 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
The influence of geometry upon philosophy and scientific method has been profound. Geometry, as established by the Greeks, starts with axioms which are (or are deemed to be) self-evident, and proceeds, by deductive reasoning, to arrive at theorems that are very far from self-evident. ...
When the Declaration of Independence says 'we hold these truths to be self-evident', it is modelling itself on Euclid. The eighteenth-century doctrine of natural rights is a search for Euclidean axioms in politics.' The form of Newton's Principia, in spite of its admittedly empirical material, is entirely dominated by Euclid.
Source: Bertrand Russell: A History of Western Philosophy, 1945, chapter 1:: the rise of Greek civilization, p.55
More info.: Not available.