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popper-logic-scientific-discovery

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26<br />

the <strong>logic</strong> of science<br />

establish or justify the statements which are being tested; nor is it<br />

intended to do so. Thus there is no danger of an infinite regress. But it<br />

must be admitted that the situation to which I have drawn attention—<br />

testability ad infinitum and the absence of ultimate statements which are<br />

not in need of tests—does create a problem. For, clearly, tests cannot in<br />

fact be carried on ad infinitum: sooner or later we have to stop. Without<br />

discussing this problem here in detail, I only wish to point out that the<br />

fact that the tests cannot go on for ever does not clash with my demand<br />

that every <strong>scientific</strong> statement must be testable. For I do not demand<br />

that every <strong>scientific</strong> statement must have in fact been tested before it is<br />

accepted. I only demand that every such statement must be capable of<br />

being tested; or in other words, I refuse to accept the view that there<br />

are statements in science which we have, resignedly, to accept as true<br />

merely because it does not seem possible, for <strong>logic</strong>al reasons, to test<br />

them.

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