Remember that [scientific thought] is the guide of action; that the truth which it arrives at is not that which we can ideally contemplate without error, but that which we may act upon without fear; and you cannot fail to see that scientific thought is not an accompaniment or condition of human progress, but human progress itself.
action error fear guide human-progress progress science scientific scientific-thought truth
Download Image Share on X Share on Facebook

About This Quote

Themes

  • Fear — Understanding and overcoming the anxieties that hold us back
  • Science — Discovery, inquiry, and the wonders of the natural world
  • Truth — Meditations on honesty, authenticity, and the search for truth

More quotes by William Kingdon Clifford, Lectures and Essays by the Late William Kingdon Clifford, F.R.S.

“The aim of scientific thought, then, is to apply past experience to new circumstances; the instrument is an observed uniformity in the course of events. By the use of this instrument it gives us in...”
— William Kingdon Clifford, Lectures and Essays by the Late William Kingdon Clifford, F.R.S.
aim events evidence experience

“ scientific thought does not mean thought about scientific subjects with long names. There are no scientific subjects. The subject of science is the human universe; that is to say, everything that ...”
— William Kingdon Clifford, Lectures and Essays by the Late William Kingdon Clifford, F.R.S.
everything relation science scientific

“… scientific thought does not mean thought about scientific subjects with long names. There are no scientific subjects. The subject of science is the human universe; that is to say, everything that...”
— William Kingdon Clifford, Lectures and Essays by the Late William Kingdon Clifford, F.R.S.
everything relation science scientific
View all quotes by William Kingdon Clifford, Lectures and Essays by the Late William Kingdon Clifford, F.R.S. →

Related Quotes

“Only super-efforts count.”
— G.I. Gurdjieff
action effort work

“I want to be in a relationship where you telling me you love me is just a ceremonious validation of what you already show me.”
— Steve Maraboli
action being-loved inspirational life

“That is what a well-guarded prayer life can reveal about us, that our trust is not in ourselves but in seeking God's strength for what we do. Prayer is not a substitute for action, but prayer under...”
— Ravi Zacharias
action life marriage prayer

“Should we not be concerned as to whether this fear of error is not just the error itself?”
— Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
error fear

“An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does the truth become error because nobody will see it. 1924-1926)”
— Mahatma Gandhi
error repetition truth

“The scientific spirit is of more value than its products, and irrationally held truths may be more harmful than reasoned errors.”
— Thomas Henry Huxley
error hamr irrationality reason

“The only calibration that counts is how much heart people invest, how much they ignore their fears of being hurt or caught out or humiliated. And the only thing people regret is that they didn't li...”
— Ted Hughes
fear heart love regret

“I wonder if fears ever really go away, or if they just lose their power over us.”
— Veronica Roth, Allegiant
fear love power powerful

“Fear is all in the mind”
— Ana Rangel & Gerry O'malley
fear mind-power spirituality