Truth of a theory is independent of either its productivity or its non-application

Evidence

The inner validity, coherence, and objective significance of all sciences, technologies, and arts are completely independent of the fact that they are realized within and find their preconditions in a social life, just as independent as their objective sense is of the psychological processes through which their discoverers found them. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 210 (#expands, via linked claim)

A philosophy which is not self-consistent cannot be wholly true, but a philosophy which is self-consistent can very well be wholly false. The most fruitful philosophies have contained glaring inconsistencies, but for that very reason have been partially true. There is no reason to suppose that a self-consistent system contains more truth than one which, like Locke’s, is obviously more or less wrong. — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 2213 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Instead, my motif is that we must face the situation that we are theorists, for God’s sake, and not immediate practitioners. Theory needs to account for this in some way if it doesn’t want to make the revolutionary action into a deus ex machina and a captatio benevolentiae – ‘well I’m a theorist, but actually I mean practice, so I’m not really a theorist but rather have theory-practice and stand righteously before Lenin even when I don’t have practice’. I think practice is too damn serious for that. Unless there is a truly transparent dialectical relationship between practice and theory, it seems to me that theory has no right to cognitively invoke practice. Instead, it must stand on its own two legs, that is, prove itself theoretically, and in a strong sense at that – this is philosophy, after all. Just because true theory is practice doesn’t mean that theory can already become practice on its own. It can’t claim to be practice and no longer philosophy. — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 1202 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The truth of ideas is independent of their social origins — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 210; Theory must prove itself theoretically rather than gesture toward practice — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 1202; Mathematical facts are true independently of human thought — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 264 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• The truth of ideas is independent of their social origins #expands (0.85) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 210
• A self-consistent philosophy can be completely false while inconsistent systems hold truth #corroborates (0.80) — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 2213
• Theory must prove itself theoretically rather than gesture toward practice #corroborates (0.75) — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 1202
• Mathematical facts are true independently of human thought #exemplifies (0.75) — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 264