C'este donc par l'étude des mathématiques, et seulement par elle, que l'on peut se faire une idée juste et approfondie de ce que c'est qu'une science.
Auguste ComteRead
To understand a science it is necessary to know its history.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Understanding a science requires knowledge of its historical development.
Auguste Comte's quote suggests that to fully grasp any scientific field, one must study the historical context and evolution of that science. This historical perspective enriches our understanding of scientific principles and the progression of thought that led to current knowledge, highlighting the importance of context in the advancement of science.
Themes
ScienceHistoryUnderstandingKnowledgeContext
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture about scientific methodology, this quote can emphasize the importance of historical context.
More from Auguste Comte
All quotes →nd now that man's history has been for the first time systematically considered as a whole, and has been found to be, like all other phenomena, subject to invariable laws, the preparatory labours of modern Science are ended.
Auguste ComteRead
The sacred formula of positivism: love as a principle, the order as a foundation, and progress as a goal.
Auguste ComteRead
Language forms a kind of wealth, which all can make use of at once without causing any diminution of the store, and which thus admits a complete community of enjoyment; for all, freely participating in the general treasure, unconsciously aid in its preservation.
Auguste ComteRead
If we do not allow free thinking in chemistry or biology, why should we allow it in morals or politics?
Auguste ComteRead
Similar quotes
Population, when unchecked, increases in a geometrical ratio. Subsistence increases only in an arithmetical ratio. A slight acquaintance with numbers will shew the immensity of the first power in comparison of the second.
Thomas MalthusRead
The law of floatation was not discovered by contemplating the sinking of things, but by contemplating the floating of things which floated naturally, and then intelligently asking why they did so.
Thomas TrowardRead
An Experiment, like every other event which takes place, is a natural phenomenon; but in a Scientific Experiment the circumstances are so arranged that the relations between a particular set of phenomena may be studied to the best advantage.
James Clerk MaxwellRead
Statistical science is indispensable to modern statesmanship. In legislation as in physical science it is beginning to be understood that we can control terrestrial forces only by obeying their laws. The legislator must formulate in his statutes not only the national will, but also those great laws of social life revealed by statistics.
James A. GarfieldRead
But I hope that it will also be demonstrated soon that in my experiments in the West I was not merely beholding a vision, but had caught sight of a great and profound truth.
Nikola TeslaRead
Unlike science, creationism cannot predict anything, and it cannot provide satisfactory answers about the past.
Bill NyeRead