"The picture which the philosopher draws of the world is surely not one in which every stroke is necessitated by pure logic"
About this Quote
A philosopher does not simply derive a complete world from axioms the way a geometrician deduces theorems from first principles. The painterly metaphor matters: a world-picture is made of many strokes, and logic, while vital, cannot dictate every one. Logic sets constraints of coherence and guards against contradiction, but it does not decide which concepts deserve emphasis, which analogies illuminate, or which problems are most urgent. Between the rigid rails of deduction there is room for selection, judgment, imagination, and the lessons of experience. The same body of facts and the same logical rules can support different, equally rigorous frameworks. This underdetermination is not a defect but a feature of reflective inquiry that must grapple with a complex, evolving world.
Morris R. Cohen advanced a vision of philosophy that was both exacting and empirically alert. Working in the early twentieth century, amid the rise of logical positivism and the prestige of mathematical method, he resisted the fantasy that pure logic could generate a finished map of reality. He pressed for a critical realism that honors scientific method yet acknowledges that models, classifications, and ideals are human constructions guided by purposes and values. Even in science, idealizations are chosen for fruitfulness, simplicity, or scope, not because logic compels them uniquely. In law, a field Cohen knew well, decisions cannot be read off from statutes by syllogism alone; interpretation, precedent, and social consequences matter. The broader point is about intellectual responsibility. If philosophy is not a mechanical consequence of logic, then philosophers are accountable for their choices, the lenses they adopt, and the revisions they accept when new facts or arguments arrive. Cohen’s reminder cultivates humility without surrendering rigor: think clearly, respect the limits of deduction, and keep philosophy responsive to the world it seeks to understand.
Morris R. Cohen advanced a vision of philosophy that was both exacting and empirically alert. Working in the early twentieth century, amid the rise of logical positivism and the prestige of mathematical method, he resisted the fantasy that pure logic could generate a finished map of reality. He pressed for a critical realism that honors scientific method yet acknowledges that models, classifications, and ideals are human constructions guided by purposes and values. Even in science, idealizations are chosen for fruitfulness, simplicity, or scope, not because logic compels them uniquely. In law, a field Cohen knew well, decisions cannot be read off from statutes by syllogism alone; interpretation, precedent, and social consequences matter. The broader point is about intellectual responsibility. If philosophy is not a mechanical consequence of logic, then philosophers are accountable for their choices, the lenses they adopt, and the revisions they accept when new facts or arguments arrive. Cohen’s reminder cultivates humility without surrendering rigor: think clearly, respect the limits of deduction, and keep philosophy responsive to the world it seeks to understand.
Quote Details
| Topic | Reason & Logic |
|---|
More Quotes by Morris
Add to List
