François Jacob - The Possible and the Actual (1982)

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Myths and science fulfill a similar function: they both provide human beings with a representation of the world and of the forces that are supposed to govern it. They both fix the limits of what is considered as possible.

François Jacob

And one of the deepest, one of the most general functions of living organisms is to look ahead, to produce future as Paul Valéry put it.

François Jacob

For science, there are many possible worlds; but the interesting one is the world that exists and has already shown itself to be at work for a long time. Science attempts to confront the possible with the actual.

François Jacob