"The hypotheses which we accept ought to explain……" — William Whewell
"The hypotheses which we accept ought to explain phenomena which we have observed. But they ought to do more than this; our hypotheses ought to foretell phenomena which have not yet been observed; ... because if the rule prevails, it includes all cases; and will determine them all, if we can only calculate its real consequences. Hence it will predict the results of new combinations, as well as explain the appearances which have occurred in old ones. And that it does this with certainty and correctness, is one mode in which the hypothesis is to be verified as right and useful."
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William Whewell
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22 Quotes by William Whewell
William Whewell has 22 quotes on this site.
A few more worth reading:
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In order that the facts obtained by observation and experiment may be capable of being used in furtherance of our…
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...the question undoubtedly is, or soon will be, not whether or no we shall employ notation in chemistry, but whether…
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The object of science is knowledge; the objects of art are works. In art, truth is the means to an…
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Every failure is a step to success. Every detection of what is false directs us towards what is true: every…
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Man is the interpreter of nature, science the right interpretation.
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In art, truth is a means to an end; in science, it is the only end.
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The catastrophist constructs theories, the uniformitarian demolishes them.
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Fundamental ideas are not a consequence of experience, but a result of the particular constitution and activity of the mind,…
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We cannot observe external things without some degree of Thought; nor can we reflect upon our Thoughts, without being influenced…
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There is a mask of theory over the whole face of nature.
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Gold and iron at the present day, as in ancient times, are the rulers of the world; and the great…
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Astronomy is ... the only progressive Science which the ancient world produced.
See all 22 quotes by William Whewell »
More Accept Quotes
This quote is filed under Accept Quotes,
one of 4,888 quotes in that category. Here are a few more:
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Today we often think that before we start living a religious life we have first to accept the creedal doctrines…
— Karen Armstrong
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Choice of attention - to pay attention to this and ignore that - is to the inner life what choice…
— Wystan Hugh Auden
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If two friends ask you to judge a dispute, don't accept, because you will lose one friend; on the other…
— Saint Augustine
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Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do…
— Marcus Aurelius
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If God should desire to raise us to the position of one who is an intimate and shares his secrets,…
— Teresa of Avila
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The power of the white world is threatened whenever a black man refuses to accept the white world's definitions.
— James A. Baldwin
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Sometimes I have wrinkles, in the morning. It depends on what kind of night that I had. I accept myself…
— Antonio Banderas
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I tell you the solemn truth, that the doctrine of the Trinity is not so difficult to accept for a…
— Henry Adams
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But the leaders of the OIC could not even accept Mahathir's proposal, yet they talk about respect and honour.
— Abu Bakar Bashir
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Any man who does not accept the conditions of life sells his soul.
— Charles Baudelaire
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During the campaign for re-election, Barack Obama at least made vague references to a willingness to accept $3 trillion of…
— Bob Beauprez
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I am incapable of conceiving infinity, and yet I do not accept finity.
— Simone de Beauvoir
See all 4,888 Accept Quotes »