There is no inductive method which could lead to the fundamental concepts of physics. Failure to understand this fact constituted the basic philosophical error of many investigations of the nineteenth century. It was probably the reason why the molecular theory and Maxwell’s theory were able to establish themselves only at a relatively late date. Logical thinking is necessarily deductive; it is based on hypothetical concepts and axioms. How can we hope to choose the latter in such a manner as to justify us in expecting success as a consequence?
‘Physics and Reality’ Journal of the Franklin Institute 221 (1936) reprinted in Out of my later years (Philosophical Library, New York, 1950) p. 78.
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