Big questions Quote by Roger Scruton
““There are big questions science doesn’t answer, such as why is there something rather than nothing? There can’t be a scientific answer to that because it’s the answer that precedes science. There are all sorts of questions like that that which at the periphery of scientic inquiry but which wiggle in the mind like worms: the question “what am I, what is this word ‘I’”? Does it refer to anything? If you try to capture the “I”, you don’t capture it, you capture the object, in which case it’s a nothing, but it’s a nothing on which everything depends. But this nothing on which everything depends thinks of itself as free. This is a philosophical question that worries everyone, but you can’t formulate it.””
About This Quote
Source Lecture: Philosophy of Science, 1995
Fundamental questions about existence and self‑identity lie beyond scientific method, remaining mysterious.
In simple terms: Some truths are beyond science.
Key Takeaway
Accept mystery, explore beyond empirical limits.
Themes
mystery
existence
self
philosophy
Mood
contemplative
curious
Type
philosophical
existential
When to use this quote
- personal introspection
- academic debate
- spiritual contemplation
Key Concepts
ontology
epistemology
limits of science
Questions to Reflect On
- What does “nothing” mean to you?
- How do you confront unanswerable questions?
A Different Perspective
Science cannot answer every profound question.
