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Many persons nowadays seem to think that any conclusion must be very scientific if the arguments in favor of it are derived from twitching of frogs' legs (especially if the frogs are decapitated) and that, on the other hand, any doctrine chiefly vouched for by the feelings of human beings (with heads on their shoulders) must be benighted and superstitious.
William James
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote critiques the overly scientific mindset that disregards human feelings and intuition.

William James highlights the dangers of valuing purely scientific conclusions over human experiences and emotions. He suggests that the modern tendency to trust scientific claims based solely on mechanical or experimental evidence, like the twitching of a decapitated frog's leg, undermines the validity of human feelings, which should be considered essential in understanding truth. This thought-provoking statement invites a reexamination of how we weigh different forms of knowledge and the value of subjective human experience.

Themes

ScienceEmotionHuman ExperienceTruthPhilosophy

In practice

Example use cases

In a debate on the role of emotions in decision making, this quote could be used to emphasize the importance of feelings.

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It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome.
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