Confusion of sign and object is original sin coeval with the word.
Willard Van Orman QuineRead
Science is not a substitute for common sense, but an extension of it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Science enhances our understanding but should complement rather than replace common sense.
This quote by Willard Van Orman Quine suggests that while science is an essential tool for exploring and understanding the world, it cannot replace the innate understanding and practical judgment that come from common sense. It emphasizes the importance of integrating scientific knowledge with practical wisdom in decision-making and daily life.
Themes
ScienceCommon SenseUnderstandingWisdomKnowledge
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on critical thinking, a teacher could use this quote to emphasize the importance of relying on both scientific evidence and common sense.
More from Willard Van Orman Quine
All quotes βIt is one of the consolations of philosophy that the benefit of showing how to dispense with a concept does not hinge on dispensing with it.
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For me the problem of induction is a problem about the world: a problem of how we, as we are now (by our present scientific lights), in a world we never made, should stand better than random, or coin-tossing chances changes of coming out right when we predict by inductions. . . .
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Language is conceived in sin and science is its redemption.
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Meaning is what essence becomes when it is divorced from the object of reference and wedded to the word.
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Creatures inveterately wrong in their inductions have a pathetic but praise-worthy tendency to die before reproducing their kind.
Willard Van Orman QuineRead
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