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William Stanley Jevons Quotes

Economist

William Stanley Jevons was a British economist born on September 1, 1835, and died on August 13, 1882. He was a pioneer in the theory of marginal utility and had a profound impact on the development of economics.

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Famous William Stanley Jevons Quotes

“I am convinced that it is impossible to expound the methods of induction in a sound manner, without resting them upon the theory of probability. Perfect knowledge alone can give certainty, and in nature perfect knowledge would be infinite knowledge, which is clearly beyond our capacities. We have, therefore, to content ourselves with partial knowledge - knowledge mingled with ignorance, producing doubt.”

Giving Would Be Science Sound Ability Perfect Knowledge Doubt Impossible Ignorance Theory Capacity Infinite Method Convinced Certainty Probability Infinite Knowledge

Author:William Stanley Jevons

“The whole value of science consists in the power which it confers upon us of applying to one object the knowledge acquired from like objects; and it is only so far, therefore, as we can discover and register resemblances that we can turn our observations to account.”

Whole Science Values Turns Knowledge Objects Accounts Observation Register Resemblance

Book:The Principles of Science: A Treatise on Logic and Scientific Method

Source: The Principles of Science: A Treatise on Logic and Scientific Method

“Charles Babbage proposed to make an automaton chess-player which should register mechanically the number of games lost and gained in consequence of every sort of move. Thus, the longer the automaton went on playing game, the more experienced it would become by the accumulation of experimental results. Such a machine precisely represents the acquirement of experience by our nervous organization.”

Should Moving Science Games Lost Results Numbers Player Consequence Machines Organization Chess Experiments Nervous Accumulation Register Playing Games Chess Players

Author:William Stanley Jevons

“The child which overbalances itself in learning to walk is experimenting on the law of gravity.”

Children Law Science Walks Learning Experiments Gravity

Book:Methods of Social Reform: And Other Papers

Source: Methods of Social Reform: And Other Papers

“It seems perfectly clear that Economy, if it is to be a science at all, must be a mathematical science. There exists much prejudice against attempts to introduce the methods and language of mathematics into any branch of the moral sciences. Most persons appear to hold that the physical sciences form the proper sphere of mathematical method, and that the moral sciences demand some other method-I know not what.”

Ifs Knows Persons Seems Form Science Language Moral Economy Clear Demand Prejudice Mathematics Method Mathematical Branches Spheres Introducing Physical Science

Book:The Theory of Political Economy

Source: The Theory of Political Economy

“Value is the most invincible and impalpable of ghosts, and comes and goes unthought of, while the visible and dense matter remains as it was.”

Matter Values Remains Ghost Visible Comes And Goes Invincible Dense

Author:William Stanley Jevons

“Fertility of imagination and abundance of guesses at truth are among the first requisites of discovery; but the erroneous guesses must almost of necessity be many times as numerous as those which prove well founded.”

Firsts Imagination Discovery Abundance Exploration Fertility

Author:William Stanley Jevons

“It is clear that economics, if it is to be a science at all, must be a mathematical science.”

Ifs Science Clear Economics Mathematics Math Mathematical

Author:William Stanley Jevons

“Repeated reflection and inquiry have led me to the somewhat novel opinion, that value depends entirely upon utility.”

Values Opinion Novel Depends Reflection Inquiry Utility

Book:The Theory of Political Economy

Source: The Theory of Political Economy

“As a general rule, it is foolish to do just what other people are doing, because there are almost sure to be too many people doing the same thing.”

People Foolish

Book:Political Economy

Source: Political Economy

“It is clear that Economics, if it is to be a science at all, must be a mathematical science ... simply because it deals with quantities... As the complete theory of almost every other science involves the use of calculus, so we cannot have a true theory of Economics without its aid.”

Ifs Use Deals Education Clear Theory Economics Mathematics Aids Mathematical Statistics Quantity Calculus

Author:William Stanley Jevons

“The wind, as a direct motive power, is wholly inapplicable to a system of machine labour, for during a calm season the whole business of the country would be thrown out of gear. Before the era of steam-engines, windmills were tried for draining mines; but though they were powerful machines, they were very irregular, so that in a long tract of calm weather the mines were drowned, and all the workmen thrown idle.”

Source: The coal question: an enquiry concerning the progress of the Nation, and the probable exhaustion of our coal-mines