Knowledge and Responsibility (The Ascent of Man)
Delivered at Auschwitz during Episode 11 of the BBC landmark series 'The Ascent of Man' (1973), contrasting scientific humility with the horrors of dogmatic certainty.
Full Transcript
It is said that science will dehumanize people and turn them into numbers. That is false.
Look for yourself. This is the concentration camp at Auschwitz. This is where people were turned into numbers. Into this pond were flushed the ashes of 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.
Science is a very human form of knowledge. We are always at the brink of the known; we always feel our way into the unknown. We have to test our theories against reality.
There is no absolute knowledge. And those who claim it, whether they are scientists or dogmatists, open the door to tragedy.
We have to touch people. We have to cure ourselves of the itch for absolute knowledge and power.
Defining Key Excerpts
"There is no absolute knowledge. And those who claim it, whether they are scientists or dogmatists, open the door to tragedy."
"We have to cure ourselves of the itch for absolute knowledge and power. We have to rush into the water at Auschwitz and touch the mud."
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