--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Alternative explanations are always…" description: "\"Alternative explanations are always welcome in science, if they are better and explain more. Alternative explanations that explain nothing are not welc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/649/victor-j-stenger-16236_alternatives_alternative-explanations-are-always-welc_2491747.png" --- # Alternative explanations are always welcome in science, if… ![“Alternative explanations are always welcome in science, if they are better and explain more. Alternative explanations that explain nothing are not welcome... Note how science changed those beliefs when new data became available. Religions stick to the same ancient beliefs regardless of the data.” quote by Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/649/victor-j-stenger-16236_alternatives_alternative-explanations-are-always-welc_2491747.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/649/victor-j-stenger-16236_alternatives_alternative-explanations-are-always-welc_2491747.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/649/victor-j-stenger-16236_alternatives_alternative-explanations-are-always-welc_2491747.png) > “Alternative explanations are always welcome in science, if they are better and explain more. Alternative explanations that explain nothing are not welcome... Note how science changed those beliefs when new data became available. Religions stick to the same ancient beliefs regardless of the data.” [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Science welcomes better, data‑driven explanations; religions cling to static beliefs despite contrary evidence. **In simple terms:** Science values better explanations; religion often resists change. Key Takeaway Promote evidence‑based thinking. Themes science belief evidence Mood critical inquisitive Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - education - policy making - public discourse Key Concepts philosophy religion epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How do you evaluate new evidence? - What role should belief play in decision‑making? A Different Perspective Changing deep‑seated beliefs can be emotionally painful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alternative Explanations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alternative-explanations-970671/) [Alternatives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alternatives/) [Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) [Available](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/available/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Changed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changed/) [Data](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/data/) [Explain Alternative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explain-alternative-970672/) [Explanation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explanation/) [Explanations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explanations/) [Explanations Explain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explanations-explain-970673/) [Explanations Welcome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explanations-welcome-970674/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Notes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notes/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Sticks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sticks/) [Welcome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/welcome/) ## Related quotes > [There are three kinds of explanation in science: explanations which throw a light upon, or give a hint at a matter; explanations which do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/there-are-three-kinds-of-explanation-in-science-explanations-which/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [“The most important rule when assessing abductive arguments is to consider alternative explanations. When we are presented with an explanation that sounds plausible, too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-e-emmering/the-most-important-rule-when-assessing-abductive-arguments-is-to/) [Michael E Emmering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-e-emmering/) > [“This book intends to make the case for explanation by reduction to physics and mechanical engineering, to this alternative realm of explanation: not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-vogel/this-book-intends-to-make-the-case-for-explanation-by-reduction-to/) [Steven Vogel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-vogel/) > [Anything that we can destroy, but are unable to make is, in a sense, sacred, and all our 'explanations' of it do not explain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-schumacher/anything-that-we-can-destroy-but-are-unable-to-make-is-in-a-sense/) [E. F. Schumacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-schumacher/) > [I don't owe any explanations for anybody I'm fighting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-ward/i-don-t-owe-any-explanations-for-anybody-i-m-fighting/) [Andre Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-ward/) > [“Science is the process of obscuring the marvelous with explanations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-rozoff/science-is-the-process-of-obscuring-the-marvelous-with-explanations/) [James Rozoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-rozoff/) > [Some explanations of a crime are not explanations: they're part of the crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olavo-de-carvalho/some-explanations-of-a-crime-are-not-explanations-they-re-part-of-the/) [Olavo de Carvalho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olavo-de-carvalho/) > [With old inflation riding the headlines, I have read till I am bleary-eyed, and I can't get head from tails of the whole thing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/with-old-inflation-riding-the-headlines-i-have-read-till-i-am-bleary/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [But the stupidity which is common to all such "explanations" is, of course, simply that of proceeding as though the merits of a theory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-stove/but-the-stupidity-which-is-common-to-all-such-explanations-is-of/) [David Stove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-stove/) > [Explanations don't comfort. You won't feel better if you know why. It won't hurt any less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/explanations-don-t-comfort-you-won-t-feel-better-if-you-know-why-it/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [“The easiest explanations are often the right ones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanya-yanagihara/the-easiest-explanations-are-often-the-right-ones/) [Hanya Yanagihara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanya-yanagihara/) > [I loved Sherlock Holmes as a kid, but I remember being disappointed when he'd come up with these simple explanations for these complex mysteries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-weir/i-loved-sherlock-holmes-as-a-kid-but-i-remember-being-disappointed/) [Peter Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-weir/) > [“Your explanation is good, but your herring doesn't fry, as we say in Ramaldah," he exploded.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-ashling/your-explanation-is-good-but-your-herring-doesn-t-fry-as-we-say-in/) [Andrew Ashling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-ashling/) > [There are situations when all answers and explanations fade. When you fully accept that you do not know, you give up struggling to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/there-are-situations-when-all-answers-and-explanations-fade-when-you/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“You understand how much you know about a subject the moment you give explanations to someone who doesn't know anything about it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luigina-sgarro/you-understand-how-much-you-know-about-a-subject-the-moment-you-give/) [Luigina Sgarro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luigina-sgarro/) ## More by Victor J. Stenger > [People want to be at the center of the Universe...and they're going to flock to anybody who tells them that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/people-want-to-be-at-the-center-of-the-universe-and-they-re-going-to/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) > [Is there a place in a church where you leave your brains when you enter?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/is-there-a-place-in-a-church-where-you-leave-your-brains-when-you/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) > [To most theistic believers, human life can have no meaning in a universe without God. Quite sincerely, and with understandable yearning for a meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/to-most-theistic-believers-human-life-can-have-no-meaning-in-a/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) > [ Until recent times, absence of evidence for his \[Jehovah's\] existence has not been sufficient to rule him out. However, we now have enough knowledge… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/until-recent-times-absence-of-evidence-for-his-jehovah-s-existence/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) > [The problem is that people think faith is something to be admired. In fact, faith means you believe in something for which you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/the-problem-is-that-people-think-faith-is-something-to-be-admired-in/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) > [In short, evolution is as close to being a scientific fact as is possible for any theory, given that science is open - ended…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/in-short-evolution-is-as-close-to-being-a-scientific-fact-as-is/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) > [Debating is not an honest intellectual exercise. It's like a trial in which the goal is not to get to the truth but to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/debating-is-not-an-honest-intellectual-exercise-it-s-like-a-trial-in/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) > [Fifteen years of skepticism has done more for me than 20 years of force-fed religion and 30 years of indifference in between.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/fifteen-years-of-skepticism-has-done-more-for-me-than-20-years-of/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) > [Just because quantum mechanics is weird does not mean that everything that is weird is quantum mechanics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/just-because-quantum-mechanics-is-weird-does-not-mean-that-everything/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) > [In fact, current cosmological observations indicate that the average density of matter and energy in the universe is equal, within measurement errors, to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/in-fact-current-cosmological-observations-indicate-that-the-average/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) > [Selling eternal life is an unbeatable business, with no customers ever asking for their money back after the goods are not delivered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/selling-eternal-life-is-an-unbeatable-business-with-no-customers-ever/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) > [“The myth of quantum consciousness sits well with many whose egos have made it impossible for them to accept the insignificant place science perceives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/the-myth-of-quantum-consciousness-sits-well-with-many-whose-egos-have/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) > [Any strategy that attempts to reinforce faith by undermining science is also doomed to failure. 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Stenger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) ## More Alternatives quotes > [I am very sad that some designers are still using real fur when the fake alternatives are so effective and so easily obtainable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twiggy/i-am-very-sad-that-some-designers-are-still-using-real-fur-when-the/) [Twiggy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twiggy/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. 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For the future, we need to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barber/conventional-agriculture-has-never-succeeded-in-feeding-the-world-and/) [Dan Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barber/) > [ \[When asked how it felt to be a female prime minister:\] I don't know: I've never experienced the alternative. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/when-asked-how-it-felt-to-be-a-female-prime-minister-i-don-t-know-i/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [If one could have a wish, or an alternative life, I would've liked to have been John Lennon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-oldman/if-one-could-have-a-wish-or-an-alternative-life-i-would-ve-liked-to/) [Gary Oldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-oldman/) > [THE REAL PURPOSE OF HOLOCAUST REVISIONISM IS TO MAKE NATIONAL SOCIALISM AN ACCEPTABLE POLITICAL ALTERNATIVE AGAIN.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-covington/the-real-purpose-of-holocaust-revisionism-is-to-make-national/) [Harold Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-covington/) > [Men since the beginning of time have sought peace...military alliances, balances of power, leagues of nations, all in turn have failed, leaving the only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/men-since-the-beginning-of-time-have-sought-peace-military-alliances/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [Buddhist words such as compassion and emptiness don't mean much until we start cultivating our innate ability simply to be there with pain with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/buddhist-words-such-as-compassion-and-emptiness-don-t-mean-much-until/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [The mission of Christian humility in social life is not merely to edify, but to keep minds open to many alternatives. 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