--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is to say, though, that if you believe…" description: "\"“It is to say, though, that if you believe that science provides no basis for God, then you are almost obligated to conclude that science provides no b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/313/paul-kalanithi-5204_life_it-is-to-say-though-that-if-you-believe_2296623.jpg" --- # It is to say, though, that if you believe that science… ![“It is to say, though, that if you believe that science provides no basis for God, then you are almost obligated to conclude that science provides no basis for meaning and, therefore, life itself doesn't have any.” quote by Paul Kalanithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/313/paul-kalanithi-5204_life_it-is-to-say-though-that-if-you-believe_2296623.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/313/paul-kalanithi-5204_life_it-is-to-say-though-that-if-you-believe_2296623.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/313/paul-kalanithi-5204_life_it-is-to-say-though-that-if-you-believe_2296623.jpg) > ““It is to say, though, that if you believe that science provides no basis for God, then you are almost obligated to conclude that science provides no basis for meaning and, therefore, life itself doesn't have any.”” [Paul Kalanithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kalanithi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If science denies God, it also removes any objective source of meaning, suggesting life may be meaningless. **In simple terms:** Science alone may not give purpose. Key Takeaway Consider other sources of meaning. Themes meaning existence science faith philosophy Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical existential When to use this quote - personal crisis - career change - grief counseling - spiritual seeking Key Concepts nihilism existentialism theology Questions to Reflect On - What gives your life meaning beyond science? - Can meaning be found without belief in a deity? A Different Perspective Science can offer meaning through human connection and purpose. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Basis God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/basis-god-1132278/) [Believe Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-science/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Doesn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-doesn/) [Life itself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-itself/) [Meaning life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaning-life/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science Provides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-provides-455684/) ## Related quotes > [“if you believe that science provides no basis for God, then you are almost obligated to conclude that science provides no basis for meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kalanithi/if-you-believe-that-science-provides-no-basis-for-god-then-you-are/) [Paul Kalanithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kalanithi/) > [We must learn to tell ourselves the truth on the basis of God’s Word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/we-must-learn-to-tell-ourselves-the-truth-on-the-basis-of-god-s-word/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [It is clear that while science provides insights into the complexity of the world around us, those insights...present a fractured mosaic rather than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/it-is-clear-that-while-science-provides-insights-into-the-complexity/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [I like solving problems, and science provides a logical way of solving real-life problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-j-anderson/i-like-solving-problems-and-science-provides-a-logical-way-of-solving/) [David J. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-j-anderson/) > [Science provides a much more satisfactory way to seek answers than does any religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/science-provides-a-much-more-satisfactory-way-to-seek-answers-than/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [Basic science provides long-term benefits for ourselves and our fragile planet and should be supported by all the world's societies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee/basic-science-provides-long-term-benefits-for-ourselves-and-our/) [David Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee/) > [“Perhaps religion provides the justification for wars, but science provides the weapons.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-rozoff/perhaps-religion-provides-the-justification-for-wars-but-science/) [James Rozoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-rozoff/) > [I feel that I've often pointed out that there are countless aspects of life and nature that scientists and scientific thinkers cannot explain. Why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/i-feel-that-i-ve-often-pointed-out-that-there-are-countless-aspects/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [Science provides an understanding of a universal experience. Arts provide a universal understanding of a personal experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-jemison/science-provides-an-understanding-of-a-universal-experience-arts/) [Mae Jemison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-jemison/) > [Science provides tangible evidence of its accuracy and importance. Religion makes excuses for its absence of the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pz-myers/science-provides-tangible-evidence-of-its-accuracy-and-importance/) [PZ Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pz-myers/) > [Life has no direct meaning, in other words you give your own life meaning. But for me my life has no meaning, nor does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/life-has-no-direct-meaning-in-other-words-you-give-your-own-life/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [music is not technique and melody, but the meaning of life itself, infinitely sorrowful and unbearably beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/music-is-not-technique-and-melody-but-the-meaning-of-life-itself/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [It is the thing God gave each and everyone of us so we can live to love,praise,and worship Him and His Son,Jesus Christ.We love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melesley-drye/it-is-the-thing-god-gave-each-and-everyone-of-us-so-we-can-live-to/) [MeLesley Drye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melesley-drye/) > [That means life itself is a fairy tale. Like the characters, we all live and love and search for a happily-ever-after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gena-showalter/that-means-life-itself-is-a-fairy-tale-like-the-characters-we-all/) [Gena Showalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gena-showalter/) > [“Death comes for all of us. For us, for our patients: it is our fate as living, breathing, metabolizing organisms. Most lives are lived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kalanithi/death-comes-for-all-of-us-for-us-for-our-patients-it-is-our-fate-as/) [Paul Kalanithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kalanithi/) ## More by Paul Kalanithi > [“operative risk, it was the best kind of tumor to have, and the best place to have it; surgery would almost certainly eliminate her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kalanithi/operative-risk-it-was-the-best-kind-of-tumor-to-have-and-the-best/) [Paul Kalanithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kalanithi/) > [“If the unexamined life was not worth living, was the unlived life worth examining?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kalanithi/if-the-unexamined-life-was-not-worth-living-was-the-unlived-life/) [Paul Kalanithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kalanithi/) > [“Yet the paradox is that scientific methodology is the product of human hands and thus cannot reach some permanent truth. We build scientific theories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kalanithi/yet-the-paradox-is-that-scientific-methodology-is-the-product-of/) [Paul Kalanithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kalanithi/) > [“...but every day felt full of life, and of the relationships that give life meaning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kalanithi/but-every-day-felt-full-of-life-and-of-the-relationships-that-give/) [Paul Kalanithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kalanithi/) > [“I struggled, while facing my own death, to rebuild my old life—or perhaps find a new one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kalanithi/i-struggled-while-facing-my-own-death-to-rebuild-my-old-life-or/) [Paul Kalanithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kalanithi/) > [“My imagined future and my personal identity collapsed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kalanithi/my-imagined-future-and-my-personal-identity-collapsed/) [Paul Kalanithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kalanithi/) > [“I had come to see language as an almost supernatural force, existing between people,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kalanithi/i-had-come-to-see-language-as-an-almost-supernatural-force-existing/) [Paul Kalanithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kalanithi/) > [“When a patient comes in with a fatal head bleed, that first conversation with a neurosurgeon may forever color how the family remembers the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kalanithi/when-a-patient-comes-in-with-a-fatal-head-bleed-that-first/) [Paul Kalanithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kalanithi/) > [“To the east, the full light of day beamed toward you; to the west, night reigned with no hint of surrender. No philosopher can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kalanithi/to-the-east-the-full-light-of-day-beamed-toward-you-to-the-west-night/) [Paul Kalanithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kalanithi/) > [“I acted not, as I most often did, as death’s enemy, but as its ambassador. I had to help those families understand that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kalanithi/i-acted-not-as-i-most-often-did-as-death-s-enemy-but-as-its/) [Paul Kalanithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kalanithi/) > [“A scan showed that a benign brain tumor was pressing on her right frontal lobe. In terms of operative risk, it was the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kalanithi/a-scan-showed-that-a-benign-brain-tumor-was-pressing-on-her-right/) [Paul Kalanithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kalanithi/) > [“Now more than ever, you have to be there for each other. I don’t want either of you staying up all night at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kalanithi/now-more-than-ever-you-have-to-be-there-for-each-other-i-don-t-want/) [Paul Kalanithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kalanithi/) > [“The funny thing about time in the OR, whether you race frenetically or proceed steadily, is that you have no sense of it passing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kalanithi/the-funny-thing-about-time-in-the-or-whether-you-race-frenetically-or/) [Paul Kalanithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kalanithi/) > [“Learn to be fast now. You can learn to be good later.” In the OR, everyone’s eyes are always on the clock. For the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kalanithi/learn-to-be-fast-now-you-can-learn-to-be-good-later-in-the-or/) [Paul Kalanithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kalanithi/) > [“I felt that the last thing he needed was the obligation to service a new friendship.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kalanithi/i-felt-that-the-last-thing-he-needed-was-the-obligation-to-service-a/) [Paul Kalanithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kalanithi/) [Explore all 100 Paul Kalanithi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kalanithi/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) [Deanna L. Lawlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deanna-l-lawlis/) > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is to say, though, that if you believe that science provides no basis for God, then you are almost obligated to conclude that science provides no basis for meaning and, therefore, life itself doesn't have any.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Kalanithi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kalanithi/it-is-to-say-though-that-if-you-believe-that-science-provides-no/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kalanithi/it-is-to-say-though-that-if-you-believe-that-science-provides-no/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/313/paul-kalanithi-5204_life_it-is-to-say-though-that-if-you-believe_2296623.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/313/paul-kalanithi-5204_life_it-is-to-say-though-that-if-you-believe_2296623.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/313/paul-kalanithi-5204_life_it-is-to-say-though-that-if-you-believe_2296623.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is to say, though, that if you believe that science provides no basis for God, then you are almost…” — Paul Kalanithi", "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": "Paul Kalanithi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kalanithi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It is to say, though, that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kalanithi/it-is-to-say-though-that-if-you-believe-that-science-provides-no/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kalanithi/it-is-to-say-though-that-if-you-believe-that-science-provides-no/#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 } } ] } ```