It is wrong for a man to say that he is certain of the objective truth of any proposition unless he can produce evidence which logically justifies that certainty.
Thomas HuxleyRead
Science is nothing, but trained and organized common sense.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Science organizes knowledge gained through observation and reasoning into systematic frameworks.
This quote by Thomas Huxley emphasizes that science is fundamentally an extension of natural human reasoning. It presents the idea that science is not an abstract discipline, but rather a structured method of utilizing our inherent common sense to understand and analyze the world around us through observation, experimentation, and logical reasoning.
Themes
ScienceCommon SenseKnowledgeReasoningObservation
In practice
Example use cases
In a classroom setting when teaching students about the scientific method.
More from Thomas Huxley
All quotes βThe child who has been taught to make an accurate elevation, plan, and section of a pint pot has had an admirable training in accuracy of eye and hand.
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Let us have "sweet girl graduates" by all means. They will be none the less sweet for a little wisdom; and the "golden hair" will not curl less gracefully outside the head by reason of there being brains within.
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The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of childhood into maturity.
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It is the first duty of a hypothesis to be intelligible.
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Of the few innocent pleasures left to men past middle life, the jamming of common sense down the throats of fools is perhaps the keenest.
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