“Not only are facts and theories in constant disharmony, they are never as neatly separated as everyone makes them out to be.”

—  Paul Karl Feyerabend , book Against Method

Pg. 66.
Against Method (1975)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Not only are facts and theories in constant disharmony, they are never as neatly separated as everyone makes them out t…" by Paul Karl Feyerabend?
Paul Karl Feyerabend photo
Paul Karl Feyerabend 81
Austrian-born philosopher of science 1924–1994

Related quotes

Robert X. Cringely photo

“What you have to watch out for are the theories that claim to be infallible. Because the only way their believers can win is to stomp out everyone who disagrees with them.”

Robert X. Cringely (1953) American technology journalist and columnist

[September 12, 2008, http://www.infoworld.com/d/windows/when-worlds-and-particles-collide-531, When Worlds (and Particles) Collide, Notes from the Field, InfoWorld, 2009-08-06]

“In keeping with a pattern which will be familiar to anyone studying the writings of supporters of the Aryan invasion theory, such unnatural or anomalous phenomena do not make these scholars rethink their theory; it only makes them try to think of ways to maintain their theory in the face of inconvenient facts.”

Shrikant Talageri (1958) Indian author

The Rigveda: A Historical Analysis (2000), Chapter 7 : The Indo-European Homeland

“No matter which comes first, the facts or the theory, the question to be addressed is the extent to which the theory is borne out by the facts. The strongest possible claim would be that the theory can be logically derived from the facts. That is, given the facts, the theory can be proven as a consequence of them. This strong claim cannot be substantiated.”

Alan Chalmers book What Is This Thing Called Science?

Source: What Is This Thing Called Science? (Third Edition; 1999), Chapter 4, Deriving theories from facts: induction, p. 41.

Jerry Coyne photo

“Damn, but science is just a constant feed of cool new facts and theories. Theology doesn’t come close.”

Jerry Coyne (1949) American biologist

" A huge water geyser on Saturn’s moon helps make the rings, and a bonus eclipse from Mars http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2012/09/17/a-huge-water-geyser-on-saturns-moon-helps-make-the-rings-and-a-bonus-eclipse-from-mars/" September 17, 2012

Claude Bernard photo

“Theories are only verified hypotheses, verified by more or less numerous facts. Those verified by the most facts are the best, but even then they are never final, never to be absolutely believed.”

Claude Bernard (1813–1878) French physiologist

Introduction à l'Étude de la Médecine Expérimentale (1865)

Josefa Iloilo photo

“Disharmony and conflict are always to everyone’s loss and anguish. We stand again today to forge ahead toward a stronger nation.”

Josefa Iloilo (1920–2011) President of Fiji

Fiji Day address, 10 October 2005 (excerpts)

“Theories were a dime a dozen. The partition that separated science and wishful thinking was evidence: observations and firm facts.”

Charles Sheffield book Convergence

Source: The Heritage Universe, Convergence (1997), Chapter 6 (p. 317)

Willem de Sitter photo

“There is another side to the theory of relativity. We have pointed out in the beginning how the development of science is in the direction to make it less subjective, to separate more and more in the observed facts that which belongs to the reality behind the phenomena, the absolute, from the subjective element, which is introduced by the observer, the relative. Einstein's theory is a great step in that direction. We can say that the theory of relativity is intended to remove entirely the relative and exhibit the pure absolute.”

Willem de Sitter (1872–1934) Dutch cosmologist

Kosmos (1932), Above is Beginning Quote of the Last Chapter: Relativity and Modern Theories of the Universe -->

“Instead of ideologically synchronizing contradictions, or assigning them to separate halls of the academy, critical theory seeks to articulate them.”

Russell Jacoby (1945) American historian

Source: Social Amnesia: A Critique of Conformist Psychology from Adler to Laing (1975), p. 73

Douglas Adams photo

“The idea that Bill Gates has appeared like a knight in shining armour to lead all customers out of a mire of technological chaos neatly ignores the fact that it was he, by peddling second rate technology, led them into it in the first place, and continues to do so today.”

Douglas Adams (1952–2001) English writer and humorist

As quoted in The Guardian (1995), and in "Biting back at Microsoft" (5 June 2001) http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2001/jun/05/guardianletters3

Related topics