Feynman argues that disagreement becomes easier to resolve when people have an independent method for testing competing claims. In science, observation and experiment can provide standards that do not depend solely on authority, preference or rhetorical skill. When evidence is strong enough, arguments can shift from defending positions to examining what the observations actually show.

The wider passage contrasts mature areas of science with fields in which evidence is still limited. Feynman suggests that persistent disagreement is more likely when there is no reliable way to decide between competing explanations. His point is not that evidence removes every dispute, but that shared methods of verification can reduce arguments based mainly on opinion. The quotation therefore highlights the social value of objective standards: when people agree on how claims should be tested, disagreement can become more constructive and less personal.

Full quotation

“Many sciences have not developed this far, and the situation is the way it was in the early days of physics, when there was a lot of arguing because there were not so many observations. I bring this up because it is interesting that human relationships, if there is an independent way of judging truth, can become unargumentative.”