---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In experimental philosophy we are to look…"
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/97d/issac-newton-73647_hypotheses_in-experimental-philosophy-we-are-to-loo_2462791.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 Issac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/issac-newton-73647_hypotheses_in-experimental-philosophy-we-are-to-loo_2462791.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/issac-newton-73647_hypotheses_in-experimental-philosophy-we-are-to-loo_2462791.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/issac-newton-73647_hypotheses_in-experimental-philosophy-we-are-to-loo_2462791.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. This rule we must follow, that the argument of induction may not be evaded by hypotheses.””

Issac Newton

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Inductive reasoning should be trusted until new evidence challenges it, avoiding premature dismissal by speculative hypotheses.

**In simple terms:** Trust induction until disproved.

Key Takeaway

Use evidence, stay open.

Themes

science philosophy methodology

Mood

analytical inquisitive

Type

philosophical academic

When to use this quote

- research
- policy making
- education

Key Concepts

induction falsifiability

Questions to Reflect On

- What evidence could overturn current beliefs?
- How do you balance induction with skepticism?

A Different Perspective

Risk of clinging to outdated theories.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/)

## 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/isaac-newton/in-experimental-philosophy-we-are-to-look-upon-propositions-inferred-2/)

[Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [I feign no hypotheses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/i-feign-no-hypotheses/)

[Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/)

> [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/)

> [“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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [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 Issac Newton

> [“If I have been able to see further, it was only because I stood on the shoulders of giants.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/issac-newton/if-i-have-been-able-to-see-further-it-was-only-because-i-stood-on-the/)

Issac Newton

> [“If I have come further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/issac-newton/if-i-have-come-further-it-is-by-standing-on-the-shoulders-of-giants/)

Issac Newton

> ['theres a theory for everything &amp; without theory there is no practice'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/issac-newton/theres-a-theory-for-everything-without-theory-there-is-no-practice/)

Issac Newton

Explore all 4 Issac Newton quotes

## 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

> [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

```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. This rule we must follow, that the argument of induction may not be evaded by hypotheses.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Issac Newton"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/issac-newton/in-experimental-philosophy-we-are-to-look-upon-propositions-inferred/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Hypotheses"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/issac-newton/in-experimental-philosophy-we-are-to-look-upon-propositions-inferred/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/issac-newton-73647_hypotheses_in-experimental-philosophy-we-are-to-loo_2462791.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/issac-newton-73647_hypotheses_in-experimental-philosophy-we-are-to-loo_2462791.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/issac-newton-73647_hypotheses_in-experimental-philosophy-we-are-to-loo_2462791.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“In experimental philosophy we are to look upon propositions inferred by general induction from phenomena as…” — Issac 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": "Issac Newton",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/issac-newton/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“In experimental philosophy we are to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/issac-newton/in-experimental-philosophy-we-are-to-look-upon-propositions-inferred/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/issac-newton/in-experimental-philosophy-we-are-to-look-upon-propositions-inferred/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
