--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In experimental philosophy, we are to…" description: "\"In experimental philosophy, we are to look upon propositions inferred by general induction from phenomena as accurately or very nearly true, notwithsta..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15a/isaac-newton-1226_hypotheses_in-experimental-philosophy-we-are-to-loo_2818631.jpg" --- # In experimental philosophy, we are to look upon… ![“In experimental philosophy, we are to look upon propositions inferred by general induction from phenomena as accurately or very nearly true, notwithstanding any contrary hypotheses that may be imagined, till such time as other phenomena occur by which they may either be made more accurate or…” quote by Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15a/isaac-newton-1226_hypotheses_in-experimental-philosophy-we-are-to-loo_2818631.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15a/isaac-newton-1226_hypotheses_in-experimental-philosophy-we-are-to-loo_2818631.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15a/isaac-newton-1226_hypotheses_in-experimental-philosophy-we-are-to-loo_2818631.jpg) > “In experimental philosophy, we are to look upon propositions inferred by general induction from phenomena as accurately or very nearly true, notwithstanding any contrary hypotheses that may be imagined, till such time as other phenomena occur by which they may either be made more accurate or liable to exceptions.” [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The statement emphasizes trusting inductively derived propositions until new evidence challenges them. **In simple terms:** Trust current theories until new data appears. Key Takeaway Stay open to revision as evidence evolves. Themes science induction uncertainty Mood curious analytical Type philosophical scientific When to use this quote - research planning - policy making - technology development - educational curricula Key Concepts philosophy of science empiricism Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance confidence in current models with openness to new data? - When should you seek alternative explanations? A Different Perspective Reliance on induction can delay acceptance of novel paradigms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contrary Hypotheses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contrary-hypotheses-675507/) [Experimental Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experimental-philosophy-675506/) [Hypotheses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hypotheses/) [Hypotheses Imagined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hypotheses-imagined-675508/) [Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look/) [More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/more/) [Phenomena Accurately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phenomena-accurately-3573236/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [True](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true/) ## Related quotes > [“In experimental philosophy we are to look upon propositions inferred by general induction from phenomena as accurately or very nearly true, notwithstanding any contrary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/issac-newton/in-experimental-philosophy-we-are-to-look-upon-propositions-inferred/) [Issac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/issac-newton/) > [In experimental philosophy, propositions gathered from phenomena by induction should be considered either exactly or very nearly true notwithstanding any contrary hypotheses, until yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/in-experimental-philosophy-propositions-gathered-from-phenomena-by/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [As in Mathematicks, so in Natural Philosophy, the Investigation of difficult Things by the Method of Analysis, ought ever to precede the Method of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/as-in-mathematicks-so-in-natural-philosophy-the-investigation-of/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [The very hope of experimental philosophy, its expectation of constructing the sciences into a true philosophy of nature, is basedon induction, or, if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-wright/the-very-hope-of-experimental-philosophy-its-expectation-of/) [Chauncey Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-wright/) > [The kind of approach I take is different from much of experimental philosophy. Although the experimental philosophers and I are certainly in agreement about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/the-kind-of-approach-i-take-is-different-from-much-of-experimental/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [It is known to all persons who are conversant in experimental philosophy, that there are many little attentions and precautions necessary to be observed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-priestley/it-is-known-to-all-persons-who-are-conversant-in-experimental/) [Joseph Priestley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-priestley/) > [Are not all Hypotheses erroneous, in which Light is supposed to consist in Pression or Motion, propagated through a fluid Medium? For in all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/are-not-all-hypotheses-erroneous-in-which-light-is-supposed-to/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [I have not been able to discover the cause of those properties of gravity from phenomena, and I frame no hypotheses; for whatever is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/i-have-not-been-able-to-discover-the-cause-of-those-properties-of/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [I do not feign hypotheses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/i-do-not-feign-hypotheses/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [My Design in this Book is not to explain the Properties of Light by Hypotheses, but to propose and prove them by Reason and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/my-design-in-this-book-is-not-to-explain-the-properties-of-light-by/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [Hypotheses should be subservient only in explaining the properties of things but not assumed in determining them, unless so far as they may furnish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/hypotheses-should-be-subservient-only-in-explaining-the-properties-of/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [I feign no hypotheses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/i-feign-no-hypotheses/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [Hypotheses non fingo. I frame no hypotheses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/hypotheses-non-fingo-i-frame-no-hypotheses/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [Whether statistics be an art or a science... or a scientific art, we concern ourselves little. It is the basis of social and political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolphe-quetelet/whether-statistics-be-an-art-or-a-science-or-a-scientific-art-we/) [Adolphe Quetelet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolphe-quetelet/) > [The rules and principles of case law have never been treated as final truths but as working hypotheses, continually retested in those great laboratories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-n-cardozo/the-rules-and-principles-of-case-law-have-never-been-treated-as-final/) [Benjamin N. Cardozo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-n-cardozo/) ## More by Isaac Newton > [The same law takes place in a system, consisting of many bodies, as in one single body, with regard to their persevering in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/the-same-law-takes-place-in-a-system-consisting-of-many-bodies-as-in/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [I have been much amused at ye singular phenomena resulting from bringing of a needle into contact with a piece of amber or resin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/i-have-been-much-amused-at-ye-singular-phenomena-resulting-from/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [No great discovery was ever made without a bold guess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/no-great-discovery-was-ever-made-without-a-bold-guess/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [I keep the subject of my inquiry constantly before me, and wait till the first dawning opens gradually, by little and little, into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/i-keep-the-subject-of-my-inquiry-constantly-before-me-and-wait-till/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [Philosophy is such an impertinently litigious lady that a man had as good be engaged in lawsuits as have to do with her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/philosophy-is-such-an-impertinently-litigious-lady-that-a-man-had-as/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [Do not Bodies act upon Light at a distance, and by their action bend its Rays; and is not this action (caeteris paribus) \[all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/do-not-bodies-act-upon-light-at-a-distance-and-by-their-action-bend/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [God in the beginning formed matter in solid, massy, hard, impenetrable, movable particles, of such sizes and figures, and with such other properties, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/god-in-the-beginning-formed-matter-in-solid-massy-hard-impenetrable/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [ I am ashamed to tell you to how many figures I carried these calculations \[of Pi\], having no other business at the time ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/i-am-ashamed-to-tell-you-to-how-many-figures-i-carried-these/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [Hypotheses non fingo. I frame no hypotheses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/hypotheses-non-fingo-i-frame-no-hypotheses/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [The Ignis Fatuus is a vapor shining without heat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/the-ignis-fatuus-is-a-vapor-shining-without-heat/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [Blind metaphysical necessity, which is certainly the same always and every where, could produce no variety of things. All that diversity of natural things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/blind-metaphysical-necessity-which-is-certainly-the-same-always-and/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [You sometimes speak of gravity as essential and inherent to matter. Pray do not ascribe that notion to me, for the cause of gravity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/you-sometimes-speak-of-gravity-as-essential-and-inherent-to-matter/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [There are more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any profane history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/there-are-more-sure-marks-of-authenticity-in-the-bible-than-in-any/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [Therefore to the same natural effects we must, as far as possible, assign the same causes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/therefore-to-the-same-natural-effects-we-must-as-far-as-possible/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [In scripture we are told of some trusting in God and others trusting in idols, and that God is our refuge, our strength, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/in-scripture-we-are-told-of-some-trusting-in-god-and-others-trusting/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) [Explore all 266 Isaac Newton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) ## More Hypotheses quotes > [The rules and principles of case law have never been treated as final truths but as working hypotheses, continually retested in those great laboratories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-n-cardozo/the-rules-and-principles-of-case-law-have-never-been-treated-as-final/) [Benjamin N. Cardozo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-n-cardozo/) > [Whether statistics be an art or a science... or a scientific art, we concern ourselves little. It is the basis of social and political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolphe-quetelet/whether-statistics-be-an-art-or-a-science-or-a-scientific-art-we/) [Adolphe Quetelet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolphe-quetelet/) > [In science, each new result, sometimes quite surprising, heralds a step forward and allows one to discard some hypotheses, even though one or two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-b-prusiner/in-science-each-new-result-sometimes-quite-surprising-heralds-a-step/) [Stanley B. Prusiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-b-prusiner/) > [Hypotheses non fingo. I frame no hypotheses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/hypotheses-non-fingo-i-frame-no-hypotheses/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [We are sorry to confess that biological hypotheses have not yet completely got out of the second phase, and that ghost of ‘vital force’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-buchner/we-are-sorry-to-confess-that-biological-hypotheses-have-not-yet/) [Ludwig Buchner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-buchner/) > [To rewrite history on the bases of hypotheses which have not materialized is not only a fruitless task, but, in my eyes, meaningless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-monnet/to-rewrite-history-on-the-bases-of-hypotheses-which-have-not/) [Jean Monnet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-monnet/) > [“Philosophy, like science, is only a collection of hypotheses, introduced for the usefulness of the ensemble, or for economy of thought.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/philosophy-like-science-is-only-a-collection-of-hypotheses-introduced/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [Hypotheses are the scaffolds which are erected in front of a building and removedd when the building is completed. They are indispensable to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/hypotheses-are-the-scaffolds-which-are-erected-in-front-of-a-building/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I feign no hypotheses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/i-feign-no-hypotheses/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [“At first he found it amusing. He coined a law intended to have the humor of a Parkinson’s law that "The number of rational…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pirsig/at-first-he-found-it-amusing-he-coined-a-law-intended-to-have-the/) [Robert Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pirsig/) > [Better our hypotheses die for our errors than ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/better-our-hypotheses-die-for-our-errors-than-ourselves/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [The physicist can never subject an isolated hypothesis to experimental test, but only a whole group of hypotheses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-duhem/the-physicist-can-never-subject-an-isolated-hypothesis-to/) [Pierre Duhem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-duhem/) > [Unfortunately, in the field of evolution most explanations are not good. As a matter of fact, they hardly qualify as explanations at all; they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-macbeth/unfortunately-in-the-field-of-evolution-most-explanations-are-not/) [Norman Macbeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-macbeth/) > [“Everything you do in customer development is centered around testing hypotheses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-alvarez/everything-you-do-in-customer-development-is-centered-around-testing/) [Cindy Alvarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-alvarez/) > [... no scientific worker has a fixed level of significance at which from year to year, and in all circumstances, he rejects hypotheses; he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-fisher/no-scientific-worker-has-a-fixed-level-of-significance-at-which-from/) [Ronald Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-fisher/) [Browse all 95 Hypotheses quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hypotheses/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In experimental philosophy, we are to look upon propositions inferred by general induction from phenomena as accurately or very nearly true, notwithstanding any contrary hypotheses that may be imagined, till such time as other phenomena occur by which they may either be made more accurate or liable to exceptions.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Isaac Newton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/in-experimental-philosophy-we-are-to-look-upon-propositions-inferred-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hypotheses" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/in-experimental-philosophy-we-are-to-look-upon-propositions-inferred-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15a/isaac-newton-1226_hypotheses_in-experimental-philosophy-we-are-to-loo_2818631.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15a/isaac-newton-1226_hypotheses_in-experimental-philosophy-we-are-to-loo_2818631.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15a/isaac-newton-1226_hypotheses_in-experimental-philosophy-we-are-to-loo_2818631.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In experimental philosophy, we are to look upon propositions inferred by general induction from phenomena as…” — Isaac Newton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Isaac Newton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In experimental philosophy, we are to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/in-experimental-philosophy-we-are-to-look-upon-propositions-inferred-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/in-experimental-philosophy-we-are-to-look-upon-propositions-inferred-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```