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Theory Quotes

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Theory Quotes

“Monotheistic religions in the West have tended to conflate having a general orientation in life, having a specific theory of the world, having a sense of the positive meaningfulness of one's existence, and having a fixed set of rules for behavior, but these elements are in principle separable. ... The "metaphysical need," ... both Marx and Nietzsche held, is a historical phenomenon that arises under determinate circumstances, and could be expected to disappear under other circumstances that we could relatively easily envisage.”

World Needs Existence Principles Theory Circumstances Behavior Elements Historical West Disappear Expected Arise Fixed Phenomenon Metaphysical Orientation Meaningfulness

Author:Raymond Geuss

“There will be well-testable theories, hardly testable theories, and non-testable theories. Those which are non-testable are of no interest to empirical scientists. They may be described as metaphysical.”

Wells May Interest Theory Scientist Metaphysical

Book:Conjectures and Refutations: The Growth of Scientific Knowledge

Source: Conjectures and Refutations: The Growth of Scientific Knowledge

“Some think to avoid the influence of metaphysical errors, by paying no attention to metaphysics; but experience shows that these men beyond all others are held in an iron vice of metaphysical theory, because by theories that they have never called in question.”

Thinking Men Shows Attention Influence Theory Errors Vices Iron Metaphysics Metaphysical

Book:His Glassy Essence: An Autobiography of Charles Sanders Peirce

Source: His Glassy Essence: An Autobiography of Charles Sanders Peirce

“One might get the impression that I recommend a new methodology which replaces induction by counterinduction and uses a multiplicity of theories, metaphysical views, fairy tales, instead of the customary pair theory/observation. This impression would certainly be mistaken. My intention is not to replace one set of general rules by another such set: my intention is rather to convince the reader that all methodologies, even the most obvious ones, have their limits.”

Source: Against Method

“Europe is so well gardened that it resembles a work of art, a scientific theory, a neat metaphysical system. Man has re-created Europe in his own image.”

Men Wells Art Theory Europe Works Of Art Metaphysical Neat European Countries Scientific Theory

Book:The collected works of Aldous Huxley

Source: The collected works of Aldous Huxley

“Since substance is infinite, the universe as a whole, i.e., god, Hegel is telling us that philosophy is knowledge of the infinite, of the universe as a whole, i.e, god. You cannot get more metaphysical than that. I think that Hegel scholars have to admit this basic fact rather than burying their heads in the sand and trying to pretend that Hegel is concerned with conceptual analysis, category theory, normativity or some such contemporary fad.”

Thinking Trying Philosophy Whole Facts Universe Theory Concerned Infinite Contemporary Substance Analysis Sand Categories Scholar Metaphysical Fads Hegel Burying

Author:Frederick C. Beiser

“Our decisions need not be seen as resting on procedures that are merely instrumental in making judgments that are reliably truth-tracking. The procedures might be more directly related than that to truths about what is right or good, or about what we ought to do, or to principles that tell us what is true about these matters. And I have no metaphysical theory about the truth-conditions of such truths, except to say that as objective truths, they must be independent of the attitudes, decisions or actions that they are supposed to justify or for which they are to offer reasons.”

“I don't think Kant's theory looks bad to people except insofar as they have misunderstood it (for instance, as heartless and ironheaded, or as committed to an absurd metaphysical conception of freedom that violates Kant's own philosophy).”

People Thinking Looks Philosophy Theory Committed Absurd Instance Conception Metaphysical Misunderstood Heartless

Author:Allen W. Wood

“"Methodological naturalism" and "metaphysical naturalism" are terms that often surface in the continuing battle between evolutionary biology and creationism/intelligent design. The methodological thesis says that scientific theories shouldn't postulate supernatural entities; the metaphysical thesis says that no such entities exist. In this debate, God is the supernatural entity at issue; the question isn't whether science gets to talk about mathematical entities if Platonism is correct.”

“The indispensability argument says (roughly) that if you have ample reason to accept an empirical scientific theory that makes indispensable use of mathematics, and that theory entails that numbers exist, then you have ample reason to accept that numbers exist. The argument affirms the antecedent of this conditional, and concludes that you have ample reason to believe that numbers exist. What is striking about this argument is that it seems to show that the empirical reasons that suffice for accepting a scientific theory also suffice for accepting a metaphysical claim.”

Ifs Believe Reason Use Shows Seems Numbers Accepting Theory Argument Claims Mathematics Indispensable Metaphysical Scientific Theory Conditional

Author:Elliott Sober

“The indispensability argument seeks to assimilate the epistemology of metaphysical statements to the epistemology of statements that are obviously empirical. I think it fails to achieve this goal. The argument does not refute the Carnapian thesis that scientific theories and metaphysical claims differ epistemologically - observations can provide evidence for the former, but not for the latter.”

Thinking Doe Goal Failing Achieve Theory Evidence Argument Claims Statements Observation Former Latter Metaphysical Epistemology Thesis Scientific Theory

Author:Elliott Sober