Physics & Philosophy
David Bohm Quotes on Wholeness, Dialogue, and Consciousness
David Bohm left behind a body of writing that is as lucid as it is radical. Across physics, philosophy, and dialogue, he kept returning to one theme: the fragmented way we think about reality does not match the wholeness that nature keeps revealing. These quotes, drawn from Wholeness and the Implicate Order and his long conversations with J. Krishnamurti, capture the range and depth of his vision.
On wholeness and the implicate order
"The notion that all these fragments are separately existent is evidently an illusion, and this illusion cannot do other than lead to endless conflict and confusion."David Bohm, Wholeness and the Implicate Order
"In the implicate order, the whole is enfolded into each part, and each part is enfolded into the whole."David Bohm, Wholeness and the Implicate Order
"The thing is not a thing, but a movement. What we call things are relatively constant patterns in this movement."David Bohm
"Ultimately, the entire universe has to be thought of as an implicate order. The whole is in some way contained in every part."David Bohm
"Reality is what we take to be true. What we take to be true is what we believe. What we believe is based upon our perceptions. What we perceive depends on what we look for. What we look for depends on what we think. What we think depends on what we perceive. What we perceive determines what we believe. What we believe determines what we take to be true. What we take to be true is our reality."David Bohm
"The ability to perceive or think differently is more important than the knowledge gained."David Bohm
"What is needed is to make a fresh approach, not based on any particular assumption, but rather on the actual fact of our existence."David Bohm
"The word 'reality' has many meanings. In science we usually mean that which can be tested and demonstrated, but in a deeper sense reality is the whole of existence, including what is not yet known."David Bohm
On dialogue and relationship
"Dialogue is a stream of meaning flowing among and through us and between us, which will make possible the creation of a new kind of mind, one in which it is the collective rather than the individual that is decisive."David Bohm, On Dialogue
"The purpose of dialogue is to reveal the incoherence in our thought. Not to remove it, but to see it. That very seeing is the beginning of a new kind of intelligence."David Bohm
"If we are to live in harmony with ourselves and with nature, we need to be able to communicate freely in a kind of inner dialogue, and to bring to the surface the full range of opinions and feelings that may be present in a group."David Bohm
"A dialogue is essentially a conversation between two or more people in which the participants are not trying to win, but to understand."David Bohm
"In dialogue, each person listens to the other as if the other were saying something that is of fundamental importance, even if it is not clear what it is."David Bohm
"We have to see that opinions are not the most important thing. What is important is to discover the truth, or at least to move toward it."David Bohm
"When we get to the point where we can suspend our opinions, we can begin to listen. Not just to the words, but to the whole meaning that is trying to emerge."David Bohm
"The individual and the collective are not opposed. They are two aspects of one movement, and in dialogue we can begin to see that."David Bohm
On consciousness and the mind
"Consciousness is much more of the implicate order than is matter."David Bohm, Wholeness and the Implicate Order
"Deep down the consciousness of mankind is one. This is a virtual certainty because otherwise there would be no way to communicate at all."David Bohm
"Thought is creating divisions out of itself and then saying that they are there naturally. This is a major feature of thought: to create divisions and then to deny that it has done so."David Bohm
"We are all connected. To each other, biologically. To the earth, chemically. To the rest of the universe, atomically."David Bohm
"The mind and the body are not two different things. They are aspects of one whole movement, and any attempt to treat them separately leads to confusion."David Bohm
"There is a kind of implicate order in consciousness itself. Each moment of awareness enfolds the whole of past experience and reaches out toward the whole of what is possible."David Bohm
"To be confused about what is different and what is not, is to be confused about everything."David Bohm
"The question is whether we can be aware of our thought, not only of the content but of the process, the movement that produces the content."David Bohm
"In some sense, the whole of the past is implicit in each moment of consciousness, and the whole of the future is implicit in it as well."David Bohm
On science, knowledge, and perception
"Science is primarily a way of looking at the whole world, and not a mere accumulation of knowledge."David Bohm
"Knowledge is necessary for survival, but it can also be a trap. When knowledge becomes a program that runs us, we stop seeing what is actually in front of us."David Bohm
"The laws of physics are not laws of nature, but laws of our way of looking at nature."David Bohm
"There is no reason why one should not be able to think of the laws of physics as the laws of thought, in the sense that they describe the way in which the mind must operate in order to be in harmony with the whole."David Bohm
"The field of the finite is all that we can see, hear, touch, remember, and describe. The field of the infinite is beyond all that, yet it is the source of all that is."David Bohm
Why these quotes still matter
Bohm's writing can feel abstract at first, but it returns again and again to a simple demand: look at the whole, not only at the parts. In physics that meant questioning the assumption that reality is made of separate objects. In dialogue it meant listening for meaning beyond opinion. In consciousness it meant noticing how thought creates the very divisions it then complains about.
These quotes are not aphorisms to collect and forget. They are invitations to think differently. Each one points back to the same insight: the way we divide the world in thought is not the way the world is divided in itself.
For readers who want to go further, Wholeness and the Implicate Order remains the central text. The documentary Infinite Potential offers a cinematic introduction to Bohm's life and the questions that drove him. And the recorded dialogues with J. Krishnamurti show Bohm testing his ideas in conversation, where the pressure to be right gives way to the pressure to understand.
Where to go next
- Read Wholeness and the Implicate Order by David Bohm for the full philosophical argument.
- Watch Infinite Potential to see Bohm's story and science brought together on screen.
- Explore our article on the implicate order for a plain English introduction to his central idea.
- Listen to the Bohm Krishnamurti dialogues for extended conversations on thought, time, and consciousness.
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