If you admit that to silence your opponent by force_x000D_ is to win an intellectual argument,_x000D_ then you admit the right to silence people by force.
Hans EysenckRead
I always felt that a scientist owes the world only one thing, and that is the truth as he sees it. If the truth contradicts deeply held beliefs, that is too bad. Tact and diplomacy are fine in international relations, in politics, perhaps even in business; in science only one thing matters, and that is the facts.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Scientists should prioritize truth and facts over societal beliefs and diplomacy.
In this quote, Hans Eysenck emphasizes that the primary responsibility of a scientist is to present the truth as they perceive it, regardless of how it may conflict with popular or deeply held beliefs. While tact and diplomacy are often necessary in politics and business, in the realm of science, the focus must remain unequivocally on established facts and evidence, highlighting the importance of objective truth in scientific discourse.
Themes
TruthScienceFactsBeliefsObjectivity
In practice
Example use cases
In a scientific presentation, one might quote Eysenck to emphasize the need for honesty in research findings.
More from Hans Eysenck
All quotes →Similar quotes
We are all agreed that your theory is crazy. The question which divides us is whether it is crazy enough to have a chance of being correct. My own feeling is that it is not crazy enough.
Niels BohrRead
In spite of the opinions of certain narrow-minded people who would shut up the human race upon this globe, we shall one day travel to the Moon, the planets, and the stars with the same facility, rapidity and certainty as we now make the ocean voyage from Liverpool to New York.
Jules VerneRead
The world has changed far more in the past 100 years than in any other century in history. The reason is not political or economic but technological-technologies that flowed directly from advances in basic science. Clearly, no scientist better represents those advances than Albert Einstein: TIME's Person of the Century.
Stephen HawkingRead
Wherever there is a design that is highly successful in a broad range of similar environments, it is apt to emerge again and again, independently - the phenomenon known in biology as convergent evolution. I call these designs 'good tricks.'
Daniel DennettRead
There are always more questions. Science as a process is never complete. It is not a foot race, with a finish line.... People will always be waiting at a particular finish line: journalists with their cameras, impatient crowds eager to call the race, astounded to see the scientists approach, pass the mark, and keep running. It's a common misunderstanding, he said. They conclude there was no race. As long as we won't commit to knowing everything, the presumption is we know nothing.
Barbara KingsolverRead
See first, think later, then test. But always see first. Otherwise you will only see what you were expecting. Most scientists forget that.
Douglas AdamsRead