On Dogmatism

"[....] this definition of mathematics is wider than that which is ordinarily given, and by which its range is limited to quantitative research. The ordinary definition, like those of other sciences, is objective; whereas this is subjective. Recent investigations, of which quaternions is the most noteworthy instance, make it manifest that the old definition is too restricted. The sphere of mathematics is here extended, in accordance with all the derivation of its name, to all demonstrative research, so as to include all knowledge capable of dogmatic teaching." (Benjamin Peirce, 1881)

"There are no rival hypotheses except the outworn and completely refuted idea of special creation, now retained only by the ignorant, the dogmatic, and the prejudiced." (Horatio H Newman, "Evolution, Genetics, and Eugenics", 1921)

"In fact 'engineering' now often signifies a new system of thought, a fresh method of attack upon the world’s problems the antithesis of traditionalism, with its precedents and dogmas." (Alfred D Flinn, "Leadership in Economic Progress", Civil Engineering Vol. 2 (4), 1932)

"A system such as classical mechanics may be 'scientific' to any degree you like; but those who uphold it dogmatically - believing, perhaps, that it is their business to defend such a successful system against criticism as long as it is not conclusively disproved - are adopting the very reverse of that critical attitude which in my view is the proper one for the scientist." (Karl R Popper, "The Logic of Scientific Discovery", 1934) 

"In scientific subjects, the natural remedy for dogmatism has been found in research. By temperament and training, the research worker is the antithesis of the pundit. What he is actively and constantly aware of is his ignorance, not his knowledge; the insufficiency of his concepts, of the terms and phrases in which he tries to excogitate his problems: not their final and exhaustive sufficiency. He is, therefore, usually only a good teacher for the few who wish to use their mind as a workshop, rather than to store it as a warehouse." (Sir Ronald A Fisher, "Eugenics, Academic and Practical Eugenics" Review Vol. 27, 1935)

"The fundamental gospel of statistics is to push back the domain of ignorance, prejudice, rule-of-thumb, arbitrary or premature decisions, tradition, and dogmatism and to increase the domain in which decisions are made and principles are formulated on the basis of analyzed quantitative facts." (Robert W Burgess, "The Whole Duty of the Statistical Forecaster", Journal of the American Statistical Association, Vol. 32, No. 200, 1937) 

"All prescientific knowledge, whether animal or human, is dogmatic; and science begins with the invention of the non-dogmatic, critical method." (Karl R Popper, "The Logic and Evolution of Scientific Theory", [in "All Life is Problem Solving", 1999] 1972)

"You can teach the rudiments of cooking, as of management, but you cannot make a great cook or a great manager. In both activities, you ignore fundamentals at grave risk  - but sometimes succeed. In both, science can be extremely useful but is no substitute for the art itself. In both, inspired amateurs can outdo professionals. In both, perfection is rarely achieved, and failure is more common than the customers realize. In both, practitioners don't need recipes that detail timing down to the last second, ingredients to the last fraction of an ounce, and procedures down to the Just flick of the wrist; they need reliable maxims, instructive anecdotes, and no dogmatism." (Robert Heller, "The Naked Manager: Games Executives Play", 1972)

“Nothing is more dangerous than a dogmatic worldview - nothing more constraining, more blinding to innovation, more destructive of openness to novelty.” (Stephen J Gould, “Dinosaur in a Haystack: reflections in natural history”, 1995)