerald Edelman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-edelman/science-is-imagination-in-the-service-of-the-verifiable-truth-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cannot" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-edelman/science-is-imagination-in-the-service-of-the-verifiable-truth-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b90/gerald-edelman-29399_cannot_science-is-imagination-in-the-service-of_1047204.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b90/gerald-edelman-29399_cannot_science-is-imagination-in-the-service-of_1047204.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b90/gerald-edelman-29399_cannot_science-is-imagination-in-the-service-of_1047204.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Science is imagination in the service of the verifiable truth, and that service is indeed communal. It…” — Gerald Edelman", "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": "Gerald Edelman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-edelman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Science is imagination in the service...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-edelman/science-is-imagination-in-the-service-of-the-verifiable-truth-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-edelman/science-is-imagination-in-the-service-of-the-verifiable-truth-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 } } ] } ```