Science seems to be at war with itself.... Naive realism leads to physics, and physics, if true, shows naive realism to be false. Therefore naive realism, if true, is false; therefore it is false.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Russell illustrates a paradox where naive realism leads to physics, which then disproves naive realism, creating a self‑contradictory cycle.
- In plain terms
- Naive realism leads to physics, which then shows naive realism false.
- What can you take from it?
- Recognize that our assumptions can be overturned by the very science they produce.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do scientific discoveries reshape philosophical positions?
- Can any worldview avoid self‑contradiction?
Another view
The argument oversimplifies the relationship between philosophy and physics.
More from Bertrand Russell
Religions, which condemn the pleasures of sense, drive men to seek the pleasures of power. Throughout history power has been the vice of the ascetic.
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