SCIENCE VERSUS METAPHYSICS IQ 



one of the greatest advances in knowledge that man 

 has yet been able to make, that of modern science. 



Modern philosophical educational systems, if they 

 are to survive, must have as their central core the 

 well-tested evidence compiled by objective scientific 

 methods. Such knowledge must have stood the test 

 of being checked and re-checked by men constitu- 

 tionally agnostic in their mental attitudes; who can 

 say, "I don't know. What is the evidence?"; who are 

 constantly seeking critical new evidence concerning 

 the validity of their ideas. 



An anecdote that is becoming classic among scien- 

 tists will illustrate the point. Professor Wood, phys- 

 icist of Johns Hopkins, was asked to respond to the 

 toast "Physics and Metaphysics" at a dinner of some 

 philosophical society. His response was somewhat as 

 follows: 



The physicist gets an idea which seems to him to 

 be good. The more he mulls over it the better the 

 idea appears. He goes to the library and reads on 

 the subject and the more he reads the more truth 

 he can see in his idea. Finally he devises an experi- 

 mental test and goes to his laboratory to apply it. 

 As a result of long and careful experimental check- 

 ing he discards the idea as worthless. "Unfortu- 

 nately," Professor Wood is said to have concluded, 

 "the metaphysician has no laboratory." 



