--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Many persons nowadays seem to think that…" description: "\"Many persons nowadays seem to think that any conclusion must be very scientific if the arguments in favor of it are derived from twitching of frogs' le..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60e/william-james-228_argument_many-persons-nowadays-seem-to-think-that_1920831.jpg" --- # Many persons nowadays seem to think that any conclusion… ![“Many persons nowadays seem to think that any conclusion must be very scientific if the arguments in favor of it are derived from twitching of frogs' legs (especially if the frogs are decapitated) and that, on the other hand, any doctrine chiefly vouched for by the feelings of human beings (with…” quote by William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60e/william-james-228_argument_many-persons-nowadays-seem-to-think-that_1920831.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60e/william-james-228_argument_many-persons-nowadays-seem-to-think-that_1920831.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60e/william-james-228_argument_many-persons-nowadays-seem-to-think-that_1920831.jpg) > “Many persons nowadays seem to think that any conclusion must be very scientific if the arguments in favor of it are derived from twitching of frogs' legs (especially if the frogs are decapitated) and that, on the other hand, any doctrine chiefly vouched for by the feelings of human beings (with heads on their shoulders) must be benighted and superstitious.” [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques reliance on superficial scientific experiments while dismissing human intuition, urging balance between empirical evidence and lived experience. **In simple terms:** Don't overvalue tiny experiments or dismiss feelings; seek both. Key Takeaway Balance data with intuition. Themes science intuition philosophy skepticism Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical critical. When to use this quote - research design - clinical practice - policy making - personal decision making Key Concepts empiricism humanism critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How can we integrate rigorous data with human experience? - When should intuition guide decisions? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on either side can lead to biased conclusions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument/) [Benighted Superstitious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benighted-superstitious-2948281/) [Conclusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conclusion/) [Doctrine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctrine/) [Especially Frogs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/especially-frogs-2948282/) [Favors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/favors/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Frogs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frogs/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Legs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legs/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientific Arguments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientific-arguments-2138319/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Shoulders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shoulders/) [Superstitious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superstitious/) [Think Conclusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-conclusion-2948283/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Twitching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twitching/) ## Related quotes > [“The more I think of it, the more I find this conclusion impressed upon me, that the greatest thing a human soul ever does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/the-more-i-think-of-it-the-more-i-find-this-conclusion-impressed-upon/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [“...to apply scientific arguments to the question of God's existence, as if this were somehow a showstopper, is committing a category error.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-s-collins/to-apply-scientific-arguments-to-the-question-of-god-s-existence-as/) [Francis S. Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-s-collins/) > [What's clarity like? Try to remember that funny feeling inside your head when you had math problems too difficult to solve: the faint buzzing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/what-s-clarity-like-try-to-remember-that-funny-feeling-inside-your/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [I am to be broken. I am to be derided all my life. I am to be cast up and down among these men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/i-am-to-be-broken-i-am-to-be-derided-all-my-life-i-am-to-be-cast-up/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Someday, IF you are lucky enough to see me in an open coffin; expect to witness my legs twitching. GAS](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shoop/someday-if-you-are-lucky-enough-to-see-me-in-an-open-coffin-expect-to/) [Gary Shoop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shoop/) > [“He moved like a bird; twitching and bunching his shoulders. His head angled back and forth to watch me, and as he did, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-stroube/he-moved-like-a-bird-twitching-and-bunching-his-shoulders-his-head/) [J.D. Stroube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-stroube/) > [I don't laugh so much at jokes and premises as I do at a guy who goes onstage and starts twitching and acting funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harland-williams/i-don-t-laugh-so-much-at-jokes-and-premises-as-i-do-at-a-guy-who-goes/) [Harland Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harland-williams/) > [All laughter is a muscular rigidity spasmodically relieved by involuntary twitching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/all-laughter-is-a-muscular-rigidity-spasmodically-relieved-by/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [“A small white rabbit with floppy ears and a twitching pink nose bounded out from the thick forest brush. Fingers twitching at his side,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandi-salazar/a-small-white-rabbit-with-floppy-ears-and-a-twitching-pink-nose/) [Brandi Salazar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandi-salazar/) > [The result is a twitching convulsion of vicious drivel passing itself off as a movie, which can be best appreciated by the kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-reed/the-result-is-a-twitching-convulsion-of-vicious-drivel-passing-itself/) [Rex Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-reed/) > [I'm on television, ticcing and twitching. I think that's kind of cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-howard/i-m-on-television-ticcing-and-twitching-i-think-that-s-kind-of-cool/) [Tim Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-howard/) > [I leaned back in my chair, stretching luxuriantly, delibrately letting my jacket fall open. Predictably, his eyes moved down my body-some things outlast even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-chance/i-leaned-back-in-my-chair-stretching-luxuriantly-delibrately-letting/) [Karen Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-chance/) > [“Look at it this way: there are many here among us for whom the life force is best represented by the livid twitching of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/look-at-it-this-way-there-are-many-here-among-us-for-whom-the-life/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [Will you look at us by the river! The whole restless mob of us on spread blankets in the dreamy briny sunshine skylarking and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-winton/will-you-look-at-us-by-the-river-the-whole-restless-mob-of-us-on/) [Tim Winton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-winton/) > [I found myself face to face with a long line of people resembling extras off the set of Night of the Living Dead: shuffling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-frank/i-found-myself-face-to-face-with-a-long-line-of-people-resembling/) [Joan Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-frank/) ## More by William James > [Effort is the one strictly undervalued and original contribution we make to this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/effort-is-the-one-strictly-undervalued-and-original-contribution-we/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. 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