"For if as scientists we seek simplicity, then……" — Nelson Goodman
"For if as scientists we seek simplicity, then obviously we try the simplest surviving theory first, and retreat from it only when it proves false. Not this course, but any other, requires explanation. If you want to go somewhere quickly, and several alternate routes are equally likely to be open, no one asks why you take the shortest. The simplest theory is to be chosen not because it is the most likely to be true but because it is scientifically the most rewarding among equally likely alternatives. We aim at simplicity and hope for truth."
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Nelson Goodman
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11 Quotes by Nelson Goodman
Nelson Goodman has 11 quotes on this site.
A few more worth reading:
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We aim at simplicity and hope for truth.
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I am concerned, rather, that there should not be more things dreamt of in my philosophy than there actually are…
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Coming to understand a painting or a symphony in an unfamiliar style, to recognize the work of an artist or…
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Truth cannot be defined or tested by agreement with 'the world'; for not only do truths differ for different worlds…
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We make versions, and true versions make worlds.
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Any effort... to make the obscure obvious is likely to be unappealing, for the penalty of failure is confusion while…
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What intrigues us as a problem, and what will satisfy us as a solution, will depend upon the line we…
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An answer, once found, is dull; and the only remaining interest lies in a further effort to render equally dull…
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Rules and particular inferences alike are justified by being brought into agreement with each other. A rule is amended if…
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If we are ready to tolerate everything as understood, there is nothing left to explain; while if we sourly refuse…
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More Aim Quotes
This quote is filed under Aim Quotes,
one of 1,830 quotes in that category. Here are a few more:
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The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.
— Aristotle
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The aim of the wise is not to secure pleasure, but to avoid pain.
— Aristotle
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Every art and every inquiry, and similarly every action and choice, is thought to aim at some good; and for…
— Aristotle
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Our efforts are not aimed at isolating Israel or de-legitimizing it; rather we want to gain legitimacy for the cause…
— Mahmoud Abbas
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Tourism is a crucial industry that could employ millions of Filipinos, skilled and unskilled alike, cross those 7,107 islands of…
— Benigno Aquino III
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If you watch animals objectively for any length of time, you're driven to the conclusion that their main aim in…
— David Attenborough
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Some writers confuse authenticity, which they ought always to aim at, with originality, which they should never bother about.
— Wystan Hugh Auden
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Dress is at all times a frivolous distinction, and excessive solicitude about it often destroys its own aim.
— Jane Austen
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The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment…
— Johann Sebastian Bach
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A boy carries out suggestions more wholeheartedly when he understands their aim.
— Robert Baden-Powell
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Social media is a giant distraction to the ultimate aim, which is honing your craft as a songwriter. There are…
— Bryan Adams
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Schools are not intended to moralize a wicked world, but to impart knowledge and develop intelligence, with only two social…
— Jacques Barzun
See all 1,830 Aim Quotes »