Science has to be understood in its broadest sense, as a method for apprehending all observable reality, and not merely as an instrument for acquiring specialized knowledge.
Alexis CarrelRead
A few observation and much reasoning lead to error; many observations and a little reasoning to truth.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Too little observation combined with excessive reasoning can lead to mistakes, while ample observation with minimal reasoning can lead to the truth.
The quote by Alexis Carrel suggests that relying too heavily on reasoning without sufficient observation can lead to errors in judgment. In contrast, gathering a broad base of observations, even with limited reasoning applied to them, can guide one more reliably toward the truth. This highlights the importance of empirical evidence and careful observation in the pursuit of knowledge and understanding.
Themes
ObservationReasoningTruthWisdomKnowledge
In practice
Example use cases
In a scientific debate, one might quote this to emphasize the importance of careful observation in research.
More from Alexis Carrel
All quotes βMan offers himself to God. He stands before Him like the canvas before the painter or the marble before the sculptor. At the same time he asks for His grace, expresses his needs and those of his brothers in suffering. Such a type of prayer demands complete renovation. The modest, the ignorant, and the poor are more capable of this self-denial than the rich and the intellectual.
Alexis CarrelRead
Hard conditions of life are indispensable to bringing out the best in human personality.
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The first duty of society is to give each of its members the possibility of fulfilling his destiny. When it becomes incapable of performing this duty it must be transformed.
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Discipline brings us effort, sacrifice and suffering. Later it brings us something of an inestimable value: something of which those who live only for pleasure, profit or amusement will always be deprived. This peculiar indefinable joy which one must have felt oneself to understand is the sign with which life marks its moment of triumph.
Alexis CarrelRead
Those who desire to rise as high as our human condition allows, must renounce intellectual pride, the omnipotence of clear thinking, belief in the absolute power of logic.
Alexis CarrelRead
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