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Who really said it

Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are part of nature and therefore part of the mystery that we are trying to solve

Spoken by Max Planck 1858–1947 · German theoretical physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics 1918
Verified In copyright

Planck’s answer to James Murphy in “Epilogue: A Socratic Dialogue. Planck–Einstein–Murphy,” in Where Is Science Going? (New York: W. W. Norton, 1932), p. 217. The edition credits the translation to James Murphy. The popular wording matches the printed English text word for word.

Last verified 3 Nov 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

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“Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are part of nature and therefore part of the mystery that we are trying to solve” Max Planck, Where Is Science Going?, trans. James Murphy (New York: W. W. Norton, 1932), Epilogue, p. 217.

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Still under copyright (rights held by W. W. Norton & Company (copyright 1932); English translation by James Murphy). A short, credited quote is generally fine for talks, teaching, and internal decks; for commercial, published, or large-scale reuse, get permission.

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In context

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Provenance

Where the line actually appears

Work
Where Is Science Going?
Section
Epilogue: A Socratic Dialogue. Planck–Einstein–Murphy, p. 217
Published
New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1932 (First Edition), with a prologue by Albert Einstein
Translation
“Translation and biographical note by James Murphy” (title page)

MURPHY: You have often said that the progress of science consists in the discovery of a new mystery the moment one thinks that something fundamental has been solved. …

PLANCK: As to the first point, that about the discovery of new mysteries. This is undoubtedly true. Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are part of nature and therefore part of the mystery that we are trying to solve. Music and art are, to an extent, also attempts to solve or at least to express the mystery. But to my mind the more we progress with either the more we are brought into harmony with all nature itself. And that is one of the great services of science to the individual. Epilogue, p. 217

Transcribed from the Internet Archive’s OCR text of the 1932 Norton first edition. Hyphenation from line breaks has been joined.

Scanned 1932 edition
Where Is Science Going? (1932) at the Internet Archive
Full text of Where Is Science Going? (1932), Internet Archive

How we verified this

  • The exact sentence is on p. 217 of the 1932 Norton first edition, in Planck’s reply to Murphy (Internet Archive full text ↗).
  • Wikiquote’s sourced quotes for Planck list it under Where is Science Going? (1932), “Epilogue, p. 217,” along with two shorter variants (Wikiquote: Max Planck ↗).
  • The Marginalian also quotes the line and says it comes from the Socratic dialogue with Einstein at the end of the 1932 book (The Marginalian ↗).
In copyright

The line is printed in the English text of Where Is Science Going?, first published in 1932 by W. W. Norton with a copyright notice. Under our conservative rule, a work first published in 1931 or later is treated as in copyright in the US. We have not checked the renewal records.

Rights status is our research, not legal advice — and copyright varies by country and edition. For commercial or published use, confirm with the rightsholder. See terms.

Fact-check

Real quote, loosely copied

The attribution is correct. What drifts online is the wording, and the setting the line is said to come from.

“…we ourselves are a part of the mystery that we are trying to solve” Shortened

This common variant drops “of nature and therefore part.” In the 1932 text, Planck first says we are part of nature and only then part of the mystery. Wikiquote lists this form as a variant (Wikiquote ↗).

“…for in the final analysis we ourselves are part of the mystery we are trying to solve” Reworded

This variant merges the two sentences into one and changes “last analysis” to “final analysis.” That wording is not in the 1932 English edition. Wikiquote lists it as a variant (Wikiquote ↗).

“From a dialogue with Einstein” Imprecise

Einstein is one of the three speakers in the book’s closing dialogue, but Planck is not answering him here. He is answering a question from James Murphy, the book’s translator (1932 text, p. 217 ↗).

The full popular wording matches Planck’s reply on p. 217 of Where Is Science Going? (Norton, 1932) word for word (Internet Archive ↗).

Context

Why it mattered

Where Is Science Going? was published in 1932, when quantum theory was challenging the old idea of strict causality. The book ends with a “Socratic dialogue” between Planck, Einstein and James Murphy. In this exchange, Murphy brings up Planck’s often-repeated view that every scientific advance uncovers a new mystery. Planck agrees, and explains why: the scientist is part of what he is studying.

He goes straight on to music and art. He calls them attempts “to solve or at least to express the mystery,” and says that progress in either brings us “into harmony with all nature itself.”

We ourselves are part of nature and therefore part of the mystery that we are trying to solve.

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Knowledge Humility Truth

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

Where Is Science Going? (1932)archive.org

Scanned copy of the book. The Epilogue dialogue begins on p. 201 and the line is on p. 217.
Full text (OCR)archive.org

Searchable text of the 1932 Norton first edition, including the title page and the copyright notice.
Wikiquote: Max Plancken.wikiquote.org

Sourced Planck quotes. This line is cited to the Epilogue, p. 217, with two variants.
Max Planck on where science is goingthemarginalian.org

Maria Popova’s essay on the book, which quotes this passage.
Max Plancken.wikipedia.org

Biography: born 23 April 1858, died 4 October 1947, Nobel Prize in Physics 1918.

The author

About Max Planck

Max Planck

1858–1947 · German theoretical physicist, founder of quantum theory

Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck was the German physicist whose work on energy quanta launched quantum theory. He won the 1918 Nobel Prize in Physics. In his later years he wrote and lectured widely on causality, free will and how science relates to religion. Where Is Science Going? (1932) collects that thinking for English readers.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Primary source

Max Planck, Where Is Science Going?, prologue by Albert Einstein, translation and biographical note by James Murphy (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1932), Epilogue: “A Socratic Dialogue,” 217.

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Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are part of nature and therefore part of the mystery that we are trying to solve’?” Last verified 3 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/science-cannot-solve-the-ultimate-mystery-of-nature-and/

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