The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (1883), XIX Philosophical Maxims. Morals. Polemics and Speculations.
“There is a noticeable general difference between the sciences and mathematics on the one hand, and the humanities and social sciences on the other.”
Quotes 1990s, 1990-1994, Noam Chomsky: A Life of Dissent, 1992
Context: There is a noticeable general difference between the sciences and mathematics on the one hand, and the humanities and social sciences on the other. It's a first approximation, but one that is real. In the former, the factors of integrity tend to dominate more over the factors of ideology. It's not that scientists are more honest people. It's just that nature is a harsh taskmaster. You can lie or distort the story of the French Revolution as long as you like, and nothing will happen. Propose a false theory in chemistry, and it'll be refuted tomorrow.
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
Noam Chomsky 334
american linguist, philosopher and activist 1928Related quotes
R. Hartshorne (1935) "Recent Developments in Political Geography" The American Political Science Review Vol. 29 (5), p. 585
The Philippine review (Revista filipina) [1921]
Columbia University speech, 24 September 2007
[24 September 2007, http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/202820.php, "Iran's president at Columbia University - a transcript", azstarnet.com, 2007-09-25]
2007
Source: What is Anthropology? (2nd ed., 2017), Ch. 7 : Nature