Attraction Quote by Henry Adams
![“[P]olitical and social and scientific values ... should be correlated in some relation of movement that could be expressed in mathematics, nor did one care in the least that all the world said it could not be done, or that one knew not enough mathematics even to figure a formula beyond the…” quote by Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/062/henry-adams-1542_attraction_p-olitical-and-social-and-scientific-val_2213281.jpg)
“[P]olitical and social and scientific values ... should be correlated in some relation of movement that could be expressed in mathematics, nor did one care in the least that all the world said it could not be done, or that one knew not enough mathematics even to figure a formula beyond the schoolboy s=(1/2)gt2. If Kepler and Newton could take liberties with the sun and moon, an obscure person ... could take liberties with Congress, and venture to multiply its attraction into the square of its time. He had only to find a value, even infinitesimal, for its attraction.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: The Education of Henry Adams, 1907
Adams argues that scientific and moral values should be mathematically correlated, yet society resists such integration, limiting progress.
In simple terms: Science and morals need logical connection, but society often blocks it.
Key Takeaway
Seek interdisciplinary understanding despite resistance.
Themes
science
morality
interdisciplinarity
progress
Mood
critical
thought‑provoking
Type
analytical
philosophical
When to use this quote
- policy making
- education reform
- technological ethics
- public discourse
Key Concepts
systems thinking
philosophy of science
social critique
Questions to Reflect On
- How can we responsibly quantify ethical considerations?
- What interdisciplinary tools can bridge science and morality?
A Different Perspective
Mathematical models may oversimplify complex human values.
![“What a deep [trust] in the rationality of the structure of the world and what a longing to understand even a small glimpse of the reason revealed in the world there must have been in Kepler and Newton to enable them to unravel the mechanism of the heavens in long years of lonely work!” quote by Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/1f6/albert-einstein-33_glimpse_what-a-deep-trust-in-the-rationality-of_1936444.jpg)
![“Foreshadowings of the principles and even of the language of [the infinitesimal] calculus can be found in the writings of Napier , Kepler , Cavalieri , Fermat , Wallis , and Barrow . It was Newton 's good luck to come at a time when everything was ripe for the discovery, and his ability enabled…” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e09/anonymous-1_ability_foreshadowings-of-the-principles-and-eve_273197.jpg)
