Pierre Duhem Quotes
Pierre Duhem was a French theoretical physicist, philosopher of science, and historian of medieval science. His work in thermodynamics and chemistry was respected during his lifetime, but his most enduring influence has been philosophical and historical. The quotes below are attributed to Pierre Duhem, organized by topic.
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Pierre Duhem on Knowledge
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Attributed to Pierre Duhem:
“An experiment in physics can never condemn an isolated hypothesis but only a whole theoretical group.”
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Attributed to Pierre Duhem:
“A physical theory is a system of mathematical propositions whose aim is to represent and classify a group of experimental laws.”
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“There you have, then, a theoretical physics which is neither the theory of a believer nor that of a nonbeliever, but merely and simply a theory of a physicist; admirably suited to classify the laws studied by the experimenter, it is incapable of opposing any assertion whatever of metaphysics or of religious dogma, and is equally incapable of lending effective support to any such assertion.”
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Pierre Duhem on Nature
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“The first question we should face is: What is the aim of a physical theory? To this question diverse answers have been made, but all of them may be reduced to two main principles: "A physical theory," certain logicians have replied, "has for its object the explanation of a group of laws experimentally established." "A physical theory," other thinkers have said, "is an abstract system whose aim is ”
Pierre Maurice Marie Duhem, translated by Philip P. Wiener (1991). The Aim and Structure of Physical Theory . Princeton University Press. p. 10. ISBN 069102524X . -
“[U]n symbole n'est, à proprement parler, ni vrai, ni faux; il est plus ou moins bien choisi pour signifier la réalité qu'il représente, il la figure d'une manière plus ou moins précise, plus ou moins détaillée...”
Pierre Maurice Marie Duhem, translated by Philip P. Wiener (1991). The Aim and Structure of Physical Theory . Princeton University Press. p. 168. ISBN 069102524X . -
“A physical theory reputed to be satisfactory by the sectarians of one metaphysical school will be rejected by the partisans of another school.”
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“Agreement with experiment is the sole criteria of truth for a physical theory .”
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“The one who contributed most to break down the barrier between physical method and metaphysical method, and to confound their domains, so clearly distinguished in the Aristotelian philosophy, was surely Descartes.”
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“Every time people cite a principle of theoretical physics in support of a metaphysical doctrine or physical dogma, they commit a mistake, for they attribute to this principle a meaning not its own, an import not belonging to it.”
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Pierre Duhem on Time
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Attributed to Pierre Duhem:
“The history of physics shows that no theory survives unchanged.”
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“« La Logique peut être patiente, car elle est éternelle. » ("Logic can be patient because it is eternal.") ibid. p. 150”
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Pierre Duhem on Truth
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Attributed to Pierre Duhem:
“Truth in science is gradual and never final.”
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“Now, a symbol is not, properly speaking, either true or false; it is, rather, something more or less well selected to stand for the reality it represents, and pictures that reality in a more or less precise, or a more or less detailed manner.”
[U]n symbole n'est, à proprement parler, ni vrai, ni faux; il est plus ou moins bien choisi pour signifier la réalité qu'il représente, il la figure d'une manière plus ou moins précise, plus ou moins détaillée...