"We may come back to the more general question, what one should consider as the characteristic features of such a closed system of axioms and definitions. Perhaps the most important feature is the possibility of finding a consistent mathematical representation for it. This representation must guarantee that the system does not contain contradictions. Then the system must be suited to describe a wide field of experience. The great variety of phenomena in the field should correspond to the great number of solutions to the equations in the mathematical representation. The limitations of the field can generally not be derived from the concepts. The concepts are not sharply defined in their relation to nature, in spite of the sharp definition of their possible connections. The limitation will therefore be found from experience, from the fact that the concepts do not allow a complete description of the observed phenomena."
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Werner Heisenberg, Physics and Philosophy: The Revolution in Modern Science (1958)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Concept
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Concept
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