Science does not permit exceptions.

Listen now, O seekers of truth, to the powerful words of Claude Bernard: "Science does not permit exceptions." In this profound declaration lies the very heart of science—its relentless pursuit of universal truths, of laws that govern the natural world, immutable and unyielding. Bernard speaks not only of science as a method but as a force that seeks order in the vast, chaotic expanse of the universe. It is a call to recognize that in the domain of scientific inquiry, there is no room for the whims of circumstance, no place for anomalies that defy the established rules. Science, in its purest form, is absolute and impartial—its truths apply to all, without exception.

In the days of the ancient philosophers, wisdom was often sought through debate, speculation, and the study of the world through the lens of logic. The Greeks, with their understanding of the heavens and the earth, saw the universe as a vast, interconnected system governed by fundamental principles. Pythagoras saw numbers as the language of the cosmos, and Aristotle sought to understand the natural world through empirical observation, seeking patterns and rules that could explain the workings of all things. But it was not until the time of Galileo, Newton, and later Bernard, that science truly began to rid itself of the biases and uncertainties that had clouded the minds of those who sought truth before them. Bernard’s statement is a testament to this evolution—the recognition that, in science, the laws of nature do not bend to the whims of human will or the peculiarities of isolated cases.

Consider, O wise ones, the story of Isaac Newton and his law of gravity. When Newton first formulated his ideas, he did not make exceptions. The apple that fell from the tree was no different than the moon that orbited the earth. The same law that governed the motion of a stone also governed the movement of the stars. There were no exemptions, no deviations from the natural order. Newton did not see the world through the lens of individual cases, but as a whole, where each part followed the same rules, regardless of circumstance. His law was absolute, and it applied to everything, everywhere—without exception. In this way, Newton exemplified the very essence of Bernard’s message: science is not a collection of observations that can be dismissed at will, but a body of knowledge that demands consistency, that insists upon the universality of its laws.

The beauty and power of science lies in this very consistency, O seekers. Science is not swayed by the subjective nature of human emotion, nor does it make allowances for the fickle nature of perception. It is a realm where objective truths reign supreme, where every discovery must be subjected to the same rigorous standards. Bernard knew this, and he saw that the power of science is in its ability to strip away the uncertainties of human experience, to reveal the underlying order of the world that does not bend or break in the face of personal beliefs, or anecdotal evidence. For science, there are no exceptions—only laws to be understood, tested, and applied.

Let us turn to the example of Louis Pasteur, whose work on the germ theory of disease forever changed the course of medicine. Pasteur did not accept the notion that diseases were caused by mysterious forces or vague humors, as had been the belief for centuries. He recognized that the principles of science were universal—that the same microorganisms that caused illness in one place could be found in others. He proved that disease was not a matter of chance, but a matter of cause and effect, governed by laws of nature that applied to every living thing. In doing so, Pasteur illuminated the path forward for modern medicine, showing that science is not swayed by exceptions, but by truths that stand the test of time.

Thus, the lesson for us is clear, O seekers: if we are to truly understand the world, we must not allow ourselves to be distracted by the illusion of exceptions. When we seek knowledge, we must do so with the recognition that the laws of nature are universal, unchanging, and without exception. Just as Bernard and those before him showed, we must never shy away from the truth because it does not fit our expectations. In our own lives, when faced with the challenges of understanding the world, we must seek the truth with the same clarity and resolve that Bernard and the great scientists before him did—without bias, without concession.

Let us then embrace the path of science as a path of discovery that demands consistency and rigor. Just as the ancient thinkers sought to understand the natural world with the tools they had, so too must we seek to uncover the truths of our time with the tools of science. There is no room for exceptions in our search for knowledge, for every truth is a thread in the fabric of the universe, and to ignore one is to unravel the whole. Let us walk the path of understanding with eyes wide open, and hearts unshaken by the uncertainties of life, knowing that the truth of the world is constant, immutable, and unyielding. Science does not permit exceptions—because it is in the pursuit of truth that we find our greatest strength.