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Theory Quotes

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Theory Quotes

“Truth does not need argument, agreement, theories or beliefs. There is only one test for it and that is to ask yourself 'Is the statement true or false in my experience?'”

Needs Doe Truth Asks Belief Theory Argument Tests Statements Agreement True Or False

Author:Barry Long

“By having simplified what is known, physicists have been led into realms which as yet are anything but simple. That at some time, they, too, will appear as simple consequences of a theory of which no one has yet dreamed is not a statement of fact.It is a statement of faith.”

Has Beens Facts Simple Known Theory Consequence Statements Realms Physicist

Book:The Pursuit of Simplicity

Source: The Pursuit of Simplicity

“The simplest case, where one is informed that a cat is black because it is black, may be harmless, though irritating and useless; but the actual cases [in statements of evolutionary theory] are always harder to detect than this, and may darken counsel for a long time.”

May Long Black Cases Theory Long Time Cat Harder Statements Useless Simplest Irritating

Author:Norman Macbeth

“The wise man regulates his conduct by the theories both of religion and science. But he regards these theories not as statements of ultimate fact but as art-forms.”

Men Art Facts Form Wise Atheism Theory Ultimate Regard Statements Science And Religion

Author:John B. S. Haldane

“Since natural law was thought to be accessible to the ordinary man, the theory invited each juror to inquire for himself whether a particular rule of law was consonant with principles of higher law. This view is reflected in John Adams' statement that it would be an 'absurdity' for jurors to be required to accept the judge's view of the law, 'against their own opinion, judgment, and conscience.'”

“This is not a matter of subjective theory, but of plain, historical fact. If there had never been a nation of Israel, there would have been no patriarchs, no prophets, no apostles, no Bible and no Saviour. In John 4:22, Jesus Himself summed all this up in one simple statement: "Salvation is from the Jews." Christians from all other racial backgrounds owe to the Jewish people a spiritual debt which can never be calculated.”

“The word of the Lord never comes to us as an opinion, no attempt is made to support it by argument, it comes as a definite, abstract statement of fact. So it is from the first words...to the last, the works of the Father are declared as facts, not theories.”

Firsts Made Facts Lasts Father Lord Opinion Support Theory Argument Statements Abstract Definite

Author:Anthony W. Ivins

“In the first stage of insight-building, all that researchers can do is observe phenomena. Second, they classify the phenomena in a way that helps them simplify the apparent complexities of the world so they can ignore the meaningless differences and draw connections between the things that really seem to matter. Third, based on the classification system, they propose a theory. The theory is a statement of what causes what and why, and under what circumstances.”

“Disruptive technology is a theory. It says this will happen and this is why; it's a statement of cause and effect. In our teaching we have so exalted the virtues of data-driven decision making that in many ways we condemn managers only to be able to take action after the data is clear and the game is over. In many ways a good theory is more accurate than data. It allows you to see into the future more clearly.”

“Trait X is fitter than trait Y in a population of organisms if those organisms have other biological traits T and live in an environment that has properties E. The theory of natural selection is filled with statements of this form.”

Ifs Form Natural Environment Theory Filled Property Population Statements Traits Organisms Selection Natural Selection

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

“My theory for nonfiction is that nobody can be free of some kind of conceptions about whatever story they're writing. But if you can find a way to build those into the story, then the story becomes a process of deconstructing and heightening and sometimes changing those notions and that makes dramatic tension. The initial statement of your position, and then letting reality act on you to change it, is pretty good storytelling.”

Ifs Way Writing Kind Sometimes Stories Reality Process Position Theory Notion Statements Storytelling Dramatic Tension Conception Nonfiction Initials Good Storytelling

Author:George Saunders

“The implications of these considerations justify the statement that all empirically verifiable knowledge even the commonsense knowledge of everyday life - involves implicitly, if not explicitly, systematic theory in this sense.”

Ifs Theory Everyday Statements Consideration Justify Everyday Life Implications Systematic

Book:The Structure of Social Action: A Study in Social Theory with Special Reference to a Group of Recent European Writers

Source: The Structure of Social Action: A Study in Social Theory with Special Reference to a Group of Recent European Writers