Single Idea 20736

[catalogued under 14. Science / B. Scientific Theories / 2. Aim of Science]

Full Idea

Crucial to the scientific method is the ability to abstract out the subjective qualities that we give to things - such as beauty, meaning, purpose, and value - and focus only on the objective qualities of things, which can be measured and quantified.

Gist of Idea

Science has to abstract out the subjective attributes of things, focusing on what is objective

Source

Kevin Aho (Existentialism: an introduction [2014], 1 'Emergence')

Book Reference

Aho,Kevin: 'Existentialism: an introduction' [Polity 2014], p.5


A Reaction

This seems to me exactly right. People who deny the primary/secondary distinction, like Hume, are usually correspondingly pessimistic about science. And Hume was wrong about that.

Related Idea

Idea 5466 Primary qualities are number, figure, size, texture, motion, configuration, impenetrability and (?) mass [Ellis]