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Any concepts or words which have been formed in the past through the interplay between the world and ourselves are not really sharply defined with respect to their meaning: that is to say, we do not know exactly how far they will help us in finding our way in the world.

— Werner Heisenberg Physics and Philosophy (1958)

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More quotes by Werner Heisenberg

There is a fundamental error in separating the parts from the whole, the mistake of atomizing what should not be atomized. Unity and complementarity constitute reality.

Light and matter are both single entities, and the apparent duality arises in the limitations of our language.

We have to remember that what we observe is not nature herself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning.

Physics and Philosophy (1958)

The more precise the measurement of position, the more imprecise the measurement of momentum, and vice versa.

The existing scientific concepts cover always only a very limited part of reality, and the other part that has not yet been understood is infinite.

Physics and Philosophy (1958)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Werner Heisenberg (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.