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Science Quote by Albert Claude

"As far as I remember, even younger than eight, I have always been guided by reason. Not cold reason, but that which leads to the truth, to the real, and to sane Justice"

About this Quote

There’s a carefully staged self-portrait here: the scientist as a child of reason, drafted early into an internal republic where evidence rules. Claude doesn’t sell “cold reason” because he knows how that reads in the 20th century, after mechanized war and technocracy made rationality feel suspect. So he draws a moral boundary: his reason is not the icy calculator’s tool but a humane instrument that “leads” somewhere worth going - truth, reality, “sane Justice.” That adjective matters. “Sane” implies a world in which justice can be hysterical, ideological, unmoored from facts. He’s defending a particular kind of rationalism: disciplined, reality-testing, and ethically accountable.

The intent is partly autobiographical mythmaking, the origin story scientists are encouraged to tell. “As far as I remember” signals both modesty and a rhetorical hedge: memory is fallible, but the identity claim stands. “Guided” is also telling; reason isn’t just a method he uses at work, it’s a compass, an authority. The subtext is an argument about legitimacy: if reason leads to truth, then the scientist’s work participates in justice - not merely discovery.

Context sharpens the stakes. Claude helped build modern cell biology in an era when science was expanding into institutions, industry, and the state. By tying reason to “Justice,” he’s rebutting the fear that science is morally neutral. He’s insisting that clear-eyed inquiry is not a retreat from humanity but one of its sanest forms.

Quote Details

TopicReason & Logic
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Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Claude, Albert. (2026, January 16). As far as I remember, even younger than eight, I have always been guided by reason. Not cold reason, but that which leads to the truth, to the real, and to sane Justice. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/as-far-as-i-remember-even-younger-than-eight-i-100466/

Chicago Style
Claude, Albert. "As far as I remember, even younger than eight, I have always been guided by reason. Not cold reason, but that which leads to the truth, to the real, and to sane Justice." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/as-far-as-i-remember-even-younger-than-eight-i-100466/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"As far as I remember, even younger than eight, I have always been guided by reason. Not cold reason, but that which leads to the truth, to the real, and to sane Justice." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/as-far-as-i-remember-even-younger-than-eight-i-100466/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.

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Guided by Reason: Albert Claude on Truth and Sane Justice
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About the Author

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Albert Claude (August 24, 1899 - May 22, 1983) was a Scientist from Belgium.

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