1908 - 1974 Mathematician and philosopher. Write of many works. A renaissance man.
Dream or nightmare, we have to live our experience as it is, and we have to live it awake. We live in a world which is penetrated through and through by science and which is both whole and real. We cannot turn it into a game simple by taking sides. -Jacob Bronowski
The Ascent of Man
Wrote and starred in The Ascent of Man.
Through vivid storytelling and intellectual depth, Bronowski traces our evolutionary journey from primitive beginnings to the heights of civilization, revealing the interconnectedness of knowledge and the human capacity for discovery. By emphasizing the role of curiosity, creativity, and the pursuit of truth, he highlights how our collective achievements have shaped the world and underscored our shared humanity, ultimately inspiring readers to embrace the boundless potential of the human spirit.
The Ascent of Man series features scenes of lighthearted humility…
It is important that students bring a certain ragamuffin, barefoot irreverence to their studies; they are not here to worship what is known, but to question it.
- Jacob Bronowski, The Ascent of Man
Every animal leaves traces of what it was; man alone leaves traces of what he created.
…and absolute tragedy…
It’s said that science will dehumanize people and turn them into numbers. That’s false, tragically false. Look for yourself. This is the concentration camp and crematorium at Auschwitz. This is where people were turned into numbers. Into this pond were flushed the ashes of some four million people. And that was not done by gas. It was done by arrogance, it was done by dogma, it was done by ignorance. When people believe that they have absolute knowledge, with no test in reality, this is how they behave. This is what men do when they aspire to the knowledge of gods.
Science is a very human form of knowledge. We are always at the brink of the known; we always feel forward for what is to be hoped. Every judgment in science stands on the edge of error and is personal. Science is a tribute to what we can know although we are fallible. In the end, the words were said by Oliver Cromwell: “I beseech you in the bowels of Christ: Think it possible you may be mistaken.""
I owe it as a scientist to my friend Leo Szilard, I owe it as a human being to the many members of my family who died here, to stand here as a survivor and a witness. We have to cure ourselves of the itch for absolute knowledge and power. We have to close the distance between the push-button order and the human act. We have to touch people.
- Jacob Bronowski, The Ascent of Man
Science & Human Values
Has there ever been a society which has died of dissent? Several have died of conformity in our lifetime. Jacob Bronowski, Science and Human Values