William Whewell: Theory

William Whewell was English philosopher & historian of science. Explore interesting quotes on theory.

William Whewell: 24 quotes0 likes

“It is a test of true theories not only to account for but to predict phenomena.”

William Whewell

Aphorism 39.
Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences (1840)

“Every failure is a step to success. Every detection of what is false directs us towards what is true: every trial exhausts some tempting form of error. Not only so; but scarcely any attempt is entirely a failure; scarcely any theory, the result of steady thought, is altogether false; no tempting form of Error is without some latent charm derived from Truth.”

William Whewell

Lectures on the History of Moral Philosophy in England, Lecture 7. (1852).

“The catastrophist constructs theories, the uniformitarian demolishes them.”

William Whewell

Aphorism 36.
Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences (1840)

“The system becomes more coherent as it is further extended. The elements which we require for explaining a new class of facts are already contained in our system. Different members of the theory run together, and we have thus a constant convergence to unity. In false theories, the contrary is the case.”

William Whewell

Part 2, Book 11, ch. 5, sect. 3, art. 12.
Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences (1840)