Skip to content

Clearly a statement cannot be tested by observation unless it is an assertion about the results of observation. Every item of physical knowledge must therefore be an assertion of what has been or would be the result of carrying out a specified observational procedure.

— Arthur Eddington The Philosophy of Physical Science (1938)

Another quote →

More quotes by Arthur Eddington

Physics has in the main contented itself with studying the abridged edition of the book of nature.

Mind is the first and most direct thing in our experience; all else is remote inference.

Science and the Unseen World (1929)

It is impossible to trap modern physics into predicting anything with perfect determinism because it deals with probabilities from the outset.

New Pathways in Science (1935)

All change is relative. The universe is expanding relatively to our common material standards; our material standards are shrinking relatively to the size of the universe.

The Expanding Universe (1933)

The whole subject-matter of exact science consists of pointer readings and similar indications.

The Nature of the Physical World (1928)

All Arthur Eddington quotes →

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Arthur Eddington (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.