ABSTRACT
The fact that the philosophical views espoused over that cup of coffee go far beyond its use is significant. A philosophical view, by its nature, is rather far reaching; one might say, comprehensive. In the hands of great theoreticians, as great theorists are called among physical scientists, adherence to a given philosophical view can make an important difference in their work. The problem for the theoretical scientist is fundamentally one of evidence, and of standards of evidence, given a possible theoretical interpretation of the facts. The natural world, the world of becoming, was, for Plato, subject to a kind of inferior inquiry, in which one proceeds hypothetically —telling, in his language, likely stories—and which does the job, such as it is and such that it can be done, of natural science.
