I don't know why I do things.

May 18, 2023 4:44 PM

At the beginning of The Terminal Man, Michael Crichton includes this quote attributed to geneticist J.B.S. Haldane: "I have come to the conclusion that my subjective account of my own motivation is largely mythical on almost all occasions. I don't know why I do things." I love this. I want to file it in my archive of quotes, but I want to source it properly — if Michael Crichton didn't invent it (which he often does with his epigraphs). Are your google skills better than mine? What is the actual source of this quote?
posted by jdroth to Writing & Language (2 answers total)

Best answer: I didn't find much on Google either (including Google Books), but fortunately, the Internet Archive's full-text search seems to have come to the rescue. A slightly extended version of your quote appears on page 326 of "Man and His Future", a 1963 compilation of papers and discussions from a symposium that hosted 27 scientists, including Haldane.

Haldane: Dr. Hoagland said that all scientists think deterministically. I don't think that I do. I have come to the conclusion that my subjective account of my own motivation is largely mythical on almost all occasions. My mother used to ask me, "Why did you do that?", and I learned to give a list of motives. Looking back I think I was generally wrong. I don't know why I do things.

posted by teraflop at 5:44 PM on May 18 [40 favorites]

Response by poster: @teraflop Thank you!

On an extended note, I've never thought to move my failed searches to Internet Archive. I'll have to do that. So, double thank you.
posted by jdroth at 6:20 PM on May 18 [2 favorites]