12:41am July 17, 2015

“Science, we may say, is confronted with problems, at any moment of its development. It cannot start with observations, or with the ‘collection of data’, as some students of method believe. Before we can collect data, our interest in data of a certain kind must be aroused: the problem always comes first. The problem in its turn may be suggested by practical needs, or by scientific or pre-scientific beliefs which, for some reason or other, appear to be in need of revision.”

19 notes