Variety
There are many different kinds of thought experiments. All thought experiments, however, employ a methodology that is a priori, rather than a posteriori, in that they do not proceed by observation or physical experiment.
Thought experiments have been used in a variety of fields, including philosophy, law, physics, and mathematics. In philosophy, they have been used at least since classical antiquity, some pre-dating Socrates. In law, they were well-known to Roman lawyers quoted in the Digest. In physics and other sciences, notable thought experiments date from the 19th and especially the 20th century, but examples can be found at least as early as Galileo.
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Famous quotes containing the word variety:
“Belonging to a group can provide the child with a variety of resources that an individual friendship often cannota sense of collective participation, experience with organizational roles, and group support in the enterprise of growing up. Groups also pose for the child some of the most acute problems of social lifeof inclusion and exclusion, conformity and independence.”
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“In different hours, a man represents each of several of his ancestors, as if there were seven or eight of us rolled up in each mans skin,seven or eight ancestors at least, and they constitute the variety of notes for that new piece of music which his life is.”
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