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544 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1934
We do not know: we can only guess.
The value today of philosophy to physics seems to me to be something like the value of early nation-states to their peoples. It is only a small exaggeration to say that, until the introduction of the post office, the chief service of nation-states was to protect their peoples from other nation-states. The insights of philosophers have occasionally benefited physicists, but generally in a negative fashion—by protecting them from the preconceptions of other philosophers.One such preconception was the idea that science is based on inductive logic -- whatever that means -- it is far from clear. I was told this in elementary and high school. This idea, which apparently we owe (at least in part) to Immanuel Kant, is quite, quite wrong. It makes no sense, as Popper clearly explains in his first chapter. Furthermore, as a description of how actual scientists actually think, it utterly fails.
--Steven Weinberg