Abstract
THE subject of the leading article of NATURE of May 28 must commend itself to the earnest consideration of all those who view with consternation the present drift of our civilisation towards chaos. Nothing is more needful than what, for want of a better word, we call the ‘scientific’ point of view. Nevertheless, experience has shown that the great investigator is seldom well fitted to guide the course of practical affairs; the ‘passion for discovery’ differs little from other passions in being linked with a certain prejudicial obstinacy. On the other hand, the exposition of the rules and principles of scientific method can be made intelligible only when the intellect has been already hardened by the educational disciplines inseparable from a system the prizes of which are awarded to those with most ‘knowledge’often synonymous with good memory.
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WIGHTMAN, W. Scientific Method. Nature 130, 62 (1932). https://doi.org/10.1038/130062c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/130062c0
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