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Instrumentalism

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759:: "Strictly we should distinguish two sorts of anti-realism. According to the first sort, talk of unobservable entities is not to be understood literally at all. So when a scientist pus forward a theory about electrons, for example, we should not take him to be asserting the existence of entities called 'electrons'. Rather, his talk of electrons is metaphorical. This form of anti-realism was popular in the first half of the 20th century, but few people advocate it today. It was motivated largely by a doctrine in the philosophy of language, according to which it is not possible to make meaningful assertions about things that cannot in principle be observed, a doctrine that few contemporary philosophers accept. The second sort of anti-realism accepts that talk of unobservable entities should be taken at face value: if a theory says that electrons are negatively charged, it is true if electrons do exist and are negatively charged, but false otherwise. But we will never know which, says the anti-realist. So the correct attitude towards the claims that scientists make about unobservable reality is one of total agnosticism. They are either true or false, but we are incapable of finding out which. Most modern anti-realism is of this second sort". 829:
which constitute' that reality (p 7). Thus, physical theory cannot explain—in the stated sense—the laws established by experiment unless it depends on metaphysics and thus remains subject to the interminable disputes of metaphysicians. Worse still, the teachings of no metaphysical school are sufficiently detailed and precise to account for all of the elements of physical theory (p 18). Duhem instead assigns to physical theories a more modest but autonomous and readily attainable aim: 'A physical theory is not an explanation. It is a system of mathematical propositions, derived from a small number of principles, whose purpose is to represent a set of experimental laws as simply, as completely, and as exactly as possible (Duhem 1914, p. 24)".
795:(1906), which may well be, to this day, the best overall book on the subject. Its main theses, although quite novel when first put forward, have in the meantime become commonplace, so I shall review them summarily without detailed argument, just to associate them with his name. But first I ought to say that neither in the first nor in the second (1914) edition of his book did Duhem take into account—or even so much as mention—the deep changes that were then taking place in physics. Still, the subsequent success and current entrenchment of Duhem's ideas are due above all to their remarkable agreement with—and the light they throw on—the practice of mathematical physics in the twentieth century. In the first part of 881:(§6.1.4), according to which the so-called particles cannot be assigned a definite trajectory in ordinary space. But quantum field theories go a long step further and—or so it would seem—conceive 'particles' as excitation modes of the field. This, I presume, motivated Howard Stein's saying that 'the quantum theory of fields is the contemporary locus of metaphysical research' (1970, p. 285). Finally, the very fact that physicists conspicuously and fruitfully resort to unperspicacious theories can teach us something about the aim and reach of science. Here is how physicists work, dirty-handed, in their everyday practice, a far cry from what is taught at the Sunday school of the 'scientific worldview' ". 979:, quote: "Instrumentalism can be formulated as the thesis that scientific theories—the theories of the so-called 'pure' sciences—are nothing but computational rules (or inference rules); of the same character, fundamentally, as the computation rules of the so-called 'applied' sciences. (One might even formulate it as the thesis that "pure" science is a misnomer, and that all science is 'applied'.) Now my reply to instrumentalism consists in showing that there are profound differences between "pure" theories and technological computation rules, and that instrumentalism can give a perfect description of these rules but is quite unable to account for the difference between them and the theories". 266:, how mind's own categorization of noumena renders space Euclidean, time constant, and objects' motions exhibiting the very determinism predicted by Newtonian physics. Kant apparently presumed that the human mind, rather than a phenomenon itself that had evolved, had been predetermined and set forth upon the formation of humankind. In any event, the mind also was the veil of appearance that scientific methods could never lift. And yet the mind could ponder itself and discover such truths, although not on a theoretical level, but only by means of ethics. Kant's metaphysics, then, 183:, argued that an object's putative primary qualities as recognized by scientists, such as shape, extension, and impenetrability, are inconceivable without the putative secondary qualities of color, hardness, warmth, and so on. He also posed the question how or why an object could be properly conceived to exist independently of any perception of it. Berkeley did not object to everyday talk about the reality of objects, but instead took issue with philosophers' talk, who spoke as if they knew something beyond sensory impressions that ordinary folk did not. 365:. So by translating theoretical terms into observational terms and then decoding the theory's mathematical/logical structure, one could check whether the statement indeed matched patterns of experience, and thereby verify the scientific theory false or true. Such verification would be possible, as never before in science, since translation of theoretical terms into observational terms would make the scientific theory purely empirical, none metaphysical. Yet the logical positivists ran into insuperable difficulties. 1969: 105: 197:, although Comtean positivism added other principles concerning the scope, method, and uses of science that Berkeley would have disavowed. Berkeley also noted the usefulness of a scientific theory having terms that merely serve to aid calculations without their having to refer to anything in particular, so long as they proved useful in practice. Berkeley thus predated the insight that 1957: 873:, including quote: "First, quantum field theories have been the working theories at the frontline of physics for over 30 years. Second, these theories appear to do away with the familiar conception of physical systems as aggregates of substantive individual particles. This conception was already undermined by 449:, wherein a scientific theory was held to be a logical structure whose terms all ultimately refer to some form of observation, while an objective process neutrally arbitrates theory choice, compelling scientists to decide which scientific theory was superior. Physicists knew better, but, busy developing the 223:
on par with Newton's theory of motion, Hume supposed that he had championed inductivism over scientific realism. Upon reading Hume's work, Immanuel Kant was "awakened from dogmatic slumber", and thus sought to neutralise any threat to science posed by Humean empiricism. Kant would develop the first
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as the more fundamental, and no longer even hoped to discover what entities and processes might be truly fundamental to nature, perhaps not even the field. Kuhn had not claimed to have developed a novel thesis, but instead hoped to synthesize more usefully recent developments in the philosophy and
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was naively mistaken. By then the leader of the legendary venture, Hempel raised the white flag that signaled verificationism's demise. Suddenly striking Western society, then, was Kuhn's landmark thesis, introduced by none other than Carnap, verificationism's greatest firebrand. Instrumentalism
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as to new basis of scientific theory, all scientific terms to refer to either actual or potential sensations, thus eliminating hypotheses while permitting such seemingly disparate scientific theories as physical and psychological to share terms and forms. Phenomenalism was insuperably difficult to
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that religious myth and philosophical speculation have hitherto been unable to supply. Their explanation makes no sense unless (i) there is, 'beneath the sense appearances revealed to us by our perceptions, a reality different from these appearances' and (ii) we know 'the nature of the elements
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a set of experimental laws, without pretending to explain these laws' (Duhem 1914, p. 3). Duhem resolutely sides with the latter. His rejection of the former rests on his understanding of 'explanation' ('explication' in French), which he expresses as follows: 'To explain,
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group of philosophers and scientists as well as important contributors elsewhere. In order to rationalize the ubiquitous use of terms which might otherwise be taken to refer to unobservables in scientific discourse, they adopted a non-literal
384:, whereby scientific theory refers to objects observable in space and at least in principle already recognizable by physicists. Finding strict empiricism untenable, verificationism underwent "liberalization of empiricism". 957:
Torretti 1999 p. 98: "I shall dwell at some length on Kant's conception of the sources and scope of Newton's conceptual frame, for it was the first full-blown philosophy of physics and remains to this day the most
377:—the traditional view traced to Descartes as founder of modern Western philosophy—whereupon only nonfoundationalism was found tenable. Science, then, could not find a secure foundation of indubitable truth. 186:
For Berkeley, a scientific theory does not state causes or explanations, but simply identifies perceived types of objects and traces their typical regularities. Berkeley thus anticipated the basis of what
457:, that their talk, largely metaphorical, perhaps even metaphysical, was unintelligible to the public, while the steep mathematics warded off philosophers of physics. By the 1980s, physicists regarded not 201:—who originated in the late 1920s, but who, by the 1950s, had softened into logical empiricists—would be compelled to accept: theoretical terms in science do not always translate into 47:
in a particular domain of nature by formulating laws, which state or summarize regularities, while theories themselves do not reveal supposedly hidden aspects of nature that somehow
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even suggested that empiricism's basis was pragmatic. Recognizing that verification—proving a theory false or true—was unattainable, they discarded that demand and focused on
270:, secured science from doubt—in that it was a case of "synthetic a priori" knowledge ("universal, necessary and informative")—and yet discarded hope of scientific realism. 361:. They believed that scientific terms lacked meanings unto themselves, but acquired meanings from the logical structure that was the entire theory that in turn matched 445:, which usually involved a belief that science was progressively unveiling a truer view, and building a better understanding, of nature. The professional approach was 43:
reveals nothing known either true or false about nature's unobservable objects, properties or processes. Scientific theory is merely a tool whereby humans predict
791:, Duhem was a practicing scientist who devoted an important part of his adult life to the history and philosophy of physics. ... His philosophy is contained in 350:. Believing a theory's posited unobservables to always correspond to observations, the verificationists viewed a scientific theory's theoretical terms, such as 219:, which had been the prevailing, or at least the professed view concerning the attainment of scientific knowledge. Regarding himself as having placed his own 502:, followed Popper's critique of instrumentalism and argued that a scientific theory stripped of its explanatory content would be of strictly limited utility. 894: 2509: 115: 1026: 824:
which enfold it like veils, in order to see the reality face to face' (pp 3–4). Authors in the first group expect from physics the true vision of
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questions 'external' to the frameworks for knowledge represented by theories are also meaningless (the choice of a framework is made solely on
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on which we can base scientific investigations of mind and brain, but that acting as if other beings have beliefs is a successful strategy.
848: 319:. Logical positivists aimed not to instruct or restrict scientists, but to enlighten and structure philosophical discourse to render 2412: 1749: 1186: 2733: 1415: 675: 437: 309:
implement, yet heavily influenced a new generation of philosophers of science, who emerged in the 1920s while terming themselves
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theory of motion, whereby any object instantly interacts with all other objects across the universe, motivated the founder of
1586: 396:—its probable truth—but, despite his great mathematical and logical skill, discovered equations never operable to yield over 492:
instead. Popper alleged that instrumentalism reduces basic science to what is merely applied science. The British physicist
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are useful instruments, and that the worth of an idea is based on how effective it is in explaining and predicting natural
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Gouinlock, James, "What is the Legacy of Instrumentalism? Rorty's Interpretation of Dewey." In Herman J. Saatkamp, ed.,
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focuses on belief in the domain of the observable, so for this reason it is described as a form of instrumentalism.
2936: 595: 799:, Duhem contrasts two opinions concerning the aim of physical theory. For some authors, it ought to furnish 'the 2685: 2073: 1779: 870: 380:
And since science aims to reveal not private but public truths, verificationists switched from phenomenalism to
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that would verify philosophical statements as well as scientific theories, and align all human knowledge into a
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according to which these terms acquire meaning by being associated with terms for observables (for example, '
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of a set of experimentally established laws', while for others it is 'an abstract system whose aim is to
2701: 2597: 2581: 2565: 2365: 878: 605: 254:, which are humans' recognized experiences. And so mind itself contains the structure that determines 62:'s ambitions to uncover metaphysical truth about nature, instrumentalism is usually categorized as an 2781: 2333: 2318: 2149: 1664: 1644: 1552: 1548: 1471: 1163: 712:'). Insuperable difficulties with this semantics led ultimately (in large measure) to the demise of 664: 300:, whereby all that exists is one's own mind. Mach's positivism also strongly asserted the ultimate 2870: 2717: 2434: 2328: 2323: 1998: 1669: 1309: 1294: 1283: 1260: 2844: 2557: 2360: 2338: 2083: 1907: 1654: 1649: 1622: 1557: 1511: 1506: 1441: 1334: 520: 511: 267: 233: 64: 2268: 2234: 1862: 1852: 1270: 1196: 1153: 895:"Physicists debate whether the world is made of particles or fields—or something else entirely 2765: 2385: 2370: 2274: 1712: 1707: 1659: 1627: 1617: 1576: 1356: 1233: 1139: 756: 651: 498: 441:, there were roughly two prevailing views about the nature of science. The popular view was 20: 2961: 2773: 2444: 2407: 2308: 2303: 2239: 2098: 1692: 1687: 1562: 1446: 1351: 1324: 1206: 489: 454: 126: 8: 2956: 2951: 2941: 2931: 2912: 2749: 2197: 2180: 2134: 2124: 1991: 1754: 1436: 1329: 1304: 1289: 1218: 610: 284:
Since the mind has virtually no power to know anything beyond direct sensory experience,
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reasoned that the mind is the precondition of experience and so, as the bridge from the
179:, to speculate that matter is capable of thought. The next leading British empiricist, 2834: 2824: 2625: 2501: 2375: 2296: 2260: 2068: 1902: 1857: 1744: 1567: 1388: 1223: 1213: 1016: 745: 717: 713: 680: 630: 532: 475: 446: 442: 289: 279: 202: 172: 163: 59: 327:, freeing humankind from so many of its problems due to confused or unclear language. 2799: 2615: 2491: 1961: 1734: 1591: 1381: 1346: 1240: 1179: 1004: 994: 991:
The fabric of reality : the science of parallel universes-- and its implications
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of a region of a field, or is something else altogether. Instrumentalism holds that
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Exceeding Our Grasp: Science, History, and the Problem of Unconceived Alternatives
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these laws. Instrumentalism is a perspective originally introduced by
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need only be useful to predict the phenomena, the observed outcomes.
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often does not even discern unobservable from observable entities.
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Chakravartty, Anjan (August 13, 2017). Zalta, Edward N. (ed.).
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Conjectures and Refutations: The Growth of Scientific Knowledge
708:'), or with demonstrable laboratory procedures (a view called ' 488:
via its focus on sensations rather than realism, and developed
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is a discrete entity enjoying individual existence, or is an
32: 1245: 354:, as metaphorical or elliptical at observations, such as 935: 933: 931: 929: 392:. Carnap sought simply to quantify a universal law's 988: 506:
Constructive empiricism as a form of instrumentalism
1088:. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press, 1995. 926: 861: 859: 857: 330:The verificationists expected a strict gap between 2923: 1071:– via Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 854: 771: 769: 767: 753:Philosophy of Science: A Very Short Introduction 728:: a number of logical empiricists also held the 91:There are multiple versions of instrumentalism. 1063:. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University 993:(First American ed.). New York, New York. 869:(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), 779:(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), 238:To save Newton's law of universal gravitation, 2510:Fourth Great Debate in international relations 39:. 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Mach's positivism asserted 31:is a methodological view that 1: 2758:Knowledge and Human Interests 2094:Rankean historical positivism 224:stark philosophy of physics. 125:or discuss this issue on the 2876: 2542:A General View of Positivism 1043:van Fraassen, Bas C., 1980, 971:(London: Routledge, 2003 ), 246:, which are how the world's 7: 2742:Conjectures and Refutations 2574:The Logic of Modern Physics 2391:Deductive-nomological model 1492:Hypothetico-deductive model 1467:Deductive-nomological model 1452:Constructivist epistemology 584: 484:, rejected all variants of 10: 2978: 2702:The Poverty of Historicism 2598:The Universe in a Nutshell 2582:Language, Truth, and Logic 2566:The Analysis of Sensations 1095: 509: 473: 424: 277: 248:things exist in themselves 231: 161: 94: 2910: 2858: 2792: 2782:The Rhetoric of Economics 2669: 2608: 2525: 2472: 2468: 2463:Positivist-related debate 2457: 2284: 2253: 2168: 2112: 2056: 2025: 2021: 1946: 1778: 1680: 1610: 1553:Semantic view of theories 1472:Epistemological anarchism 1424: 1409:dependent and independent 1146: 1103:The Philosophy of Physics 867:The Philosophy of Physics 777:The Philosophy of Physics 527:In the philosophy of mind 338:, mirrored by a theory's 2718:Two Dogmas of Empiricism 2435:Structural functionalism 2361:Naturalism in literature 1295:Intertheoretic reduction 1284:Ignoramus et ignorabimus 1261:Functional contextualism 923:Torretti 1999 p. 101–02. 616: 480:One scientific realist, 400:degree of confirmation. 2937:Epistemology of science 2845:Willard Van Orman Quine 2558:Idealism and Positivism 2150:Critique of metaphysics 2084:Sociological positivism 1780:Philosophers of science 1558:Scientific essentialism 1507:Model-dependent realism 1442:Constructive empiricism 1335:Evidence-based practice 521:constructive empiricism 512:Constructive empiricism 406:paradox of confirmation 268:transcendental idealism 234:Transcendental idealism 228:Transcendental idealism 2890: 2859:Concepts in contention 2500: 2490: 2480: 2371:Objectivity in science 2269:Non-Euclidean geometry 2235:Methodological dualism 2196: 1863:Alfred North Whitehead 1853:Charles Sanders Peirce 879:Fermi–Dirac statistics 748:(as in Carnap 1950)". 659:Cite journal requires 606:Fact–value distinction 551:Relation to pragmatism 394:degree of confirmation 363:patterns of experience 2947:Metatheory of science 2766:The Poverty of Theory 2386:Philosophy of science 2275:Uncertainty principle 1962:Philosophy portal 1713:Hard and soft science 1708:Faith and rationality 1577:Scientific skepticism 1357:Scientific Revolution 1140:Philosophy of science 948:Torretti 1999 p. 103. 939:Torretti 1999 p. 102. 519:'s (1980) project of 499:The Fabric of Reality 431:From the 1930s until 321:scientific philosophy 114:may contain material 21:philosophy of science 2774:The Scientific Image 2445:Structuration theory 2408:Qualitative research 2309:Criticism of science 2304:Critical rationalism 2240:Problem of induction 1688:Criticism of science 1563:Scientific formalism 1447:Constructive realism 1352:Scientific pluralism 1325:Problem of induction 1086:Rorty and Pragmatism 1045:The Scientific Image 914:Torretti 1999 p. 75. 826:things-in-themselves 637:"Scientific Realism" 490:critical rationalism 466:history of science. 455:quantum field theory 410:scientific worldview 325:scientific worldview 288:'s early version of 191:in the 1830s called 123:improve this section 2750:One-Dimensional Man 2198:Geisteswissenschaft 2181:Confirmation holism 1755:Rhetoric of science 1693:Descriptive science 1437:Confirmation holism 1330:Scientific evidence 1290:Inductive reasoning 1219:Demarcation problem 1101:Torretti, Roberto, 899:Scientific American 797:La thĂ©orie physique 681:logical empiricists 611:Inductive reasoning 390:confirmation theory 311:logical positivists 221:theory of knowledge 203:observational terms 199:logical positivists 2825:Hans-Georg Gadamer 2626:Alexander Bogdanov 2502:Positivismusstreit 2297:Post-behavioralism 2261:history of science 2113:Principal concepts 2069:Logical positivism 1974:Science portal 1903:Carl Gustav Hempel 1858:Wilhelm Windelband 1745:Questionable cause 1568:Scientific realism 1389:Underdetermination 1224:Empirical evidence 1214:Creative synthesis 893:Meinard Kuhlmann, 865:Roberto Torretti, 809:logically classify 775:Roberto Torretti, 716:and the growth of 714:logical empiricism 631:Anjan Chakravartty 563:Notable proponents 533:philosophy of mind 476:Scientific realism 470:Scientific realism 447:logical empiricism 443:scientific realism 290:logical positivism 280:Logical empiricism 274:Logical empiricism 173:British empiricism 164:British empiricism 158:British empiricism 60:scientific realism 2919: 2918: 2906: 2905: 2902: 2901: 2800:Theodor W. Adorno 2616:Richard Avenarius 2492:Werturteilsstreit 2453: 2452: 2401:Sense-data theory 2099:Polish positivism 2074:Positivist school 1981: 1980: 1823: 1822: 1735:Normative science 1592:Uniformitarianism 1347:Scientific method 1241:Explanatory power 843:P Kyle Stanford, 543:are not actually 341:theoretical terms 294:empirio-criticism 155: 154: 147: 86:theoretical terms 41:scientific theory 2969: 2895: 2881: 2805:Gaston Bachelard 2726:Truth and Method 2710:World Hypotheses 2590:The Two Cultures 2505: 2495: 2485: 2470: 2469: 2459: 2458: 2201: 2155:Unity of science 2064:Legal positivism 2023: 2022: 2008: 2001: 1994: 1985: 1984: 1972: 1971: 1960: 1959: 1958: 1933:Bas van Fraassen 1888:Hans Reichenbach 1868:Bertrand Russell 1785: 1784: 1611:Philosophy of... 1394:Unity of science 1187:Commensurability 1133: 1126: 1119: 1110: 1109: 1089: 1082: 1073: 1072: 1070: 1068: 1054: 1048: 1041: 1035: 1034: 1020: 1012: 986: 980: 965: 959: 955: 949: 946: 940: 937: 924: 921: 915: 912: 906: 891: 882: 863: 852: 841: 830: 773: 762: 668: 662: 657: 655: 647: 645: 643: 627: 517:Bas van Fraassen 356:white streak in 347:observable terms 150: 143: 139: 136: 130: 107: 106: 99: 78:particle physics 76:spoken about in 2977: 2976: 2972: 2971: 2970: 2968: 2967: 2966: 2922: 2921: 2920: 2915: 2898: 2854: 2820:Paul Feyerabend 2815:Wilhelm Dilthey 2788: 2665: 2604: 2521: 2464: 2449: 2396:Ramsey sentence 2351:Instrumentalism 2280: 2258: 2256:paradigm shifts 2249: 2186:Critical theory 2164: 2160:Verificationism 2108: 2104:Russian Machism 2052: 2017: 2012: 1982: 1977: 1966: 1956: 1954: 1942: 1923:Paul Feyerabend 1883:Michael Polanyi 1819: 1805:Galileo Galilei 1774: 1760:Science studies 1676: 1606: 1597:Verificationism 1502:Instrumentalism 1487:Foundationalism 1462:Conventionalism 1420: 1256:Feminist method 1142: 1137: 1098: 1093: 1092: 1083: 1076: 1066: 1064: 1055: 1051: 1042: 1038: 1014: 1013: 1001: 987: 983: 967:Karl R Popper, 966: 962: 956: 952: 947: 943: 938: 927: 922: 918: 913: 909: 892: 885: 864: 855: 842: 833: 816:, is to divest 774: 765: 671:Edward N. Zalta 660: 658: 649: 648: 641: 639: 628: 624: 619: 587: 565: 553: 539:attitudes like 529: 514: 508: 478: 472: 429: 427:Historical turn 423: 421:Historical turn 375:foundationalism 316:verificationism 282: 276: 236: 230: 214:Francis Bacon's 181:George Berkeley 166: 160: 151: 140: 134: 131: 120: 108: 104: 97: 82:excitation mode 29:instrumentalism 17: 12: 11: 5: 2975: 2965: 2964: 2959: 2954: 2949: 2944: 2939: 2934: 2917: 2916: 2911: 2908: 2907: 2904: 2903: 2900: 2899: 2897: 2896: 2887: 2882: 2873: 2868: 2862: 2860: 2856: 2855: 2853: 2852: 2847: 2842: 2837: 2832: 2827: 2822: 2817: 2812: 2807: 2802: 2796: 2794: 2790: 2789: 2787: 2786: 2778: 2770: 2762: 2754: 2746: 2738: 2730: 2722: 2714: 2706: 2698: 2690: 2682: 2673: 2671: 2667: 2666: 2664: 2663: 2658: 2653: 2648: 2643: 2641:Émile Durkheim 2638: 2633: 2628: 2623: 2618: 2612: 2610: 2606: 2605: 2603: 2602: 2594: 2586: 2578: 2570: 2562: 2554: 2546: 2538: 2529: 2527: 2523: 2522: 2520: 2519: 2513: 2507: 2497: 2487: 2482:Methodenstreit 2476: 2474: 2466: 2465: 2455: 2454: 2451: 2450: 2448: 2447: 2442: 2437: 2432: 2431: 2430: 2423:Social science 2420: 2415: 2410: 2405: 2404: 2403: 2398: 2393: 2383: 2378: 2376:Operationalism 2373: 2368: 2363: 2358: 2353: 2348: 2343: 2342: 2341: 2336: 2331: 2326: 2321: 2311: 2306: 2301: 2300: 2299: 2288: 2286: 2285:Related topics 2282: 2281: 2279: 2278: 2272: 2265: 2263: 2251: 2250: 2248: 2247: 2242: 2237: 2232: 2227: 2222: 2217: 2212: 2207: 2202: 2193: 2191:Falsifiability 2188: 2183: 2178: 2176:Antipositivism 2172: 2170: 2166: 2165: 2163: 2162: 2157: 2152: 2147: 2142: 2137: 2132: 2127: 2122: 2116: 2114: 2110: 2109: 2107: 2106: 2101: 2096: 2091: 2086: 2081: 2079:Postpositivism 2076: 2071: 2066: 2060: 2058: 2054: 2053: 2051: 2050: 2045: 2040: 2035: 2029: 2027: 2019: 2018: 2011: 2010: 2003: 1996: 1988: 1979: 1978: 1976: 1964: 1952: 1947: 1944: 1943: 1941: 1940: 1935: 1930: 1925: 1920: 1915: 1910: 1908:W. V. O. Quine 1905: 1900: 1895: 1890: 1885: 1880: 1875: 1870: 1865: 1860: 1855: 1850: 1845: 1843:Rudolf Steiner 1840: 1835: 1833:Henri PoincarĂ© 1830: 1824: 1821: 1820: 1818: 1817: 1812: 1807: 1802: 1797: 1791: 1789: 1782: 1776: 1775: 1773: 1772: 1767: 1762: 1757: 1752: 1747: 1742: 1737: 1732: 1731: 1730: 1720: 1715: 1710: 1705: 1703:Exact sciences 1700: 1695: 1690: 1684: 1682: 1681:Related topics 1678: 1677: 1675: 1674: 1673: 1672: 1667: 1662: 1657: 1652: 1647: 1640:Social science 1637: 1636: 1635: 1633:Space and time 1625: 1620: 1614: 1612: 1608: 1607: 1605: 1604: 1599: 1594: 1589: 1584: 1579: 1574: 1565: 1560: 1555: 1546: 1537: 1532: 1519: 1514: 1509: 1504: 1499: 1494: 1489: 1484: 1479: 1474: 1469: 1464: 1459: 1454: 1449: 1444: 1439: 1434: 1428: 1426: 1422: 1421: 1419: 1418: 1413: 1412: 1411: 1406: 1396: 1391: 1386: 1385: 1384: 1379: 1374: 1364: 1359: 1354: 1349: 1344: 1342:Scientific law 1339: 1338: 1337: 1327: 1322: 1317: 1312: 1307: 1302: 1297: 1292: 1287: 1280: 1279: 1278: 1273: 1263: 1258: 1253: 1251:Falsifiability 1248: 1243: 1238: 1237: 1236: 1226: 1221: 1216: 1211: 1210: 1209: 1199: 1194: 1189: 1184: 1183: 1182: 1180:Mill's Methods 1172: 1161: 1156: 1150: 1148: 1144: 1143: 1136: 1135: 1128: 1121: 1113: 1107: 1106: 1097: 1094: 1091: 1090: 1074: 1049: 1036: 999: 981: 960: 950: 941: 925: 916: 907: 883: 853: 831: 763: 761: 760: 751:Samir Okasha, 710:operationalism 661:|journal= 621: 620: 618: 615: 614: 613: 608: 603: 598: 593: 586: 583: 582: 581: 576: 564: 561: 552: 549: 528: 525: 510:Main article: 507: 504: 474:Main article: 471: 468: 451:Standard Model 425:Main article: 422: 419: 367:Moritz Schlick 278:Main article: 275: 272: 232:Main article: 229: 226: 162:Main article: 159: 156: 153: 152: 111: 109: 102: 96: 93: 15: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 2974: 2963: 2960: 2958: 2955: 2953: 2950: 2948: 2945: 2943: 2940: 2938: 2935: 2933: 2930: 2929: 2927: 2914: 2909: 2894: 2893: 2888: 2886: 2883: 2880: 2879: 2874: 2872: 2869: 2867: 2864: 2863: 2861: 2857: 2851: 2848: 2846: 2843: 2841: 2838: 2836: 2835:György Lukács 2833: 2831: 2828: 2826: 2823: 2821: 2818: 2816: 2813: 2811: 2808: 2806: 2803: 2801: 2798: 2797: 2795: 2791: 2784: 2783: 2779: 2776: 2775: 2771: 2768: 2767: 2763: 2760: 2759: 2755: 2752: 2751: 2747: 2744: 2743: 2739: 2736: 2735: 2731: 2728: 2727: 2723: 2720: 2719: 2715: 2712: 2711: 2707: 2704: 2703: 2699: 2696: 2695: 2691: 2688: 2687: 2683: 2680: 2679: 2675: 2674: 2672: 2668: 2662: 2661:Vienna Circle 2659: 2657: 2656:Berlin Circle 2654: 2652: 2649: 2647: 2644: 2642: 2639: 2637: 2636:Eugen DĂĽhring 2634: 2632: 2631:Auguste Comte 2629: 2627: 2624: 2622: 2619: 2617: 2614: 2613: 2611: 2607: 2600: 2599: 2595: 2592: 2591: 2587: 2584: 2583: 2579: 2576: 2575: 2571: 2568: 2567: 2563: 2560: 2559: 2555: 2552: 2551: 2547: 2544: 2543: 2539: 2536: 2535: 2531: 2530: 2528: 2526:Contributions 2524: 2517: 2514: 2511: 2508: 2504: 2503: 2498: 2494: 2493: 2488: 2484: 2483: 2478: 2477: 2475: 2471: 2467: 2460: 2456: 2446: 2443: 2441: 2440:Structuralism 2438: 2436: 2433: 2429: 2426: 2425: 2424: 2421: 2419: 2416: 2414: 2411: 2409: 2406: 2402: 2399: 2397: 2394: 2392: 2389: 2388: 2387: 2384: 2382: 2381:Phenomenalism 2379: 2377: 2374: 2372: 2369: 2367: 2364: 2362: 2359: 2357: 2354: 2352: 2349: 2347: 2344: 2340: 2337: 2335: 2332: 2330: 2327: 2325: 2322: 2320: 2317: 2316: 2315: 2312: 2310: 2307: 2305: 2302: 2298: 2295: 2294: 2293: 2292:Behavioralism 2290: 2289: 2287: 2283: 2276: 2273: 2270: 2267: 2266: 2264: 2262: 2257: 2252: 2246: 2243: 2241: 2238: 2236: 2233: 2231: 2228: 2226: 2223: 2221: 2220:Human science 2218: 2216: 2213: 2211: 2208: 2206: 2203: 2200: 2199: 2194: 2192: 2189: 2187: 2184: 2182: 2179: 2177: 2174: 2173: 2171: 2167: 2161: 2158: 2156: 2153: 2151: 2148: 2146: 2145:Pseudoscience 2143: 2141: 2140:Justification 2138: 2136: 2133: 2131: 2128: 2126: 2123: 2121: 2118: 2117: 2115: 2111: 2105: 2102: 2100: 2097: 2095: 2092: 2090: 2087: 2085: 2082: 2080: 2077: 2075: 2072: 2070: 2067: 2065: 2062: 2061: 2059: 2055: 2049: 2046: 2044: 2041: 2039: 2036: 2034: 2031: 2030: 2028: 2024: 2020: 2016: 2009: 2004: 2002: 1997: 1995: 1990: 1989: 1986: 1975: 1970: 1965: 1963: 1953: 1951: 1948: 1945: 1939: 1936: 1934: 1931: 1929: 1926: 1924: 1921: 1919: 1916: 1914: 1911: 1909: 1906: 1904: 1901: 1899: 1896: 1894: 1893:Rudolf Carnap 1891: 1889: 1886: 1884: 1881: 1879: 1876: 1874: 1871: 1869: 1866: 1864: 1861: 1859: 1856: 1854: 1851: 1849: 1846: 1844: 1841: 1839: 1836: 1834: 1831: 1829: 1828:Auguste Comte 1826: 1825: 1816: 1813: 1811: 1808: 1806: 1803: 1801: 1800:Francis Bacon 1798: 1796: 1793: 1792: 1790: 1786: 1783: 1781: 1777: 1771: 1768: 1766: 1763: 1761: 1758: 1756: 1753: 1751: 1748: 1746: 1743: 1741: 1738: 1736: 1733: 1729: 1728:Pseudoscience 1726: 1725: 1724: 1721: 1719: 1716: 1714: 1711: 1709: 1706: 1704: 1701: 1699: 1696: 1694: 1691: 1689: 1686: 1685: 1683: 1679: 1671: 1668: 1666: 1663: 1661: 1658: 1656: 1653: 1651: 1648: 1646: 1643: 1642: 1641: 1638: 1634: 1631: 1630: 1629: 1626: 1624: 1621: 1619: 1616: 1615: 1613: 1609: 1603: 1600: 1598: 1595: 1593: 1590: 1588: 1587:Structuralism 1585: 1583: 1580: 1578: 1575: 1573: 1569: 1566: 1564: 1561: 1559: 1556: 1554: 1550: 1549:Received view 1547: 1545: 1541: 1538: 1536: 1533: 1531: 1527: 1523: 1520: 1518: 1515: 1513: 1510: 1508: 1505: 1503: 1500: 1498: 1495: 1493: 1490: 1488: 1485: 1483: 1480: 1478: 1475: 1473: 1470: 1468: 1465: 1463: 1460: 1458: 1457:Contextualism 1455: 1453: 1450: 1448: 1445: 1443: 1440: 1438: 1435: 1433: 1430: 1429: 1427: 1423: 1417: 1414: 1410: 1407: 1405: 1402: 1401: 1400: 1397: 1395: 1392: 1390: 1387: 1383: 1380: 1378: 1375: 1373: 1370: 1369: 1368: 1365: 1363: 1360: 1358: 1355: 1353: 1350: 1348: 1345: 1343: 1340: 1336: 1333: 1332: 1331: 1328: 1326: 1323: 1321: 1318: 1316: 1313: 1311: 1308: 1306: 1303: 1301: 1298: 1296: 1293: 1291: 1288: 1286: 1285: 1281: 1277: 1274: 1272: 1269: 1268: 1267: 1264: 1262: 1259: 1257: 1254: 1252: 1249: 1247: 1244: 1242: 1239: 1235: 1232: 1231: 1230: 1227: 1225: 1222: 1220: 1217: 1215: 1212: 1208: 1205: 1204: 1203: 1200: 1198: 1195: 1193: 1190: 1188: 1185: 1181: 1178: 1177: 1176: 1173: 1171: 1170: 1166: 1162: 1160: 1157: 1155: 1152: 1151: 1149: 1145: 1141: 1134: 1129: 1127: 1122: 1120: 1115: 1114: 1111: 1104: 1100: 1099: 1087: 1081: 1079: 1062: 1061: 1053: 1046: 1040: 1032: 1028: 1024: 1018: 1010: 1006: 1002: 1000:0-7139-9061-9 996: 992: 985: 978: 977:0-415-28594-1 974: 970: 964: 958:significant". 954: 945: 936: 934: 932: 930: 920: 911: 904: 900: 896: 890: 888: 880: 876: 875:Bose–Einstein 872: 868: 862: 860: 858: 850: 846: 840: 838: 836: 827: 823: 819: 815: 810: 806: 802: 798: 794: 790: 786: 782: 778: 772: 770: 768: 758: 754: 750: 749: 747: 744:dimension of 743: 739: 735: 731: 727: 723: 719: 715: 711: 707: 706:cloud chamber 703: 699: 694: 693:Vienna Circle 690: 686: 682: 678: 677: 672: 666: 653: 638: 632: 626: 622: 612: 609: 607: 604: 602: 599: 597: 594: 592: 589: 588: 580: 579:Richard Rorty 577: 574: 570: 567: 566: 560: 558: 548: 546: 542: 538: 537:propositional 534: 524: 522: 518: 513: 503: 501: 500: 495: 494:David Deutsch 491: 487: 483: 477: 467: 464: 460: 456: 452: 448: 444: 440: 439: 434: 428: 418: 416: 413:exhibited by 411: 407: 403: 399: 395: 391: 387: 386:Rudolf Carnap 383: 378: 376: 372: 369:debated with 368: 364: 360: 359: 358:cloud chamber 353: 349: 348: 343: 342: 337: 333: 328: 326: 322: 318: 317: 312: 307: 306:phenomenalism 303: 299: 295: 291: 287: 281: 271: 269: 265: 261: 257: 253: 249: 245: 241: 240:Immanuel Kant 235: 225: 222: 218: 215: 211: 206: 204: 200: 196: 195: 190: 189:Auguste Comte 184: 182: 178: 174: 170: 165: 149: 146: 138: 128: 124: 118: 117: 112:This section 110: 101: 100: 92: 89: 87: 83: 79: 75: 71: 67: 66: 61: 56: 54: 50: 46: 42: 38: 34: 30: 26: 22: 2780: 2772: 2764: 2756: 2748: 2740: 2732: 2724: 2716: 2708: 2700: 2692: 2684: 2676: 2596: 2588: 2580: 2572: 2564: 2556: 2548: 2540: 2532: 2516:Science wars 2350: 2314:Epistemology 2245:Reflectivism 2205:Hermeneutics 2057:Declinations 2033:Antihumanism 2026:Perspectives 1938:Larry Laudan 1918:Imre Lakatos 1873:Otto Neurath 1848:Karl Pearson 1838:Pierre Duhem 1810:Isaac Newton 1740:Protoscience 1698:Epistemology 1572:Anti-realism 1570: / 1551: / 1542: / 1528: / 1526:Reductionism 1524: / 1501: 1497:Inductionism 1477:Evolutionism 1282: 1169:a posteriori 1168: 1164: 1102: 1085: 1065:. 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Index

philosophy of science
epistemology
ideas
phenomena
scientific theory
Pierre Duhem
scientific realism
antirealism
particle physics
theoretical terms
not related to the topic of the article
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British empiricism
Newton's
British empiricism
John Locke
George Berkeley
Auguste Comte
positivism
logical positivists
observational terms
David Hume
Francis Bacon's
inductivism
theory of knowledge
Transcendental idealism
Immanuel Kant
noumena

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