--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Isn't that the justification used by…" description: "\"“Isn't that the justification used by every scientist who made something wonderful, only to discover that they've made something terrible? 'We did it f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96e/mira-grant-1141_justification_isn-t-that-the-justification-used-by-eve_895622.png" --- # Isn't that the justification used by every scientist who… ![“Isn't that the justification used by every scientist who made something wonderful, only to discover that they've made something terrible? 'We did it for Science.” quote by Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96e/mira-grant-1141_justification_isn-t-that-the-justification-used-by-eve_895622.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96e/mira-grant-1141_justification_isn-t-that-the-justification-used-by-eve_895622.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96e/mira-grant-1141_justification_isn-t-that-the-justification-used-by-eve_895622.png) > ““Isn't that the justification used by every scientist who made something wonderful, only to discover that they've made something terrible? 'We did it for Science.”” [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Scientists may claim noble motives, yet their discoveries can have harmful consequences, revealing moral ambiguity. **In simple terms:** Science can be both wondrous and dangerous. Key Takeaway Question the ethics of scientific progress. Themes ethics science responsibility consequences Mood critical thoughtful Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - policy making - research oversight - public debate - education curricula Key Concepts Moral philosophy technological risk dual-use dilemma Questions to Reflect On - Who bears responsibility for unintended harms? - Can progress be truly neutral? A Different Perspective Science alone cannot guarantee ethical outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Did Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/did-science-833492/) [Justification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justification/) [Justification Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justification-used-1191288/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist/) [Used Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used-scientist-1191287/) ## Related quotes > [Fortunately for me, I did not take any science classes in college.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-bachmann/fortunately-for-me-i-did-not-take-any-science-classes-in-college/) [Michele Bachmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-bachmann/) > [God made us who we are. So did science. Therefore, no explanation should be demanded of us for who we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-birdsong/god-made-us-who-we-are-so-did-science-therefore-no-explanation-should/) [Amy Birdsong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-birdsong/) > [“What did science ever do for the world, apart from make better ways of killing people?” Sylvie said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/what-did-science-ever-do-for-the-world-apart-from-make-better-ways-of/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [When you ask why did some particular question occur to a scientist or philosopher for the first time, or why did this particular approach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/when-you-ask-why-did-some-particular-question-occur-to-a-scientist-or/) [Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) > [If Christian scientists had more science and doctors more Christianity, it wouldn't make any difference which you called in - if you had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/finley-peter-dunne/if-christian-scientists-had-more-science-and-doctors-more/) [Finley Peter Dunne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/finley-peter-dunne/) > [We explore our environment, more than we are compelled to utter poetry, when we're toddlers. We start doing that later. Before that happens, every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/we-explore-our-environment-more-than-we-are-compelled-to-utter-poetry/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Religions do make claims about the universe--the same kinds of claims that scientists make, except they're usually false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/religions-do-make-claims-about-the-universe-the-same-kinds-of-claims/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [As a scientist, objectivity is one of my most deeply held values. If we could just try harder, I once thought, surely we could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-everett/as-a-scientist-objectivity-is-one-of-my-most-deeply-held-values-if-we/) [Daniel Everett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-everett/) > [ They \[scientists of centuries past\] call on God only from the lonely and precarious edge of incomprehension. Where they feel certain about their explanations,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/they-scientists-of-centuries-past-call-on-god-only-from-the-lonely/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The caricature of science is that we hold tight to the theories we have, and shun challenges to them. That's just not true. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/the-caricature-of-science-is-that-we-hold-tight-to-the-theories-we/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [One of our big goals in search is to make search that really understands exactly what you want, understands everything in the world. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-page/one-of-our-big-goals-in-search-is-to-make-search-that-really/) [Larry Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-page/) > [We believe a scientist because he can substantiate his remarks, not because he is eloquent and forcible in his enunciation. In fact, we distrust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-a-richards/we-believe-a-scientist-because-he-can-substantiate-his-remarks-not/) [I. A. Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-a-richards/) > [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/) > [... informed ignorance provides the natural state of mind for research scientists at the ever-shifting frontiers of knowledge. People who believe themselves ignorant of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/informed-ignorance-provides-the-natural-state-of-mind-for-research/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## More by Mira Grant > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [And then everything was in the hands of gravity, which has never had much love for the terminally stupid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/and-then-everything-was-in-the-hands-of-gravity-which-has-never-had/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Rick stared at him. "Your brother is an alien." "Yeah, but he's a cute one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/rick-stared-at-him-your-brother-is-an-alien-yeah-but-he-s-a-cute-one/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [May posterity show mercy when it look back upon the work we do today. We did what we could with what we had.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/may-posterity-show-mercy-when-it-look-back-upon-the-work-we-do-today/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Last guy I was interested in turned out to be an incestuous necrophiliac," she said. "So no, not currently dating, and definitely not doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/last-guy-i-was-interested-in-turned-out-to-be-an-incestuous/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [If you want to go foraging into the wilds of Canada without proper gear, you deserve what you get, even if that happens to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/if-you-want-to-go-foraging-into-the-wilds-of-canada-without-proper/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [“Dr. Banks and his team could have learned a lot from watching The Secret of NIMH a few times. Maybe it would have convinced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/dr-banks-and-his-team-could-have-learned-a-lot-from-watching-the/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Things it is not polite to discuss at the dinner table: politics, religion, and the walking dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/things-it-is-not-polite-to-discuss-at-the-dinner-table-politics/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [If anything, global response to the Rising only confirmed something that many Australians had quietly believed for quite some time: If forced to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/if-anything-global-response-to-the-rising-only-confirmed-something/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [This is what I do know: A lie, however well-intended, can't prepare you for reality or change the world... To tell the truth is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/this-is-what-i-do-know-a-lie-however-well-intended-can-t-prepare-you/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [“The Imagine Network has already agreed to pay the FAA fines for this one-time display of the unedited footage,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/the-imagine-network-has-already-agreed-to-pay-the-faa-fines-for-this/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Sometimes in the news, "luck" is just a matter of "capitalizing on someone else's pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/sometimes-in-the-news-luck-is-just-a-matter-of-capitalizing-on/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [“She was sitting on the counter, holding a can of Coke. “Looking for this?” she asked. “My savior.” I walked toward her, making grabbing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/she-was-sitting-on-the-counter-holding-a-can-of-coke-looking-for-this/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Every life has a watershed moment, an instant when you realize you're about to make a choice that will define everything else you ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/every-life-has-a-watershed-moment-an-instant-when-you-realize-you-re/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [...even saying good-bye isn’t enough. There’s always one more thing you should have had the time to say, or do, or ask. There’s always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/even-saying-good-bye-isn-t-enough-there-s-always-one-more-thing-you/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) [Explore all 284 Mira Grant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) ## More Justification quotes > [Lutherans, whose arguments and mistakes will not be difficult to contest or discover, do not want to attribute any value to works, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-servetus/lutherans-whose-arguments-and-mistakes-will-not-be-difficult-to/) [Michael Servetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-servetus/) > [If memory survived eternally, then indeed there might be justification for a belief in hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-aumonier/if-memory-survived-eternally-then-indeed-there-might-be-justification/) [Stacy Aumonier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-aumonier/) > [“I have heard several people justify working long hours and getting home from work late it night by saying things like, “I have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-willey/i-have-heard-several-people-justify-working-long-hours-and-getting/) [Daniel Willey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-willey/) > [“Expressed in theological terms, “In justification our own works have no place at all, and simple faith in Christ is the one thing needful.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-l-brown/expressed-in-theological-terms-in-justification-our-own-works-have-no/) [Michael L. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-l-brown/) > [The ultimate justification of the work of art is to help the spectator to become a work of art himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-berenson/the-ultimate-justification-of-the-work-of-art-is-to-help-the/) [Bernard Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-berenson/) > [An excuse is a justification to make the soul feel good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-baker/an-excuse-is-a-justification-to-make-the-soul-feel-good/) [Regina Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-baker/) > [Those who love him love that he sells the most art; they take it as a point of faith that this proves Kinkade is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/those-who-love-him-love-that-he-sells-the-most-art-they-take-it-as-a/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [You can see the rider serving the elephant when people are morally dumbfounded. They have strong gut feelings about what is right and wrong,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/you-can-see-the-rider-serving-the-elephant-when-people-are-morally/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [“To recklessly excuse a failure is to believe that I’ve effectively erased it from the story of my life, when I’ve actually imprinted it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/to-recklessly-excuse-a-failure-is-to-believe-that-i-ve-effectively/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [How could one comfort a disturbed person? He is already assailed with doubts about his faith. He would have to despair with such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-f-w-walther/how-could-one-comfort-a-disturbed-person-he-is-already-assailed-with/) [C. F. W. Walther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-f-w-walther/) > [“Self-justification is the enemy of repentance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-w-kimball/self-justification-is-the-enemy-of-repentance/) [Spencer W. Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-w-kimball/) > [They have this social justification for every nasty thing they do!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/they-have-this-social-justification-for-every-nasty-thing-they-do/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [It could never be a correct justification that, because the whites oppressed us yesterday when they had power, that the blacks must oppress them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mugabe/it-could-never-be-a-correct-justification-that-because-the-whites/) [Robert Mugabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mugabe/) > [People often say that humans have always eaten animals, as if this is a justification for continuing the practice. According to this logic, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-bashevis-singer/people-often-say-that-humans-have-always-eaten-animals-as-if-this-is/) [Isaac Bashevis Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-bashevis-singer/) > [While society cannot provide employment for its members, the production/work/income nexus has to be abandoned as a justification for our present parsimony to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hawke/while-society-cannot-provide-employment-for-its-members-the/) [Bob Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hawke/) [Browse all 748 Justification quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justification/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Isn't that the justification used by every scientist who made something wonderful, only to discover that they've made something terrible? 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