Human mind Quote by Thomas Henry Huxley
““I suppose that, so long as the human mind exists, it will not escape its deep-seated instinct to personify its intellectual conceptions. The science of the present day is as full of this particular form of intellectual shadow-worship as is the nescience of ignorant ages. The difference is that the philosopher who is worthy of the name knows that his personified hypotheses, such as law, force and ether, and the like, are merely useful symbols, while the ignorant and the careless take them for adequate expressions of reality.””
About This Quote
Science uses symbols; philosophers recognize them as tools, not reality.
In simple terms: Science uses useful symbols, not literal truths.
Key Takeaway
Remember scientific models are provisional.
Themes
science
philosophy
epistemology
Mood
inquisitive
skeptical
Type
philosophical
educational
When to use this quote
- education
- research
- public policy
- media literacy
Key Concepts
history of science
critical thinking
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you distinguish model from reality?
- What are limits of scientific metaphors?
A Different Perspective
Symbols can be misinterpreted as facts.
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