--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A system is empirical or scientific only…" description: "\"A system is empirical or scientific only if it is capable of being tested by experience. These considerations suggest that not the verifiability but th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3b/karl-popper-2167_atheism_a-system-is-empirical-or-scientific-only_76637.jpg" --- # A system is empirical or scientific only if it is capable… ![“A system is empirical or scientific only if it is capable of being tested by experience. These considerations suggest that not the verifiability but the falsifiability of a system is to be taken as a criterion of demarcation... It must be possible for an empirical or scientific system to be…” quote by Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3b/karl-popper-2167_atheism_a-system-is-empirical-or-scientific-only_76637.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3b/karl-popper-2167_atheism_a-system-is-empirical-or-scientific-only_76637.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3b/karl-popper-2167_atheism_a-system-is-empirical-or-scientific-only_76637.jpg) > “A system is empirical or scientific only if it is capable of being tested by experience. These considerations suggest that not the verifiability but the falsifiability of a system is to be taken as a criterion of demarcation... It must be possible for an empirical or scientific system to be refuted by experience.” [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A theory is scientific only if it can be proven false through observation; empirical validity hinges on falsifiability, not just verification. **In simple terms:** Scientific theories must be testable and refutable. Key Takeaway Falsifiability defines scientific status. Themes philosophy of science methodology critical thinking epistemology demarcation Mood inquisitive analytical skeptical Type philosophical didactic critical When to use this quote - designing experiments - evaluating hypotheses - peer review - policy making - educational curricula Key Concepts falsifiability empiricism refutation scientific method Practical Applications - research design - science education Questions to Reflect On - How does falsifiability protect against pseudoscience? - What are limits of falsifiability in complex systems? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Capable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capable/) [Consideration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consideration/) [Criteria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criteria/) [Empirical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empirical/) [Empirical Scientific](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empirical-scientific-988765/) [Falsifiability Taken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falsifiability-taken-988766/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Positive atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive-atheism/) [Possible Empirical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possible-empirical-988767/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientific Refuted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientific-refuted-988768/) [Taken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taken/) [Tested](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tested/) ## Related quotes > [It must be possible for an empirical system to be refuted by experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/it-must-be-possible-for-an-empirical-system-to-be-refuted-by/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [A hypothesis is empirical or scientific only if it can be tested by experience. A hypothesis or theory which cannot be, at least in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-j-ayala/a-hypothesis-is-empirical-or-scientific-only-if-it-can-be-tested-by/) [Francisco J. Ayala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-j-ayala/) > [It is true that the grasping of truth is not possible without empirical basis. However, the deeper we penetrate and the more extensive and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/it-is-true-that-the-grasping-of-truth-is-not-possible-without/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [ \[The aim of science is\] to explain what so far has taken to be an explicans, such as a law of nature. The task… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/the-aim-of-science-is-to-explain-what-so-far-has-taken-to-be-an/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [It is generally believed that our science is empirical and that we draw our concepts and our mathematical constructs from the empirical data. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/it-is-generally-believed-that-our-science-is-empirical-and-that-we/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [The ocean is the last frontier of human empirical knowledge; even the contours on that eighth-grader's globe are the product of a mix of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-huffman/the-ocean-is-the-last-frontier-of-human-empirical-knowledge-even-the/) [Alan Huffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-huffman/) > [Discerning the merits of competing claims is where the empirical basis of science should play a role. I cannot stress often enough that what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-m-krauss/discerning-the-merits-of-competing-claims-is-where-the-empirical/) [Lawrence M. Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-m-krauss/) > [Our empirical criterion for a series of theories is that it should produce new facts. The idea of growth and the concept of empirical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-lakatos/our-empirical-criterion-for-a-series-of-theories-is-that-it-should/) [Imre Lakatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-lakatos/) > [To define knowledge as merely empirical is to limit one's ability to know; it enfeebles one's ability to feel and think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-define-knowledge-as-merely-empirical-is-to-limit-one-s-ability-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Empirical debunking cannot reach the deepest fear of the reactionary mind, which is that the state - that devouring leviathan - will soon swallow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perlstein/empirical-debunking-cannot-reach-the-deepest-fear-of-the-reactionary/) [Rick Perlstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perlstein/) > [The child who has no need to feign empirical knowledge about life can wonder and fantasise with great ease. The world is his oyster,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-leunig/the-child-who-has-no-need-to-feign-empirical-knowledge-about-life-can/) [Michael Leunig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leunig/) > [“Empirical reality becomes nature when we view it with respect to its universal characteristics; it becomes history when we view it as particular and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-nardin/empirical-reality-becomes-nature-when-we-view-it-with-respect-to-its/) [Terry Nardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-nardin/) > [Investing is not a natural science but rather a social science. So, it's never purely empirical; what you are trying to do is everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-browne/investing-is-not-a-natural-science-but-rather-a-social-science-so-it/) [William Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-browne/) > [“The fundamental basis by which the court’s decision might be made is, in itself, imperfect and subject to contradictions. There is very little consideration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashim-shanker/the-fundamental-basis-by-which-the-court-s-decision-might-be-made-is/) [Ashim Shanker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashim-shanker/) > [I had made an empirical discovery and it carried all the weight of a mathematical proof.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-had-made-an-empirical-discovery-and-it-carried-all-the-weight-of-a/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) ## More by Karl Popper > [Science is not a system of certain, or -established, statements; nor is it a system which steadily advances towards a state of finality... And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/science-is-not-a-system-of-certain-or-established-statements-nor-is/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [“As indicated by our example, methodological nominalism is nowadays fairly generally accepted in the natural sciences. The problems of the social sciences, on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/as-indicated-by-our-example-methodological-nominalism-is-nowadays/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [Science is perhaps the only human activity in which errors are systematically criticized and, in time, corrected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/science-is-perhaps-the-only-human-activity-in-which-errors-are/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [Bold ideas, unjustified anticipations, and speculative thought, are our only means for interpreting nature: our only organon, our only instrument, for grasping her. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/bold-ideas-unjustified-anticipations-and-speculative-thought-are-our/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [ \[The aim of science is\] to explain what so far has taken to be an explicans, such as a law of nature. The task… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/the-aim-of-science-is-to-explain-what-so-far-has-taken-to-be-an/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [There can be no ultimate statements science: there can be no statements in science which can not be tested, and therefore none which cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/there-can-be-no-ultimate-statements-science-there-can-be-no/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [Evolution is not a fact. Evolution doesn't even qualify as a theory or as a hypothesis. It is a metaphysical research program, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/evolution-is-not-a-fact-evolution-doesn-t-even-qualify-as-a-theory-or/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [I am opposed to looking upon logic as a kind of game. ... One might think that it is a matter of choice or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/i-am-opposed-to-looking-upon-logic-as-a-kind-of-game-one-might-think/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [The history of science, like the history of all human ideas, is a history of irresponsible dreams, of obstinacy, and of error.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/the-history-of-science-like-the-history-of-all-human-ideas-is-a/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [Good tests kill flawed theories; we remain alive to guess again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/good-tests-kill-flawed-theories-we-remain-alive-to-guess-again/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [There is no pure, disinterested, theory-free observation,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/there-is-no-pure-disinterested-theory-free-observation/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [We have the right not to tolerate the intolerant. We should tolerate even them whenever we can do so without running a great risk;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/we-have-the-right-not-to-tolerate-the-intolerant-we-should-tolerate/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [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/) > [“Every time we proceed to explain some conjectural law or theory by a new conjectural theory of a higher degree of universality, we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/every-time-we-proceed-to-explain-some-conjectural-law-or-theory-by-a/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [I have spoken to Einstein and he admitted to me that his theory was in fact no different from the one of Parmenides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/i-have-spoken-to-einstein-and-he-admitted-to-me-that-his-theory-was/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) [Explore all 181 Karl Popper quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) ## More Atheism quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [No philosophy, no religion, has ever brought so glad a message to the world as this good news of Atheism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/no-philosophy-no-religion-has-ever-brought-so-glad-a-message-to-the/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [God speaks through me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/god-speaks-through-me/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [You cannot ... transmute some incoherent mixture of words into sense merely by introducing the three-letter word "God" to be its grammatical subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-flew/you-cannot-transmute-some-incoherent-mixture-of-words-into-sense/) [Antony Flew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-flew/) > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [If, with all the time at my disposal, with all the wealth of the resources of this vast universe, to do with as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/if-with-all-the-time-at-my-disposal-with-all-the-wealth-of-the/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Do you think that was kind? Do you think it was godlike? What would you think of a physician, if a woman came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-h-gardener/do-you-think-that-was-kind-do-you-think-it-was-godlike-what-would-you/) [Helen H. Gardener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-h-gardener/) > [Science can destroy religion by ignoring it as well as by disproving its tenets. No one ever demonstrated, so far as I am aware,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/science-can-destroy-religion-by-ignoring-it-as-well-as-by-disproving/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Honest investigation is utterly impossible within the pale of any church, for the reason, that if you think the church is right you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/honest-investigation-is-utterly-impossible-within-the-pale-of-any/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) [Browse all 4,769 Atheism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A system is empirical or scientific only if it is capable of being tested by experience. These considerations suggest that not the verifiability but the falsifiability of a system is to be taken as a criterion of demarcation... 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