--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every explanation is after all an…" description: "\"Every explanation is after all an hypothesis.\" — Ludwig Wittgenstein" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37e/ludwig-wittgenstein-582_explanation_every-explanation-is-after-all-an-hypoth_2982169.png" --- # Every explanation is after all an hypothesis. ![“Every explanation is after all an hypothesis.” quote by Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37e/ludwig-wittgenstein-582_explanation_every-explanation-is-after-all-an-hypoth_2982169.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37e/ludwig-wittgenstein-582_explanation_every-explanation-is-after-all-an-hypoth_2982169.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37e/ludwig-wittgenstein-582_explanation_every-explanation-is-after-all-an-hypoth_2982169.png) > “Every explanation is after all an hypothesis.” [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Proposals are provisional explanations that may be revised with new evidence. **In simple terms:** Explanations are tentative theories. Key Takeaway Treat ideas as testable hypotheses. Themes philosophy epistemology science Mood curious analytical Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - academic research - daily problem solving - debate - policy making Key Concepts hypothesis provisional knowledge critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How do you test an explanation? - What evidence would change your view? A Different Perspective Limits of knowledge can make hypotheses uncertain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Explanation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explanation/) [Explanation Hypothesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explanation-hypothesis-4642876/) [Hypothesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hypothesis/) ## Related quotes > [It really comes down to parsimony, economy of explanation. It is possible that your car engine is driven by psychokinetic energy, but if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/it-really-comes-down-to-parsimony-economy-of-explanation-it-is/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [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/) > [Science offers us an explanation of how complexity (the difficult) arose out of simplicity (the easy). The hypothesis of God offers no worthwhile explanation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/science-offers-us-an-explanation-of-how-complexity-the-difficult/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The true Vedantic spirit does not start out with a system of preconceived ideas. It possesses absolute liberty and unrivalled courage among religions with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romain-rolland/the-true-vedantic-spirit-does-not-start-out-with-a-system-of/) [Romain Rolland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romain-rolland/) > [From the almost total absence of fossil evidence relative to the origin of the phyla, it follows that any explanation of the mechanism in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-paul-grasse/from-the-almost-total-absence-of-fossil-evidence-relative-to-the/) [Pierre-Paul Grasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-paul-grasse/) > [It is an hypothesis that the sun will rise tomorrow: and this means that we do not know whether it will rise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/it-is-an-hypothesis-that-the-sun-will-rise-tomorrow-and-this-means/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [Freud's fanciful pseudo-explanations (precisely because they are brilliant) perform a disservice. 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If we take eternity to mean not infinite temporal duration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/death-is-not-an-event-in-life-we-do-not-live-to-experience-death-if/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [I Once wrote: "In mathematics process and result are equivalent."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/i-once-wrote-in-mathematics-process-and-result-are-equivalent/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [Philosophy aims at the logical clarification of thoughts. Philosophy is not a body of doctrine but an activity. A philosophical work consists essentially of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/philosophy-aims-at-the-logical-clarification-of-thoughts-philosophy/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [“It is clear that ethics cannot be expressed. Ethics are transcendental. 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"The need to survive by reaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/in-his-anti-darwinian-book-and-eponymously-named-the-neck-of-the/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The goal of faithfulness is not that we will do work for God, but that He will be free to do His work through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/the-goal-of-faithfulness-is-not-that-we-will-do-work-for-god-but-that/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [“But let the wise be warned against too great readiness at explanation: it multiplies the sources of mistake, lengthening the sum for reckoners sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-let-the-wise-be-warned-against-too-great-readiness-at-explanation/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [ \[Barack Obama\] will spend long periods of time explaining to people why he won't use it. 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