"Establishing by observation that there is just one black swan falsifies "all swans are white". This is an unexceptional and undeniable point. However, using it as grounds to support a falsificationist philosophy of science is not as straightforward as it might seem."

Alan Chalmers Philosophy See all quotes by Alan Chalmers →

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“Science describes not just the observable world but also the world that lies beyond the appearances. This is a rough statement of realism with respect to science.”

“A mature science is governed by a single paradigm.”

“Empiricism and positivism share the common view that scientific knowledge should in some way be derived from the facts arrived at by observation.”

“Scientists are typically good at making scientific progress, but not particularly good at articulating what the progress consists of.”

“Which facts are relevant and which are not relevant to a science will be relative to the current state of development of that science.”

“A far as perception is concerned, the only things with which an observer has direct and immediate contact are his or her experiences.”

Resonant Thoughts

"Among natural philosophers may be enumerated Thales, Pythagoras, Empedocles, Heraclitus, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Anaxagoras, Archelaus, Parmcnides, Leucippus, Democritus, Xenophanes, Ecphantus, Hippo…"

— Hippolytus of Rome

Religion

#philosophy

"We mustn’t complain too much of being comedians—it’s an honourable profession. If only we could be good ones the world might gain at least a sense of style. We have failed—that’s all. We are bad comed…"

— Graham Greene

Literature1904–1991

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"When Brother Francis had removed the last tray, he touched the papers reverently: only a handful of folded documents here, and yet a treasure; for they had escaped the angry flames of the Simplificati…"

— Walter M. Miller

Literature1923–1996

#religion

"There is still and must ever be a tremendous amount of manual labor, but to a large extent this has become specialized and too often would be designated correctly as drudgery. The opportunity for educ…"

— Calvin Coolidge

Politics1780–1853

#education