"Science is widely esteemed. Apparently it is a widely held belief that there is something special about science and its methods."

Alan Chalmers Philosophy See all quotes by Alan Chalmers →

quotekg

React to this quote

More by Alan Chalmers

“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

"Conduct, of course, is possible without science. Humans carried on in their daily affairs long before the first spark of science had been struck. And today there are millions of people living whose ac…"

— Kurt Koffka

Psychology1886–1941

#science

"He asked me for my participation and I rejected the plan to make a kind of sculpture there in this old way, to make in a kind of special place this special modern sculpture. I told him that my idea wo…"

— Joseph Beuys

Art1921–1986

#art

"My students have described this process of testing ideas in science as: “Hit it with a sledgehammer and see if it breaks. Whatever survives is the best we've got." Science is a very adversarial activi…"

— Greg Craven

Literature

#science

"There's nothing much I can tell you about this war. It's like all wars, I suppose. The undertakers are winning it. Oh, the politicians will talk a lot about the "glory" of it, and the old men'll talk …"

— James Lee Barrett

Literature1929–1989

#war