"Two extreme interpretations of atomism have persisted through centuries: the näive assumption of objectively real indivisible pieces of matter, and the sophisticated view that "atom" is merely a name given to abstractions which it is convenient to assume in simplifying complex phenomena. The second perhaps stems from Ockham, who wrote in 1330 of "the fiction of abstract nouns"; from John Troland, who in 1704 interpreted material particles as mental fictions; and from countless others down to Ernst Mach, who after starting as a physical atomist came to regard atoms as "mental artifices" or "economical ways of symbolizing experience." Both views have advantages..."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Businesspeople from ScotlandHistorians of sciencePhysicists from ScotlandIndustrial engineersEngineers from Scotland
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Imported from EN Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lancelot_Law_Whyte
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Lancelot Law Whyte
Lancelot Law Whyte (4 November 1896 – 14 September 1972) was a Scottish philosopher, theoretical physicist, historian of science and financier.
65 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Lancelot Law Whyte →
Related Quotes
"The question of the reversibility of natural processes provides the key to a great intellectual struggle which is now…"
"Thought is born of failure. When action satisfies there is no residue to hold the attention; to think is to confess a…"
"The unitary system of thought has three main characteristics which distinguish it from many other systems: it deals w…"
"A unitary method of thought is indispensable to the interpretation of European history. The pervasive dualisms which …"
"The internal tendencies of every organism, if isolated, lead to its disintegration. But the processes of the wider sy…"
"The term dissociation is here used for a condition in which the organizing process in an individual fail to develop o…"
"Throughout history there runs one main trend: a progressive differentiation, or passage from simple to more complex f…"
"During the metamorphosis from ancient to European man, self-awareness, rationalism, monotheism, and morality all deve…"
"The dissociation of the typical adult European is a consequence not of any universal human nature, a term that has no…"
"The idea that time may be an active factor in causation has the mathematical significance that ' t ' (for the system …"