Nature (philosophy) - The Study of Nature Without Metaphysics

The Study of Nature Without Metaphysics

Authors from Nietzsche to Richard Rorty have claimed that science, the study of nature, can and should exist without metaphysics. But this claim has always been controversial. Authors like Bacon and Hume never denied that their use of the word "nature" implied a metaphysics, but tried to follow Machiavelli's approach of talking about what works, instead of claiming to understand what seems impossible to understand.

Read more about this topic:  Nature (philosophy)

Famous quotes containing the words study, nature and/or metaphysics:

    A man who would woo a fair maid,
    Should ‘prentice himself to the trade;
    And study all day,
    In methodical way,
    How to flatter, cajole, and persuade
    Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (1836–1911)

    Probably nature itself gave man the ability to lie so that in difficult and tense moments he could protect his nest, just as do the vixen and wild duck.
    Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)

    Poetry is essentially the antithesis of Metaphysics: Metaphysics purge the mind of the senses and cultivate the disembodiment of the spiritual; Poetry is all passionate and feeling and animates the inanimate; Metaphysics are most perfect when concerned with universals; Poetry, when most concerned with particulars.
    Samuel Beckett (1906–1989)