... Why should we expect them to work any better when we apply them to problems that are even more difficult, such as the fundamental nature of the universe?
Last but not least, these non-empirical methods suffer from an insuperable logical problem: What should we do when different people’s intuitions or revelations conflict? How can we know which of the many purportedly sacred texts – whose assertions frequently contradict one another – are in fact sacred? Alan Sokal
A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence. David Hume
It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgement. Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet, 1888
What this journey really boils down to is trust in evidence. Because no matter how strange the conclusions may seem, it is only be accepting evidence that we have come to understand not just the universe but also our place in it. Michael Mosley, The Story of Science, BBC 2010
Mere lack of evidence, of course, is no reason to denounce a theory. Look at intelligent design. The fact that it is bollocks hasn’t stopped a good many people from believing in it. Darwinism itself is only supported by tons of evidence, which is a clear indication that Darwin didn’t write his books himself. Eric Idle
If I let myself believe anything on insufficient evidence, there may be no great harm done by the mere belief; it may be true after all, or I may never have occasion to exhibit it in outward acts. But I cannot help doing this great wrong towards Man, that I make myself credulous. The danger to society is not merely that it should believe wrong things, though that is great enough; but that it should become credulous, and lose the habit of testing things and inquiring into them; for then it must sink back into savagery. William Kingdon Clifford, The Scientific Basis of Morals, 1884
Almost everyone ... seems to be quite sure that the differences between the methodologies of history and of the natural sciences are vast. For, we are assured, it is well known that in the natural sciences we start from observation and proceed by induction to theory. And is it not obvious that in history we proceed very differently? Yes, I agree that we proceed very differently. But we do so in the natural sciences as well.
In both we start from myths – from traditional prejudices, beset with error – and from these we proceed by criticism: by the critical elimination of errors. In both the role of evidence is, in the main, to correct our mistakes, our prejudices, our tentative theories – that is, to play a part in the critical discussion, in the elimination of error. By correcting our mistakes, we raise new problems. And in order to solve these problems, we invent conjectures, that is, tentative theories, which we submit to critical discussion, directed towards the elimination of error. Karl Raimund Popper, The Myth of the Framework: In Defence of Science and Rationality
I admitted, that the world had existed millions of years. I am astonished at the ignorance of the masses on these subjects. Hugh Miller has it right when he says that ‘the battle of evidences must now be fought on the field of the natural sciences.’ James Abram Garfield, letter to Burke A Hinsdale 10 January 1859
In the collecting of evidence upon any medical subject, there are but three sources from which we can hope to obtain it: viz. from observation of the living subject; from examination of the dead; and from experiments upon living animals. Astley Paston Cooper
If at first you don’t succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried. Steven Wright
False views, if supported by some evidence, do little harm, for everyone takes a salutary pleasure in proving their falseness. Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man
Rumours at the time suggested Flight 103 was being used for drug smuggling. The claim is that US Intelligence knew about it which is why they were in Lockerbie so quickly. It’s even been suggested a body was spirited away. It’s claimed there was a lot of tampering with the evidence. Conspiracies: Lockerbie
It is easy enough to find a self-consistent theory provided that you are content to disregard half your evidence. The pursuit of truth requires an unflinching determination to take the whole truth into account. Alfred North Whitehead, Science and the Modern World, 1925
Take nothing on its looks; take everything on evidence. There’s no better rule. Charles Dickens, Great Expectations
There’s another way to phrase that and that is that the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence. It is basically saying the same thing in a different way. Simply because you do not have evidence that something does exist does not mean that you have evidence that it doesn’t exist. Donald Rumsfeld, re Iraq’s weapons of destruction
There is bullet-proof evidence of links between Al Qaeda and the government of Saddam Hussein. Donald Rumsfeld, Atlanta 27th September 2002
Leaving Saddam Hussein in possession of weapons of mass destruction for a few more months or years is not an option. Not in a post-September 11th world. Colin Powell, address to United Nations
Saddam Hussein already possesses two out of the three components needed to build a nuclear bomb. ibid.
Saddam Hussein has chemical weapons. ibid.
Iraqis continue to visit bin Laden in his new home in Afghanistan. ibid.
My colleagues, every statement I make today is backed up by sources. Solid sources. These are not assertions. ibid.
People will find that we presented a solid case, a case that is there, and was there and will remain there. Colin Powell
Irrefutable and undeniable. The New York Times
cf.
There is no evidence that Mr Hussein tried to buy uranium in Africa. The New York Times article Joseph Wilson, ‘What I Didn’t Find in Africa’
I think the real dishonesty of the government’s position is that Tony Blair could not be frank with the British people about the real reason why he believed Britain had to be part of invasion, which was to prove to the United States president that we were his most reliable, most sound ally. That was why he committed himself to President Bush. I don’t deny that Tony Blair genuinely believed there were weapons of mass destruction inside Iraq but the evidence for it was always very thin. The reality is he believed in the evidence because he needed to believe the evidence. Robin Cook, Foreign Secretary 1997-2001, Leader of the House 2001-2003, televised interview
Estoppel: a rule of evidence which precludes a person from denying the truth of some statement made by him of the existence of facts whether existing or not which he has by words or conduct led another to believe in. Osborn’s Concise Law Dictionary
Every 2 minutes in the United States someone is sexually assaulted. I Am Evidence, caption, Sky Atlantic 2018
Really stunning news today about the number of rape cases police have never even tried to solve, not even opening the rape kits. ibid. television news
It’s estimated that as many as 400,000 rape kits nationwide … ibid.
They have not been testing these kits for decades … We’re talking about poor black women. ibid. expert
In 2014 there were over half a million criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. Each one was prosecuted not by the police but by the lawyers of the Crown Prosecution Service. In every serious criminal case the Crown Prosecution Service must decide who to charge and what to charge them with. The Prosecutors s1e1: The Charge, BBC 2016
The Charge: Cheshire September 2013: A mother taking her children to school is involved in a collision that leads to a road traffic fatality … He must review the evidence and decide whether Mr Maan should be prosecuted. ibid.
Death by Dangerous Driving [far below] cf. Death by Careless Driving [below]. ibid.
Some charging decisions take much longer. ibid.
The trial is unlikely to take place for another nine months. ibid.
The ATM burglaries generated thousands of pieces of evidence … ‘When the police arrive, they’ll make good their escape from the back’ … The case will go to trial. ibid.
‘More and more involved with the victims.’ ibid. CPS prosecutor
National Scrutiny Panel: Religiously Aggravated Crime: ‘The next case involved damage to a Mosque and a copy of the Koran had been thrown on to the floor and ripped, and there was also urine on the carpet … The jury came back with a not-guilty verdict.’ ibid. chair of panel