16 Paul Kalanithi Quotes for You to Enjoy

Paul Kalanithi

American Writer

Born: Apr 1, 1977

Died: Mar 9, 2015

Cancer Death Knowledge Life Patient Words

Related authors: Dale Carnegie Denis Waitley Dr. Seuss H. L. Mencken Napoleon Hill Ray Bradbury W. E. B. Du Bois William Arthur Ward

During my sojourn in ironclad atheism, the primary arsenal leveled against Christianity had been its failure on empirical grounds. Surely, enlightened reason offered a more coherent cosmos. Surely, Occam's razor cut the faithful free from blind faith. There is no proof of God; therefore, it is unreasonable to believe in God. Paul Kalanithi

God Faith Failure Free Faithful Believe Christianity Atheism Proof Cosmos More Unreasonable Had Primary Razor Empirical Blind Blind Faith Surely Been Arsenal Offered Against Cut Reason Grounds Therefore Leveled Enlightened Coherent

Everyone succumbs to finitude. I suspect I am not the only one who reaches this pluperfect state. Most ambitions are either achieved or abandoned; either way, they belong to the past. The future, instead of the ladder toward the goals of life, flattens out into a perpetual present. Paul Kalanithi

The physician's duty is not to stave off death or return patients to their old lives, but to take into our arms a patient and family whose lives have disintegrated and work until they can stand back up and face - and make sense of - their own existence. Paul Kalanithi

Work Death Family Old Face Physician Own Duty Patient Sense Back Our Back Up Take Until Make Arms Return Existence Off Up Patients Disintegrated Stand Whose Lives

A resident's surgical skill is judged by their technique and speed. You can't be sloppy, and you can't be slow. Paul Kalanithi

You Slow Speed Sloppy Judged Surgical Skill Resident Technique

The diagnosis was immediate: Masses matting the lungs and deforming the spine. Cancer. In my neurosurgical training, I had reviewed hundreds of scans for fellow doctors to see if surgery offered any hope. I'd scribble in the chart 'Widely metastatic disease - no role for surgery,' and move on. But this scan was different: It was my own. Paul Kalanithi

Hope Training Cancer Doctors Own Move On Hundreds Immediate Scan See Spine My Own Chart Had Masses Fellow Diagnosis Surgery Reviewed Offered Role Disease Any Move Different Scribble Widely Lungs

Science is based on reproducibility and manufactured objectivity. As strong as that makes its ability to generate claims about matter and energy, it also makes scientific knowledge inapplicable to the existential, visceral nature of human life, which is unique and subjective and unpredictable. Paul Kalanithi

Life Nature Knowledge Science Strong Matter Energy Visceral Claims Ability Unpredictable About Objectivity Generate Also Makes Scientific Scientific Knowledge Existential Subjective Human Which Human Life Unique Based

People react differently to hearing 'Procedure X has a 70 percent chance of survival' and 'Procedure Y has a 30 percent chance of death.' Phrased that way, people flock to Procedure X, even though the numbers are the same. Paul Kalanithi

Death Survival People Way Though Percent React Hearing Same Procedure Even Flock Differently Chance Numbers

We build scientific theories to organize and manipulate the world, to reduce phenomena into manageable units. Paul Kalanithi

World Build Scientific Reduce Manageable Manipulate Organize Theories Units Phenomena

What patients seek is not scientific knowledge that doctors hide, but existential authenticity each person must find on her own... the angst of facing mortality has no remedy in probability. Paul Kalanithi

I knew medicine only by its absence - specifically, the absence of a father growing up: one who went to work before dawn and returned in the dark to a plate of reheated dinner. Paul Kalanithi

Work Dark Father Dinner Before Medicine Only Absence Dawn Knew Returned Up Who Plate Growing Growing Up Specifically

The tricky part of illness is that, as you go through it, your values are constantly changing... You may decide you want to spend your time working as a neurosurgeon, but two months later, you may want to learn to play the saxophone or devote yourself to the church. Death may be a one-time event, but living with terminal illness is a process. Paul Kalanithi

Death Time You Yourself Church Values Living Changing Spend Later Months Saxophone Tricky Constantly Through Part Terminal Devote Learn Go May Want Decide Process Working Your Illness Event Play Two

While all doctors treat diseases, neurosurgeons' work is the crucible of identity. Every operation on the brain is, by necessity, a manipulation of the substance of our selves. Paul Kalanithi

Work Treat Doctors Every Our Crucible Identity Operation Brain Selves Diseases Substance While Manipulation Necessity

Before operating on a patient's brain... I must first understand his mind: his identity, his values, what makes his life worth living, and what devastation makes it reasonable to let that life end. Paul Kalanithi

Life Worth Mind Values First Before Patient Living Worth Living Must Devastation Identity Operating Makes Understand His Brain End Reasonable

Words have a longevity that I do not have. Paul Kalanithi

Words Longevity

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