William Whewell 1794 – 1866
William Whewell was an English polymath, scientist, and philosopher and Master of Trinity College, Cambridge for more than two decades. He coined the modern English term scientist, along with much of the working vocabulary of Victorian science. His History of the Inductive Sciences and Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences offered the fullest treatment of scientific method and the development of natural knowledge produced in his century, articulating the doctrine of consilience of inductions. He carried on a long and friendly debate with John Stuart Mill on the foundations of science.
Key facts
- Nationality
- English
- Era
- Modern
- Movements
- Empiricism
Selected quotes
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Attributed to William Whewell:
“Science is the systematic colligation of facts under a general idea.”
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Attributed to William Whewell:
“Discoveries are made by induction, but justified by deduction.”
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Attributed to William Whewell:
“The fundamental antithesis of philosophy is between ideas and things.”
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Attributed to William Whewell:
“We must always make the best use we can of our limited knowledge.”
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Attributed to William Whewell:
“A consilience of inductions takes place when an induction obtained from one class of facts coincides with an induction obtained from another different class.”