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How Simple is it for Science to Acquire Wisdom According to its Choicest Aims?

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Abstract

Focusing on Nicholas Maxwell’s thesis that “science, properly understood, provides us the methodological key to the salvation of humanity”, the article discusses Maxwell’s aim oriented empiricism and his conception of Wisdom Inquiry as advocated in Maxwell’s (2009b, pp.1–56) essay entitled “How Can Life of Value Best Flourish in the Real World?” (in Science and the Pursuit of Wisdom: Studies in the Philosophy of Nicholas Maxwell 2009, edited by Leemon McHenry) and in Maxwell (2004 & 2009a).

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Acknowledgments

The author wishes to thank the anonymous referees for detailed comments on previous versions, resulting in many improvements in the text. The author gratefully acknowledges the support of the Fondation Maison des Sciences de l'Homme (54, Boulevard Raspail, 75006—PARIS), France, for research, during a visit in 2009.

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Correspondence to Giridhari Lal Pandit.

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Pandit, G.L. How Simple is it for Science to Acquire Wisdom According to its Choicest Aims?. Philosophia 38, 649–666 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11406-010-9252-y

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