infiniti science

The great arrogance of modern science, and of its practitioners, is the presumption that, having described something, one has explained it.

Physics, an admirable art, draws a picture of the inner workings of phenomena. It can even, sometimes, reproduce the phenomena. But it does not explain it.

Describing the Mona Lisa, even reproducing the painting with great skill, does not replace the art and beauty inherent in its creator’s soul. To know the Mona Lisa, one must behold it – not be told about it.

Modern science is a highly skilled and intricately developed descriptive art. Its practitioners are talented sketch artists. But they have not, and will never, expose the essence of creation with their tools. 

MFC

We are accustomed to judge only by external appearances and by certain limited significances which we attach to words; but when we begin to enquire into the real meaning of our words and to analyse the causes which give rise to the appearances, we find our old notions gradually falling off from us, until at last we wake up to the fact that we are living in an entirely different world to that we formerly recognised. The old limited mode of thought has imperceptibly slipped away, and we discover that we have stepped out into a new order of things where all is liberty and life.

This is the work of an enlightened intelligence resulting from the persistent determination to discover what truth really is irrespective of any preconceived notions from whatever source derived, the determination to think honestly for ourselves instead of endeavouring to get our thinking done for us.

Thomas Troward – The Edinburgh Lectures 1904