As an empiricist I continue to think of the conceptual…
““As an empiricist I continue to think of the conceptual scheme of science as a tool, ultimately, for predicting future experience in the light of past experience. Physical objects are conceptually imported into the situation as convenient intermediaries-not by definition in terms of experience, but simply as irreducible posits comparable, epistemologically, to the gods of Homer. For my part I do, qua lay physicist, believe in physical objects and not in Homer's gods; and I consider it a scientific error to believe otherwise. But in point of epistemological footing the physical objects and the gods differ only in degree and not in kind. Both sorts of entities enter our conception only as cultural posits. The myth of physical objects is epistemologically superior to most in that it has proved more efficacious than other myths as a device for working a manageable structure into the flux of experience.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
Science treats concepts like tools for predicting experience; physical objects are useful fictions, not fundamentally different from mythological entities.
In simple terms: Science uses useful ideas, not absolute truths.
Key Takeaway
Treat theories as provisional tools.
Themes
philosophy
science
epistemology
Mood
reflective
analytical
critical
Type
philosophical
theoretical
critical
When to use this quote
- research design
- teaching physics
- public policy
- technology development
Key Concepts
instrumentalism
conceptual schemes
myth vs. theory
Questions to Reflect On
- How do we decide which scientific fictions are acceptable?
- When might a myth become a hindrance to progress?
A Different Perspective
Reliance on unobservable entities can mislead if not critically examined.