It takes a wonderful brain and exquisite senses to produce a few stupid ideas.
George SantayanaRead
Science is nothing but developed perception, interpreted intent, common sense rounded out and minutely articulated.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Science is the refined understanding of our observations and intentions shaped by common sense.
In this quote, George Santayana emphasizes that science is not just a collection of data and experiments but is fundamentally built upon our perceptions and interpretations of the world around us. It highlights the importance of common sense and the articulate expression of our thoughts in the advancement of scientific knowledge, suggesting that science is an extension of our basic human abilities to perceive and reason about our environment.
Themes
SciencePerceptionCommon SenseKnowledgeUnderstanding
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a science class to inspire students to think critically about their observations.
More from George Santayana
All quotes →The working of great institutions is mainly the result of a vast mass of routine, petty malice, self interest, carelessness and sheer mistake. Only a residual fraction is thought.
George SantayanaRead
There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval. The dark background which death supplies brings out the tender colours of life in all their purity.
George SantayanaRead
Not to believe in love is a great sign of dullness. There are some people so indirect and lumbering that they think all real affection rests on circumstantial evidence.
George SantayanaRead
To feel beauty is a better thing than to understand how we come to feel it. To have imagination and taste, to love the best, to be carried by the contemplation of nature to a vivid faith in the ideal, all this is more, a great deal more, than any science can hope to be.
George SantayanaRead
The vital straining towards an ideal, definite but latent, when it dominates a whole life, may express that ideal more fully than could the best chosen words.
George SantayanaRead
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