Characterizing the Robustness of Science After the Practice Turn in

Mature sciences have been long been characterized in terms of the “successfulness”, “reliability” or “trustworthiness” of their theoretical, experimental or technical accomplishments. Today many philosophers of science talk of “robustness”, often without

  • PDF / 5,585,317 Bytes
  • 376 Pages / 439.37 x 666.142 pts Page_size
  • 99 Downloads / 181 Views

DOWNLOAD

REPORT


BOSTON STUDIES IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE

Editors ROBERT S. COHEN, Boston University JÜRGEN RENN, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science KOSTAS GAVROGLU, University of Athens

Managing Editor LINDY DIVARCI, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science

Editorial Board THEODORE ARABATZIS, University of Athens ALISA BOKULICH, Boston University HEATHER E. DOUGLAS, University of Pittsburgh JEAN GAYON, Université Paris 1 THOMAS F. GLICK, Boston University HUBERT GOENNER, University of Goettingen JOHN HEILBRON, University of California, Berkeley DIANA KORMOS-BUCHWALD, California Institute of Technology CHRISTOPH LEHNER, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science PETER MC LAUGHLIN, Universität Heidelberg AGUSTÍ NIETO-GALAN, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona NUCCIO ORDINE, Universitá della Calabria ANA SIMÕES, Universidade de Lisboa JOHN J. STACHEL, Boston University SYLVAN S. SCHWEBER, Harvard University BAICHUN ZHANG, Chinese Academy of Science

VOLUME 292 For further volumes: http://www.springer.com/series/5710

CHARACTERIZING THE ROBUSTNESS OF SCIENCE After the Practice Turn in Philosophy of Science

Edited by

LÉNA SOLER Archives H. Poincaré, Laboratoire d’Histoire des Sciences et de Philosophie, Nancy, France

EMILIANO TRIZIO Archives H. Poincaré, Laboratoire d’Histoire des Sciences et de Philosophie, Nancy, France

THOMAS NICKLES University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA and

WILLIAM C. WIMSATT University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

123

Editors Léna Soler Archives H. Poincaré, LHPS 91, avenue de la Libération, 54000 Nancy France [email protected]

Emiliano Trizio Archives H. Poincaré, LHPS 91, avenue de la Libération, 54000 Nancy France [email protected]

Thomas Nickles Department of Philosophy University of Nevada-Reno Reno, NV USA [email protected]

William C. Wimsatt Department of Philosophy University of Chicago Chicago, IL USA [email protected]

ISSN 0068-0346 ISBN 978-94-007-2758-8 e-ISBN 978-94-007-2759-5 DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-2759-5 Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg London New York Library of Congress Control Number: 2011945063 © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012 No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)

To the memory of Cathy Dufour, our very dear friend and colleague, a bright, dynamic, and generous person, who prematurely and suddenly passed away in March 2011. She was a pivotal contributor to the PratiScienS research devoted to robustness.

Contents

1 Introduction: The Solidity of Scientific Achievements: Structure of the Problem, Difficulties, Philosophical Implications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .