"It is characteristic of modern physics to represent all processes in terms of mathematical equations. But the close connection between the two sciences must not blur their essential difference." (Hans Reichenbach, "The Theory of Relativity and A Priori Knowledge", 1920)
"The mathematical object of knowledge is uniquely determined by the axioms and definitions of mathematics." (Hans Reichenbach, "The Theory of Relativity and A Priori Knowledge", 1920)
"The physical object cannot be determined by axioms and definitions. It is a thing of the real world, not an object of the logical world of mathematics. Offhand it looks as if the method of representing physical events by mathematical equations is the same as that of mathematics. Physics has developed the method of defining one magnitude in terms of others by relating them to more and more general magnitudes and by ultimately arriving at 'axioms', that is, the fundamental equations of physics. Yet what is obtained in this fashion is just a system of mathematical relations. What is lacking in such system is a statement regarding the significance of physics, the assertion that the system of equations is true for reality." (Hans Reichenbach, "The Theory of Relativity and A Priori Knowledge", 1920)
"Once a definition of congruence is given, the choice of geometry is no longer in our hands; rather, the geometry is now an empirical fact." (Hans Reichenbach, "The Philosophy of Space and Time", 1928)
"Whereas the conception of space and time as a four-dimensional manifold has been very fruitful for mathematical physicists, its effect in the field of epistemology has been only to confuse the issue. Calling time the fourth dimension gives it an air of mystery. One might think that time can now be conceived as a kind of space and try in vain to add visually a fourth dimension to the three dimensions of space. It is essential to guard against such a misunderstanding of mathematical concepts. If we add time to space as a fourth dimension it does not lose any of its peculiar character as time." (Hans Reichenbach, "The Philosophy of Space and Time", 1928)
"The urge to knowledge is so deeply rooted in man that it can scarcely be omitted from a list of life's important needs." (Hans Reichenbach, "Atom and Cosmos: The World of Modern Physics", 1933)
"The reliance on the concrete is the basis of both the charm and the power of physical research." (Hans Reichenbach, "Atom and Cosmos: The World of Modern Physics", 1933)
"When science says that a law is valid, it means but one thing - that the law permits conclusions as to future observations." (Hans Reichenbach, "Atom and Cosmos: The World of Modern Physics", 1933)
“Geometrical truth is a product of reason; that makes it superior to empirical truth, which is found through generalization of a great number of instances.” (Hans Reichenbach, “The Rise of Scientific Philosophy”, 1951)
"If error is corrected whenever it is recognized as such, the path of error is the path of truth." (Hans Reichenbach, "The Rise of Scientific Philosophy", 1951)
"Instead of asking for a cause of the universe, the scientist can ask only for the cause of the present state of the universe; and his task will consist in pushing farther and farther back the date from which he is able to account for the universe in terms of laws of nature." (Hans Reichenbach, "The Rise of Scientific Philosophy", 1951)
"The belief in science has replaced in large measure, the belief in God. Even where religion was regarded as compatible with science, it was modified by the mentality of the believer in scientific truth." (Hans Reichenbach, "The Rise of Scientific Philosophy", 1951)
"The essence of knowledge is generalization. That fire can be produced by rubbing wood in a certain way is a knowledge derived by generalization from individual experiences; the statement means that rubbing wood in this way will always produce fire. The art of discovery is therefore the art of correct generalization." (Hans Reichenbach, "The Rise of Scientific Philosophy", 1951)
"The philosopher of science is not much interested in the thought processes which lead to scientific discoveries; he looks for a logical analysis of the completed theory, including the relationships establishing its validity. That is, he is not interested in the context of discovery, but in the context of justification" (Hans Reichenbach, "The Rise of Scientific Philosophy", 1951)
"The scientist who discovers a theory is usually guided to his discovery by guesses; he cannot name a method by means of which he found the theory and can only say that it appeared plausible to him, that he had the right hunch or that he saw intuitively which assumption would fit the facts." (Hans Reichenbach, "The Rise of Scientific Philosophy", 1951)
"The study of inductive inference belongs to the theory of probability, since observational facts can make a theory only probable but will never make it absolutely certain." (Hans Reichenbach, "The Rise of Scientific Philosophy", 1951)
"To say that observations of the past are certain, whereas predictions are merely probable, is not the ultimate answer to the question of induction; it is only a sort of intermediate answer, which is incomplete unless a theory of probability is developed that explains what we should mean by ‘probable’ and on what ground we can assert probabilities." (Hans Reichenbach, "The Rise of Scientific Philosophy", 1951)
"The urge to knowledge is so deeply rooted in man that it can scarcely be omitted from a list of life's important needs." (Hans Reichenbach, "Atom and Cosmos: The World of Modern Physics", 1933)
"The reliance on the concrete is the basis of both the charm and the power of physical research." (Hans Reichenbach, "Atom and Cosmos: The World of Modern Physics", 1933)
"When science says that a law is valid, it means but one thing - that the law permits conclusions as to future observations." (Hans Reichenbach, "Atom and Cosmos: The World of Modern Physics", 1933)
“Geometrical truth is a product of reason; that makes it superior to empirical truth, which is found through generalization of a great number of instances.” (Hans Reichenbach, “The Rise of Scientific Philosophy”, 1951)
"If error is corrected whenever it is recognized as such, the path of error is the path of truth." (Hans Reichenbach, "The Rise of Scientific Philosophy", 1951)
"Instead of asking for a cause of the universe, the scientist can ask only for the cause of the present state of the universe; and his task will consist in pushing farther and farther back the date from which he is able to account for the universe in terms of laws of nature." (Hans Reichenbach, "The Rise of Scientific Philosophy", 1951)
"The belief in science has replaced in large measure, the belief in God. Even where religion was regarded as compatible with science, it was modified by the mentality of the believer in scientific truth." (Hans Reichenbach, "The Rise of Scientific Philosophy", 1951)
"The essence of knowledge is generalization. That fire can be produced by rubbing wood in a certain way is a knowledge derived by generalization from individual experiences; the statement means that rubbing wood in this way will always produce fire. The art of discovery is therefore the art of correct generalization." (Hans Reichenbach, "The Rise of Scientific Philosophy", 1951)
"The philosopher of science is not much interested in the thought processes which lead to scientific discoveries; he looks for a logical analysis of the completed theory, including the relationships establishing its validity. That is, he is not interested in the context of discovery, but in the context of justification" (Hans Reichenbach, "The Rise of Scientific Philosophy", 1951)
"The scientist who discovers a theory is usually guided to his discovery by guesses; he cannot name a method by means of which he found the theory and can only say that it appeared plausible to him, that he had the right hunch or that he saw intuitively which assumption would fit the facts." (Hans Reichenbach, "The Rise of Scientific Philosophy", 1951)
"The study of inductive inference belongs to the theory of probability, since observational facts can make a theory only probable but will never make it absolutely certain." (Hans Reichenbach, "The Rise of Scientific Philosophy", 1951)
"To say that observations of the past are certain, whereas predictions are merely probable, is not the ultimate answer to the question of induction; it is only a sort of intermediate answer, which is incomplete unless a theory of probability is developed that explains what we should mean by ‘probable’ and on what ground we can assert probabilities." (Hans Reichenbach, "The Rise of Scientific Philosophy", 1951)
"There is no logical necessity for the existence of a unique direction of total time; whether there is only one time direction, or whether time directions alternate, depends on the shape of the entropy curve plotted by the universe." (Hans Reichenbach, "The Direction of Time", 1956)
"He who searches for truth must not appease his urge by giving himself up to the narcotic of belief." (Hans Reichenbach)
"He who searches for truth must not appease his urge by giving himself up to the narcotic of belief." (Hans Reichenbach)
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