Jacques Monod

French biologist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1965, sharing it with François Jacob and Andre Lwoff "for their discoveries concerning genetic control of enzyme and virus synthesis".

He was a proponent of the view that life on earth arose by freak chemical accident and was unlikely to be duplicated even in the vast universe. "Man at last knows he is alone in the unfeeling immensity of the universe, out of which he has emerged only by chance. His destiny is nowhere spelled out, nor is his duty. The kingdom above or the darkness below; it is for him to choose", he wrote in 1971. He used the bleak assessment that forms the earlier part of the quote as a springboard to argue for atheism and the absurdity and pointlessness of existence. Monod stated we are merely chemical extras in a majestic but impersonal cosmic drama—an irrelevant, unintended sideshow. His views were in direct opposition to the religious certainties of his ancestor Henri's well-known brothers Frédéric Monod and Adolphe Monod. In 1973 he was one of the signers of the Humanist Manifesto II.

Monod was not only a biologist but also a fine musician and esteemed writer on the philosophy of science. He was a political activist and chief of staff of operations for the Forces Françaises de l'Interieur during World War II. In preparation for the Allied landings, he arranged parachute drops of weapons, railroad bombings, and mail interceptions.

Jacques Monod died of leukemia on 31 May 1976 at age 66 in Cannes and was buried in the Cimetière du Grand Jas in Cannes on the French Riviera.