...they have never affirm'd any thing, concerning the…
“...they have never affirm'd any thing, concerning the Cause, till the Trial was past: whereas, to do it before, is a most venomous thing in the making of Sciences; for whoever has fix'd on his Cause, before he experimented; can hardly avoid fitting his Experiment to his Observations, to his own Cause, which he had before imagin'd; rather than the Cause to the Truth of the Experiment itself. Referring to experiments of the Aristotelian mode, whereby a preconceived truth would be illustrated merely to convince people of the validity of the original thought.”
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
Preconceived theories bias experiments, leading to fitting data to ideas rather than discovering truth.
In simple terms: Bias from prior beliefs skews experiments.
Key Takeaway
Question assumptions before testing.
Themes
science
methodology
bias
philosophy
Mood
critical
analytical
Type
philosophical
inspirational
When to use this quote
- lab research
- theoretical work
- peer review
- policy making
- education
Key Concepts
confirmation bias
experiment design
epistemology
Questions to Reflect On
- How can we guard against bias?
- What practices ensure objective observation?
A Different Perspective
May overlook unexpected results, limiting discovery.