philosophy is part of the scaffolding employed in constructing scientific buildings

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An example of extended metaphor used in writing about science:

"Scientific knowledge contains no philosophical assumptions. From this it is often concluded that scientific research has neither philosophical presuppositions nor a philosophical import, whence science and philosophy would be water-tight compartments. But this is a hurried conclusion. Philosophy may not be found in the finished scientific buildings…but it is part of the scaffolding employed in their construction."

Mario Bunge

Bunge, M. (2017/1998). Philosophy of Science. Volume 1: From problem to theory (Revised ed.). Routledge.

[Please be aware that a word may have different nuances, or even a different meaning, according to context.]« Back to Index