“ We believe that all men are mortal because we know that there are innumerable instances of men dying, and no instances of their living beyond a certain age. ”
Bertrand Russell, The Problems of Philosophy (1912). copy citation
| Author | Bertrand Russell |
|---|---|
| Source | The Problems of Philosophy |
| Topic | age |
| Date | 1912 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/5827/5827-h/5827-h.htm |
Context
“Thus the difference between an a priori general proposition and an empirical generalization does not come in the meaning of the proposition; it comes in the nature of the evidence for it. In the empirical case, the evidence consists in the particular instances. We believe that all men are mortal because we know that there are innumerable instances of men dying, and no instances of their living beyond a certain age. We do not believe it because we see a connexion between the universal man and the universal mortal. It is true that if physiology can prove, assuming the general laws that govern living bodies, that no living organism can last for ever, that gives a connexion between man and mortality which would enable us to assert our proposition without appealing to the special evidence of men dying.”
source
