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Theory Quotes

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Theory Quotes

“There is little mysticism without an element of transcendence, and conversely, there is no transcendence without a certain degree of egocentrism. It may be that the genesis of these experiences is to be sought in the unique situation of the very young child in relation to adults. The theory of the filial origin of the religious sense seems to us singularly convincing in this connection.”

Source: The Moral Judgement of the Child

“The effects of heat are subject to constant laws which cannot be discovered without the aid of mathematical analysis. The object of the theory is to demonstrate these laws; it reduces all physical researches on the propagation of heat, to problems of the integral calculus, whose elements are given by experiment. No subject has more extensive relations with the progress of industry and the natural sciences; for the action of heat is always present, it influences the processes of the arts, and occurs in all the phenomena of the universe.”

“To build a theory of international relations on accidents of geography and history is dangerous.”

Dangerous Theory Relation International Accidents Geography International Relations Geography And History

Book:Man, the State, and War: A Theoretical Analysis

Source: Man, the State, and War: A Theoretical Analysis

“The degree of confirmation assigned to any given hypothesis is sensitive to properties of the entire belief system... simplicity, plausibility, and conservatism are properties that theories have in virtue of their relation to the whole structure of scientific beliefs taken collectively. A measure of conservatism or simplicity would be a metric over global properties of belief systems.”

Whole Would Be Belief Given Virtue Taken Theory Degrees Relation Structure Property Simplicity Sensitive Hypothesis Conservatism Belief Systems Confirmation Metrics

Author:Jerry Fodor

“We come finally, however, to the relation of the ideal theory to real world, or "real" probability. If he is consistent a man of the mathematical school washes his hands of applications. To someone who wants them he would say that the ideal system runs parallel to the usual theory: "If this is what you want, try it: it is not my business to justify application of the system; that can only be done by philosophizing; I am a mathematician". In practice he is apt to say: "try this; if it works that will justify it".”

“Identity is marketed in national capitalism as a property. It is something you can purchase, or purchase a relation to. Or it is something you already own that you can express: my masculinity, my queerness . But identity need not be simply a caption for an image of an unchangeable concrete self. It is also a theory of the future, of history.”

Needs Self Identity Theory Capitalism Relation Property Concrete Masculinity Unchangeable Caption

Author:Lauren Berlant

“The scientists from Franklin to Morse were clear thinkers and did not produce erroneous theories. The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite insane. Today's scientists have substituted mathematics for experiments, and they wander off through equation after equation, and eventually build a structure which has no relation to reality.”

Thinking Reality Today Clear Produce Theory Scientist Relation Mathematics Structure Experiments Insane Wander Thinker Sane Equations Franklin

Author:Nikola Tesla

“[Mathematics is] purely intellectual, a pure theory of forms, which has for its objects not the combination of quantities or their images, the numbers, but things of thought to which there could correspond effective objects or relations, even though such a correspondence is not necessary.”

Form Numbers Objects Theory Pure Intellectual Relation Mathematics Combination Quantity Correspondence

Author:Hermann Hankel

“True religion is not talk, or doctrines, or theories, nor is it sectarianism. It is the relation between soul and God. Religion does not consist in erecting temples, or building churches, or attending public worship. It is not to be found in books, or in words, or in lectures, or in organizations. Religion consists in realization. We must realize God, feel God, see God, talk to God. That is religion.”

Feels Doe Book Soul Found Realizing Church Building Theory Worship Organization Relation Doctrine Realization Temples Lectures Attending True Religion Sectarianism

Author:Swami Vivekananda

“Power is the relation of a given person to other persons, in which the more this person expresses opinions, theories and justifications of the collective action the less is his participation in that action.”

Persons Action Given Opinion Theory Relation Collectives Justification Participation Collective Action

Book:Political Leadership: Stories of Power and Politics from Literature and Life

Source: Political Leadership: Stories of Power and Politics from Literature and Life

“There are all sorts of institutions in the economic world which depart from the simple price/market model which I worked on in an earlier incarnation and which has been sort of the mainstream of economic theories since Adam Smith and David Ricardo. There are all sorts of contractual relations between firms and individuals which do not conform to the simple price theory - profit-sharing schemes and so forth - and the explanation for these suddenly became clear. We now understand why these emerged and that they are based on differences in information in the economy.”