Accounts Quote by Arthur Eddington
“We have found that where science has progressed the farthest, the mind has but regained from nature that which the mind has put into nature. We have found a strange foot-print on the shores of the unknown. We have devised profound theories, one after another, to account for its origin. At last, we have succeeded in reconstructing the creature that made the foot-print. And Lo! it is our own.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: 1933 Royal Society Address, Arthur Eddington
Human progress often mirrors our own nature; we discover and recreate what we have projected onto the world.
In simple terms: We discover what we put into nature.
Recognize our biases in scientific inquiry.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- research design
- environmental studies
- philosophical inquiry
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How do our expectations shape scientific theories?
- Can we separate observer from observed?
Our assumptions may limit objectivity.