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Quote by W.N.P. Barbellion

Work

The Journal of a Disappointed Man: & A Last Diary

This book presents a collection of intimate entries, capturing the thoughts and emotions of a man who finds himself at odds with the world's expectations. It delves into his journey of self-discovery and the realization of unmet dreams, culminating in his final days. The diary offers a raw and introspective look into the human condition, exploring themes of regret, hope, and the search for meaning. more

Author

W.N.P. Barbellion
W.N.P. Barbellion

W.N.P. Barbellion was an English diarist known for his unique diary-style works. His writings delved deeply into the relationship between the individual and society, as well as profound insights into nature and life. Barbellion's life was short, but his words left a lasting impression. more

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“The rationale for accepting or rejecting any theory is thus fundamentally based on the idea of problem-solving progress. If one research tradition has solved more important problems than its rivals, then accepting that tradition is rational precisely to the degree that we are aiming to "progress," i.e., to maximize the scope f solved problems. In other words, the choice of one tradition over its rivals is a progressive (and thus a rational) choice precisely to the extent that the chosen tradition is a better problem solver than its rivals.”

“As deaths have accumulated I have begun to think of life and death as a set of balance scales. When one is young, the scale is heavily tipped toward the living. With the first death, the first consciousness of death, the counter scale begins to fall. Death by death, the scales shift weight until what was unthinkable becomes merely a matter of gravity and the fall into death becomes an easy step.”

“Certain issues in philosophy of science (having to do with observation and the definition of a theory's empirical import) had beenmisconstrued as issues in philosophy of logic and of language. With respect to modality, I hold the exact opposite: important philosophical problems concerning language have been misconstrued as relating to the content of science and the nature of the world. This is not at all new, but is the traditional nominalist line.”

“To develop an empiricist account of science is to depict it as involving a search for truth only about the empirical world, aboutwhat is actual and observable.... It must involve throughout a resolute rejection of the demand for an explanation of the regularities in the observable course of nature, by means of truths concerning a reality beyond what is actual and observable, as a demand which plays no role in the scientific enterprise.”