Concerned Quote by Marie Taylor Collins Swabey
“While the scientist, on the one hand, is concerned with giving a faithful description of facts, on the other, he has the equally important task of construing them in relation to some explanatory conjecture. Similarly the historian has a double duty: both of reporting the past as nearly as possible as it passed or was lived through by men at the time (without doctoring up events to fit later developments or some more "enlightened reading" of them); and second, of interpreting their import in the light of a present hypothesis.”
About This Quote
Source Book: The Philosophy of Science, 1975
Science and history both must accurately record facts and also interpret them through a guiding theory.
In simple terms: Fact‑recording plus theory‑interpretation.
Key Takeaway
Balance accuracy with insight.
Themes
accuracy
interpretation
theory
history
science
Mood
reflective
analytical
Type
explanatory
academic
When to use this quote
- academic research
- museum curation
- policy analysis
- education
- journalism
Key Concepts
epistemology
hermeneutics
methodology
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you ensure your framework doesn’t distort evidence?
- What safeguards protect against presentist bias?
A Different Perspective
Interpretations can be biased by current agendas.
