God Quote by Robert Musil
““Science is possible only where situations repeat themselves, or where you have some control over them, and where do you have more repetition and control than in the army? A cube would not be a cube if it were not just as rectangular at nine o'clock as at seven. The same kind of rules work for keeping the planets in orbit as in ballistics. We'd have no way of understanding or judging anything if things flitted past us only once. Anything that has to be valid and have a name must be repeatable, it must be represented by many specimens, and if you had never seen the moon before, you'd think it was a flashlight.Incidentally, the reason God is such an embarrassment to science is that he was seen only once, at the Creation, before there were any trained observers around.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Man Without Qualities, 1930
Science relies on repeatable observations; without repetition, knowledge is unreliable, and singular events like divine creation defy scientific analysis.
In simple terms: Science needs repeatable evidence; unique events elude it.
Key Takeaway
Seek repeatable evidence.
Themes
science
repeatability
knowledge
faith
skepticism
Mood
analytical
skeptical
Type
philosophical
critical.
When to use this quote
- research design
- education
- policy making
- public discourse
Key Concepts
epistemology
methodology
philosophy of science
Questions to Reflect On
- How do we treat phenomena that cannot be repeated?
- Can science address metaphysical claims?
A Different Perspective
Not all truths are empirical; some may remain unknowable.
